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1980 - 1981 - 1982 - 1983 - 1984 - 1985 - 1986 - 1987 - 1988 - 1989 - 1990 - 1991 - 1992
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1980
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- The IBA (Independent Broadcasting Authority" invite tenders for Britain's first breakfast television station.
Michael Rosenberg contacted David Frost, already a TV star and also an entrepreneur, and convinced him to work on the project.
- 24th January: The IBA announce the details of the contracts: the programme would be broadcast between 6 and 9.15 am, seven days a week. It would contain news, information and current affairs.
- March: David Frost approaches Peter Jay who was thought to be suitable to head the bid. Peter Jay accepted.
- April-May: one month is left to recruit a team, to find a studio and to secure financial backing. The name of TV-am is chosen.
David Frost approached the best known names in television news and the team was gradually built up with Michael Parkinson, Angela Rippon, Robert Kee and Esther Rantzen. Other names joined the team as shareholders.
- 1st May: the TV-am team worked on drawing up the application in David Frost's home in London.
- 9th May: deadline for submitting applications to the IBA.
- August: Anna Ford is approached to join the team.
- 11th December: Peter Jay stood as TV-am chairman at the interview with the IBA.
- 28th December: the IBA announce they have decided to award the franchise to TV-am. The new TV station won't be allowed to broadcast before mid 1983. The franchise would last until 1993.
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1981
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- Spring: Esther Rantzen, pregnant, pulled out.
- The offices of TV-am, topped by giant eggcups, are designed in Camden Lock by the architect Terry Farrell. The cost of the new building approaches £5 million.
Most of that year is spent finalising the contract with the IBA.
- 17th June: the IBA issue a press release announcing their decision to see the programme provided by TV-am to start in May 1983.
- Peter Jay succeeded in securing a starting date in February 1983, a few months earlier than what was planned.
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1982
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- Saatchi & Saatchi, TV-am's advertising agency, designed an advert published in the Guardian, to recruit the staff. It features the Famous Five and empty silhouettes.
- November: Channel 4 went on air.
- A dispute started when Equity didn't agree with actors royalties to depend on viewing figures.
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1983
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- 17th January: BBC launched their morning programme Breakfast Time.
- Monday 1st February: the Famous Five (David Frost, Michael Parkinson, Robert Kee, Angela Rippon and Anna Ford) launch the first Good Morning Britain.
- 7th February: first appearance of Mike Morris as a sport presenter on Saturdays.
- The first week ratings were not good: 800,000, and well behind the BBC Breakfast Time. Ratings kept dropping, down to 300,000 during the fourth week. Peter Jay was critised in the TV-am board for his managerial style and some thought his departure was vital for the survival of the company. The advertisers were not as keen to advertise on GMB.
- Monday 28th February: a re-looked programme started, with Anna Ford and Angela Rippon presenting. In the evening Anna Ford had flu and was unable to appear the following day.
- Tuesday 1st March: David Frost replaces Anna Ford and presents GMB with Angela Rippon. He will fly to America the day after.
- Wednesday 2nd to Friday 4th March: Michael Parkinson joined Angela Rippon on the sofa for the rest of the week. Many believe they are forming a successful team and TV-am received congratulations from clients and advertisers. Anna Ford is asked to step down but she insisted on presenting the programme the following Monday. Peter Jay had decided she would return on screen.
- Monday 7th March: Angela Rippon & Anna Ford present GMB.
- Jonathan Aitken, major shareholder, received a letter from director of programmes Michael Deakin that convinced him that Peter Jay was not suitable as a manager. Michael Deakin had already expressed his skepticism regarding the presenters and their ability to attract viewers.
- 17th March: Peter Jay is being asked to resign in order to save the company from disaster. TV-am is loosing thousands of pounds a week. Peter Jay agreed to resign.
- 18th March: Anna Ford and Angela Rippon lead a "Jay must stay" demonstration. They will be dismissed for breaching their contract. Anna Ford said "There's been a great deal of treachery... History will expose those who have been most treacherous".
