Helen Warner Interview from April 2014 in Broadcast
ITV’s director of daytime is confident that Good Morning Britain can succeed where Daybreak failed
CAREER
2013-present Director of daytime, ITV
2011-2013 Full-time author
2007-2011 Head of daytime, Channel 4
2006-2007 Commissioning executive, ITV daytime
2004-2006 Head of development, GMTV
2001-2002 Editor, This Morning
2000-2001 Series editor, Better Homes/ Better Gardens
1999-2000 Launch editor, Loose Women
1998 Series editor, What Will They Think Of Next?
1995-1997 Producer/ features editor, This Morning
Family Married with two children
Hobbies Watching TV; writing novels; running
There was more than a whiff of déjà vu when Broadcast sat down with Helen Warner to discuss ITV’s new breakfast show.
The conversation was strikingly similar in September 2010, when Warner’s predecessor Alison Sharman was banging the drum for Daybreak. ‘New queen of breakfast TV’ was the headline that adorned our piece four years ago.
With the benefit of hindsight, it had a touch of hyperbole about it, given Daybreak’s subsequent well-documented failings. The breakfast show has chewed up and spat out three editors, countless presenters and several set redesigns attempting to find its feet, with all the grace of a viewer’s befuddled morning stagger to the shower.
ITV is putting Daybreak out of its misery today; from Monday, it’s hello to Good Morning Britain. “It was clear that keeping and evolving Daybreak wasn’t going to be enough to change people’s habits in the morning,” Warner explains.
The ITV director of daytime launched the biggest piece of audience research she has ever been involved with to pinpoint what needed to change. It took ITV into viewers’ houses to assess their morning rituals; BBC Breakfast and Sky News fans were spoken to at length; and Warner travelled to the US to inspect NBC’s Today programme and Good Morning America on ABC.
The results, she says, were clear: Daybreak was not providing the news fix viewers craved in the morning and efforts to address this were not working. Simply put, Daybreak’s light topical touch drove viewers into the arms of rivals – and they have not returned.
Warner says: “One thing that came out of the research was that there wasn’t enough distinction between Daybreak, This Morning and Loose Women. We want to refocus the shows and make sure there is a distinct voice for each. The voice for Good Morning Britain will be news.”
News focus
To this end, Daybreak’s Matt Barbetfronted 6am News Hour will be ditched and the entire 150-minute show will be governed by the morning’s headlines.
Local news bulletins will also be increased and live-linked from the London studio to ensure there is a sense of “everyone being involved”.
Furthermore, Daybreak’s competition spots will be taken out on the road by Andi Peters in the new show.
The topicality extends to Good Morning Britain’s talent line-up, which has turned to presenters with a breakfast news pedigree. Susanna Reid is a high-profile capture from the BBC, where she sat on the Breakfast sofa, while former GMTV host Ben Shephard will return to the fold. ITV has also poached Sunrise presenter Charlotte Hawkins and Sean Fletcher, a regular anchor for Sky Sports News.
“It’s not all about Susanna,” Warner stresses, categorically denying reports that ITV has paid the presenter £1m to prise her away from the BBC.
She also dismisses any comparisons with Christine Bleakley’s ill-fated transition to ITV four years ago. “I don’t think it is similar to the Christine situation,” Warner argues. “As a breakfast presenter, Susanna is already very well known at that time of day.”
This may be the case, but it’s hard to deny that Warner’s choices have some echo of those made by her predecessor. Sharman also carried out a big piece of research before ditching GMTV, she too travelled to the US to learn from ABC and NBC’s breakfast brands, while an emphasis on news was an important part of her Daybreak plans (remember John Stapleton’s bizarre Farepak investigation, just three minutes into the debut episode?).
Warner argues the difference this time around is that ITV won’t be “throwing the baby out with the bath water”. This is despite renaming the show Good Morning Britain, and changing its presenting line-up, set (which she won’t discuss) and editorial tone.
“Daybreak hasn’t always resonated with viewers, but there are definitely things from it that we want to take forward into Good Morning Britain. That’s the biggest lesson: don’t trash everything that’s gone before; take what worked with you and build on it,” she says.
One thing that won’t be repeated is Daybreak’s splashy launch in 2010, with Good Morning Britain taking a “softly, softly” approach. “We’re going to do promos when the show’s on air. This will include what you’ve missed and what’s coming up tomorrow. It’s not going to be the same as the Daybreak push,” Warner explains.
