40th Anniversary celebrations for Breakfast

With the television regulator holding back the launch of TV-am from November 1982 – to allow Channel 4 to settle in – it gave the Beeb a chance to do what they often did in such instances – sneak in and launch a rival version ahead of ITV.

BBC Breakfast, as its now known, will celebrate its 40th anniversary on 17th January 2023. To mark the occasion the programme will take viewers on a journey back to the very first show with archive footage, viewers’ favourites and some extra special guests.

On the anniversary show Jon Kay and Sally Nugent will be on the sofa presenting BBC Breakfast including a special half-hour when it will be rebranded to the original programme – Breakfast Time – and the team will also bring back the original and nostalgic vintage clock.

At 6.30 am – the time the first show was launched – there will be a bespoke film presented by Jon, where he will revisit how the first programme and how it came to fruition. There will also be some special stories and memories shared from Carol Kirkwood who is the longest-serving member of the team, starting as production secretary when Frank Bough and Selina Scott presented.

There will be a ‘Breakfast Time’ special half hour dedicated to the anniversary from 8.30am with special guests joining Jon and Sally on the sofa including Russel Grant and Debbie Rix, with an appearance from Leo Sayer who was a guest on the very first programme. There will also be a unique weather report with extra special guest Francis Wilson – the first Breakfast Time weather presenter – who will be joining Carol Kirkwood.

Also in the programme, Jayne McCubbin will be in the capital with Diana Moran aka The Green Goddess, who will be recreating her famous morning keep fit routine at the site of her very first one – London’s Waterloo Railway station where she will yet again entertain morning commuters in true 80’s style. Viewers will also be treated to a look back at her very first show.

David Sillito will present a special on the battle with ITV to be the nation’s first breakfast show, how Breakfast changed the morning landscape of 80’s TV and how its evolved into the programme that it is today, pulling in an average audience of 1.3million viewers.

Richard Frediani, Editor of BBC Breakfast comments, “Life begins at 40… and what a 40 years it has been. BBC Breakfast is the UK’s number one choice every morning, so we want to celebrate this occasion in the best way possible, bringing back presenters, taking a look at the archives, and marking history, showing some of our favourite TV moments from the very first show. We have a great team, on and off the camera, and I’m delighted to be at the helm for this special birthday. I hope viewers will enjoy the trip down memory lane as much as we have enjoyed making it while we prepare for an exciting 2023 with big plans for the year ahead.”

Carol Kirkwood:

“I’ve been at BBC Breakfast from the early days, starting as a production secretary and now presenting the weather. I have made some brilliant memories on the show and look forward to continuing to do so.”

Viewers can watch BBC Breakfast on BBC One, The BBC News Channel and BBC iPlayer from 6am Monday to Sunday.