The West Country Tonight
Encyclopedia
The West Country Tonight is a regional television news
and current affairs
programme, also including local sports news and local features of interest, produced by ITV West & Westcountry
at its studios in Bristol
. It replaced The West Tonight
(ITV West) and Westcountry Live
(ITV Westcountry
) following their merger.
Like all regional news programmes on ITV1 in England and Wales and Channel Television
, it uses the generic ITV font and presentation.
When the programme first launched, it was presented by ITV West presenters Lisa Aziz
and Steve Scott
(formerly of The West Tonight). However, Aziz was suspended in June 2009 from her position and officially left ITV West & Westcountry in February 2010. Scott left his position to become Sports Editor for ITV News
in May 2010. The programme is now fronted by former Meridian Tonight newscaster, Ian Axton
and former Westcountry Live freelancer Vanessa Cuddeford.
Weekdays
Weekends
On Monday 5 September 2011, separate weekday daytime bulletins for the two regions (during Daybreak
and at lunchtime) were reintroduced. Both sub-regional services utilise the same presenter(s) and studio/set in Bristol, therefore one of the two opt-outs - depending on the day's news - is pre-recorded 'as live' shortly before transmission.
The West Country Tonight is broadcast from the ITV West studios in Bristol with reporters and camera crews also based in newsrooms at Plymouth, Exeter, Truro, Taunton, Gloucester and Weymouth.
N.B. Reporters marked with an * also act as newsreaders.
News program
A news program, news programme, news show, or newscast is a regularly scheduled radio or television program that reports current events. News is typically reported in a series of individual stories that are presented by one or more anchors...
and current affairs
Current affairs (news format)
Current Affairs is a genre of broadcast journalism where the emphasis is on detailed analysis and discussion of news stories that have recently occurred or are ongoing at the time of broadcast....
programme, also including local sports news and local features of interest, produced by ITV West & Westcountry
ITV South West
ITV West & Westcountry, also known as ITV South West, is a non-franchise ITV regional station covering the South West of England and incorporating the former ITV West and ITV Westcountry regions.-History:...
at its studios in Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
. It replaced The West Tonight
The West Tonight
The West Tonight was the flagship news programme in the ITV West region. It was broadcast at 6pm every weeknight. It launched in 1968 as Report West and ceased broadcasting on 15 February 2009.-History:...
(ITV West) and Westcountry Live
Westcountry Live
Westcountry Live was the flagship regional news programme of ITV Westcountry, serving the South West of England.-History:The programme was first broadcast on Monday 4 January 1993 - four days after Westcountry Television took over the ITV regional franchise from Television South West...
(ITV Westcountry
Westcountry Television
Westcountry Television, is the ITV franchise holder in the South West of England, replacing its predecessor, TSW , from the 1 January 1993...
) following their merger.
Like all regional news programmes on ITV1 in England and Wales and Channel Television
Channel Television
Channel Television is a British television station which has served as an Independent Television contractor to the Channel Islands since 1962. It is based in Jersey...
, it uses the generic ITV font and presentation.
When the programme first launched, it was presented by ITV West presenters Lisa Aziz
Lisa Aziz
Lisa Aziz is a British news presenter. She is best known as the co-presenter of the Bristol based ITV South West nightly weekday news programme The West Country Tonight. Before this she worked for TV-am and Sky News, and was one of the first Asian presenters to be seen on television...
and Steve Scott
Steve Scott (journalist)
Steve Scott is a legendary British newsreader. He was educated at Clifton College and began his career in local radio. Scott currently employed by ITN where he presents on the weekend ITV News bulletins and is the Sports Editor.-ITN:...
(formerly of The West Tonight). However, Aziz was suspended in June 2009 from her position and officially left ITV West & Westcountry in February 2010. Scott left his position to become Sports Editor for ITV News
ITV News
ITV News is the branding of news programmes on the British television network ITV. Since 1955, ITV's news bulletins have been produced by Independent Television News . The channel's news coverage has won awards from the Royal Television Society, Emmy Awards and BAFTAs. Between 2004 and 2008, the...
in May 2010. The programme is now fronted by former Meridian Tonight newscaster, Ian Axton
Ian Axton
Ian Axton is a British television newsreader.He presents The West Country Tonight on ITV West and ITV Westcountry, produced by ITV West & Westcountry, he joined the programme in May 2010 following the departure of Steve Scott....
and former Westcountry Live freelancer Vanessa Cuddeford.