So what does success look like? “Obviously our aim is to grow the audience; we wouldn’t be doing it if we weren’t hoping to grow the audience. But we’re in it for the long game,” Warner says.
Doing so will involve arresting three years of audience declines by winning back the ‘switchers’ – a broad demographic of people that Warner is convinced are still open to the idea of a “really good breakfast show” on ITV. “Housewives with children is still the core audience, we haven’t really lost ground on that,” she adds.
“We hope that over time, people start recognising that it’s a good show, come to it, like it, and stay with it. That will help the rest of the schedule – it will give us the springboard.”
There are also signs that the strategy will play well with advertisers.
Dominic Williams, trading director of media agency Aegis Media, told trade title Campaign last month: “ITV has been very sensible – for the first time since 2009, it has a team of breakfast specialists coming in.”
Warner hasn’t been set any targets by ITV, but is “confident” she can turn the ship around. “ITV will always be in breakfast, as it should be. It definitely doesn’t feel like the last chance saloon. It’s really exciting for everybody,” she says.
Beyond breakfast
Now more than nine months into the director of daytime job, Warner’s responsibilities extend well beyond breakfast, and the Daybreak relaunch has not prevented her from making her mark elsewhere in the ITV schedule.
As well as parachuting in ITV factual commissioner Neil Thompson as Good Morning Britain editor, she has overseen senior management changes on Lorraine, This Morning and Loose Women.
She says the brands are in “pretty good health”, but has tasked the leadership teams with “sharpening the focus” to ensure they each offer viewers something unique.
“All brands, especially long-running ones, need reinvigorating from time to time. They’re very tough, these daily shows, and I’ve done them, so I can say it from experience. It’s a draining job,” the former Loose Women editor explains.
She admits the changes have been “unsettling” for ITV Studios’ daytime team, with one source telling Broadcast in 2013 that the unit was in “turmoil”. Something had to give, though, with ITV chief executive Adam Crozier publicly stating in February that the broadcaster’s daytime performance last year had been “disappointing”.
“Peter Fincham got me in to address the daytime performance. It’s a massive job, encompassing 6am to 6pm in the schedule every day, and I think it does need a dedicated person,” Warner argues.
She is also preparing to launch four other shows next week, including ITV Studios-produced Jo Frost: Family Matters and Remark able Television quiz Ejector Seat, which is fronted by Andi Peters.
One ITV insider describes Warner as an “instinctive commissioner”. They say this can have its pitfalls – one of her first ITV orders, Auf Wiedersehen My Pet, hasn’t been a roaring success – but could stand her in good stead with slots to fill.
Among her priorities will be filling the 3pm void left by The Alan Titchmarsh Show in 2015 and building on The Chase with other quizzes. The 2pm slot, meanwhile, is given over to factual entertainment, and among Warner’s new commissions is ITV Studios’ Who’s Doing The Dishes?, which she describes as a cross between Come Dine With Me and Through The Keyhole.
“There’s a lot of hours to fill, but we get pitched a lot of good stuff – it’s a good problem to have. There’s no sense of a ‘it’ll do for daytime’ mentality, which there has been in the past,” she explains.
For producers, this is where Warner will earn her corn, but ultimately it is Good Morning Britain that will probably define her reign at ITV. The queen of breakfast crown is very much up for grabs.
ITV: DAYTIME CHANGES
Daybreak
ITV factual commissioner Neil Thompson replaced Karl Newton as editor last year. He will relaunch Daybreak as Good Morning Britain next week, giving the programme a clearer focus on news.
Lorraine
Sue Walton, vice-president of commissioning for Scripps EMEA, took over from Emma Gormley earlier this year. Gormley was promoted to managing executive producer of ITV Studios’ daytime output, effectively replacing creative director for daytime and lifestyle Fiona Keenaghan.
This Morning
Saturday Night Takeaway series producer Peter Ogden has replaced editor Adam Vandermark. Ogden will be tasked with reducing news-led features and newspaper reviews, while heightening This Morning’s magazine tone.
Loose Women
Former GMTV showrunner Martin Frizell was appointed editor this year, replacing Emily Humphries. Warner wants Loose Women to carry fewer features and focus more on topical chat.
The Jeremy Kyle Show
Responsibility for the Salford-produced show was handed to ITVS director of entertainment Siobhan Greene last year.
