What could replace The Jeremy Kyle Show on ITV?
ITV has been left with a sizeable gap in their daytime schedules after it permanently axed The Jeremy Kyle Show – but what could be in line to replace it?
After nearly 14 years on TV, The Jeremy Kyle Show has been permanently cancelled following the death of a guest on the show.
The broadcaster has said that it will continue to conduct an investigation into the episode, while Parliament's Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee has announced that it is launching a major inquiry into reality TV.
While these investigations continue, there is also the question of what will take the place of The Jeremy Kyle Show in the ITV schedules.
Repeats of Dickinson’s Real Deal are currently filling the gap, but what options does ITV have going forward?
1. Extending Good Morning Britain, Lorraine or This Morning
One of the more obvious options would be to beef up ITV’s programme Good Morning Britain.
Since being revamped from its predecessor Daybreak in 2014, GMB has started to close the gap on its main rival BBC’s Breakfast. While its confrontational debates about current affairs may not be to everyone’s taste, GMB has been nominated for a number of awards, including two Bafta TV nominations earlier this year. Lorraine, the next show in the ITV listings, could also be extended beyond its current 55-minute running time.
In a similar vein, This Morning could also potentially assume an even more prominent role in the schedules. The warm and winning partnership between Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby has seen them win the National Television Award for Best Daytime Programme nine times since 2009.
The channel has already expanded the scope of the show, having launched a Sunday edition of the show earlier this year.
2. A new rival to The Wright Stuff/Jeremy Vine
Having made its debut on Channel 5 in 2000, the show formerly known as The Wright Stuff (after presenter Matthew Wright – the show is now called Jeremy Vine after its new presenter) has become a staple of the Channel 5 schedules. Airing from 9.15am for two hours every morning, the show cuts across the slot formerly occupied by Jeremy Kyle.
The show is not dissimilar to a radio phone-in show – a panel made up of celebrities and experts discuss the biggest new stories of the day, and viewers are invited to call in and give their opinions. Light-hearted banter and fiery debate ensue.
With Kyle having started his broadcasting career on the radio, and ITV having confirmed in a statement that they wish to continue working with Kyle on other projects, a show of this kind may keep Kyle’s popular brand of “telling it like it is” on air.
That said, ITV may prefer to find a new broadcaster to take charge of the slot previously occupied by The Jeremy Kyle Show.
Sara Cox for example recently took over as host of a new weekend morning show on ITV. Could she, like Jeremy Vine, present both a headline BBC radio slot and a regular daytime show?
3. Judge Rinder
A more recent addition to the ITV daytime schedule, Judge Rinder echoes Kyle in his deliverance of 'tough justice' – but the feel of the show is markedly different.
Rinder has proved popular amongst audiences, with the barrister going on to star in a series of reality shows in his own right; Judge Rinder’s Crime Stories, Strictly Come Dancing, Who Do You Think You Are? and the 2017 reboot of Crown Court to name but a few.
Could Rinder replicate the same magic of early afternoons at 9.25am?
4. A Trisha-style talk show
The Jeremy Kyle Show was originally intended to be a replacement for Trisha Goddard’s eponymous show in 2005, after the host chose to move to Channel 5. Unlike Kyle, Goddard said she aimed to take a more “softly softly” approach with guests on her show.
“When I made my ITV show, Trisha, I told producers and researchers that it would be done differently,” she told The Sun.
“I wanted it to be underpinned by the work I had done in fighting the stigma around mental health and wellbeing, and my training in conflict resolution.”
Goddard’s show was dropped in 2009 after Channel 5 opted not to renew her contract. The presenter has appeared on shows like Loose Women in the years since, and guest hosted The Wright Stuff – is her approach something ITV would be interested in now?
5. Something completely new?
After 14 years, perhaps it is time for something very different for the 9.25am time slot. ITV has only said that it will announce a replacement in due course, meaning the channel could look further afield to fill the space.
Game shows are traditionally saved for late afternoons for example, but could a new quiz format be the clean break the broadcaster needs?
Alternatively, perhaps Dickinson's Real Deal really could make the permanent switch from early afternoons to mornings.
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