Broadcast times
The West Country Today/Tonight airs on ITV1 West and ITV1 Westcountry seven days a week.Weekdays
| Programme | Scheduled Slot | Presenter(s) |
|---|---|---|
| The West Country Today (broadcast during Daybreak Daybreak (ITV) Daybreak is the weekday breakfast television programme on the British commercial ITV network that broadcasts on weekday mornings from 06:00 to 08:30 and is currently presented by Adrian Chiles and Christine Bleakley from Monday to Thursday with Dan Lobb and Kate Garraway on Fridays... ) |
06:15, 07:15 and 08:15 | Ellie Barker |
| The West Country Today (broadcast after the ITV News at 1:30) | 13:55-14:00 | Ellie Barker, Ian Axton Ian Axton Ian Axton is a British television newsreader.He presents The West Country Tonight on ITV West and ITV Westcountry, produced by ITV West & Westcountry, he joined the programme in May 2010 following the departure of Steve Scott.... or Vanessa Cuddeford |
| The West Country Tonight | 18:00-18:30 | Ian Axton Ian Axton Ian Axton is a British television newsreader.He presents The West Country Tonight on ITV West and ITV Westcountry, produced by ITV West & Westcountry, he joined the programme in May 2010 following the departure of Steve Scott.... and Vanessa Cuddeford |
| The West Country Tonight (broadcast after ITV News at Ten) | 22:30-22:35 | Ian Axton Ian Axton Ian Axton is a British television newsreader.He presents The West Country Tonight on ITV West and ITV Westcountry, produced by ITV West & Westcountry, he joined the programme in May 2010 following the departure of Steve Scott.... or Vanessa Cuddeford (Monday - Thursday). Various (Friday). |
Weekends
| Programme | Scheduled Slot | Presenter(s) |
|---|---|---|
| The West Country Today | Saturdays - Late Afternoon | Various |
| The West Country Tonight | Sundays - Early Evening | Various |
Sub-regional service
As part of The West Country Tonights launch in February 2009, two opt-out services for the ITV1 West and ITV1 Westcountry regions were retained, incorporating the first half of the main evening programme on weeknights at 6pm, the full late bulletins after News at Ten on weeknights and sports news on Mondays and Fridays.On Monday 5 September 2011, separate weekday daytime bulletins for the two regions (during Daybreak
Daybreak (ITV)
Daybreak is the weekday breakfast television programme on the British commercial ITV network that broadcasts on weekday mornings from 06:00 to 08:30 and is currently presented by Adrian Chiles and Christine Bleakley from Monday to Thursday with Dan Lobb and Kate Garraway on Fridays...
and at lunchtime) were reintroduced. Both sub-regional services utilise the same presenter(s) and studio/set in Bristol, therefore one of the two opt-outs - depending on the day's news - is pre-recorded 'as live' shortly before transmission.
The West Country Tonight is broadcast from the ITV West studios in Bristol with reporters and camera crews also based in newsrooms at Plymouth, Exeter, Truro, Taunton, Gloucester and Weymouth.
Main newsreaders
- Ian AxtonIan AxtonIan Axton is a British television newsreader.He presents The West Country Tonight on ITV West and ITV Westcountry, produced by ITV West & Westcountry, he joined the programme in May 2010 following the departure of Steve Scott....
(The West Country Tonight and alternate late bulletin)
- Vanessa Cuddeford (The West Country Tonight and alternate late bulletin)
Weather presenters
- Alex BeresfordAlex BeresfordAlex Beresford is a British meteorologist who is currently employed by ITV Weather.Beresford joined ITV West in August 2004 as an autocue operative, before later retraining as a weather presenter, additionally he presents forecasts for ITV Westcountry since February 2009...
(also national ITV WeatherITV WeatherITV Weather is the national and regional forecast shown on UK terrestrial network ITV, and is provided by the Met Office...
presenter) - Bob Crampton
- Gillian Davies (freelance)
- Dan Downs (freelance)
- Peter Griffin (freelance)
- Kate Reeves (freelance)
District Correspondents
- Ken Goodwin (Gloucestshire)
- David Woodland (Somerset)
- Bob Cruwys (Taunton/South Somerset) *
- Rob Murphy (Wiltshire) *
- Rebecca Broxton (Bristol)
- Jonanthan Gibson (Plymouth) *
- Seth Conway (Exeter/Devon) *
- Steve Hardy (Cornwall)
- Duncan Sleightholme (Dorset) *
News Correspondents
- Jacquie Bird
- Richard Lawrence
- Cordelia Lynch
- Kathy Wardle
- Ed Saunt
- Naomi Lloyd *
- Claire Manning *
- Shelley Roberts
- Eli-Louise Wringe
- Balvinder Sidhu *
- Dave Mason
- Dominic Valitis
- Tanya Mercer *
Specialist Correspondents
- John Andrews (Defence)
- Bob Constantine (Political)
- Duncan Sleightholme (Environment) *
- Matthias Kurth (Sport) *
- Richard Payne (Education) *
- Seth Conway (Business) *
- Rebecca Broxton (Health)
N.B. Reporters marked with an * also act as newsreaders.