During a board meeting, Jonathan AItken becomes Chief Executive.
- 28th March: Jonathan Aitken asked the Famous Five to take salary cuts. The 3 men accepted, the 2 women didn't.
- 1st April: first appearance of the puppet Roland Rat.
- 4th April: Nick Owen leaves the sport department and starts as a main presenter, replacing David Frost. He presents the programme along Angela Rippon for 4 days.
- Mid April: Angela Rippon and Anna Ford are dismissed.
- 11th April: Linda Berry joins Nick Owen as a main presenter.
- Jonathan Aitken, who had agreed with the IBA not to stand as Chief Executive of TV-am for more than a few weeks because of his position as a MP, was replaced by his cousin Timothy Aitken.
- Early May: Greg Dyke, producer at LWT, joined the team as Editor in Chief to redirect the programme. Presenters will change as well as the style of the programme.
- 23rd May: the new-look programme was launched, to include net curtains and revolving weather board. Greg Dyke introduced children programming on the idea that breakfast audience will raise during school holidays. Also Bingo numbers were read out from the daily press.
- First appearance of Wincey Willis.
- 6th June: Anne Diamond replaces Linda Berry and joined as a main presenter along with Nick Owen who suggested her. They were both unknown but soon became the very popular Mr and Miss Ordinary.
- 26th July: first appearance of Chris Tarrant in the very sucessful Summer Specials.
- 25th August: first international super stars interviewed on TV-am: the Bee Gees. Many people wrote to TV-am to tell how much they enjoyed it.
- During the summer, the audience rates raised from 300,000 to over 1 Million in October. The success was very much linked to the puppet Roland Rat that Greg Dyke had promoted. As someone at the BBC commented, it was the first known case of a sinking ship being saved by a rat.
- Possible first appearance of Lorraine Kelly
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1984
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- First known appearance of Lorraine Kelly, who joined TV-am as a reporter in Scotland.
- Kerry Packer, a new shareholder, introduced Bruce Gyngell, an Australian compatriot, as managing director.
- Bruce Gyngell demanded budget cuts and Greg Dyke's resignation follows: tabloids headlines said "Roland Rat's dad quits".However, the programmes remain similar to what Greg Dyke designed.
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1985
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- Last appearance of Roland Rat
- 9th June: First interview of Margaret Thatcher, conducted by David Frost.
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1986
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- 1st August: last appearance of Nick Owen.
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1987
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- Ulrika Jonsson joined TV-am as a secretary.
- Mike Morris became main presenter of Good Morning Britain.
- 26th June: last appearance of Wincey Willis. Trish Williamson will replace her.
- Nov: 220 TV-am technicians went on strike for 24 hours and Bruce Gyngell refused to let them in the next day. He and a few staff only ran the channel in an emergency situation during several months, where cameras were operated by the company director or by secretaries, with Gyngell producing. The annual wage bill went down from £8 to £2. To the horror of the IBA, audience rates kept soaring.
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1988
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- January - February: Anne Diamond and Mike Morris presented Good Morning Britain from Australia.
- Jonathan and Timothy Aitken resigned, after it was revealed that some of their shares were held by Saudi princes.
- Ulrika Jonsson left TV-am for a Scandinavian satellite channel.
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1989
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- Following the 1987 TV-am strike, after a 22 month dispute, Bruce Gyngell had to give a £700,000 to the Unions. But TV-am was then a profitable company...
- 8th May: first appearance of Ulrika Jonsson as a weather girl, after she re-joined TV-am.
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1990
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- 2nd November: Last appearance of Anne Diamond.
- In the year 1989-1990, TV-am made a profit of £24 million and achieved a 70% share of the audience. It is then the most successful TV station in the world.
- Via the Broadcasting Act 1990, Margaret Thatcher provided a new regulatory framework so the ITV franchises would go to the company with the highest bid, with the most money, honoured by the new awarding body the Independent Television Commission (ITC).
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1991
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- Feb: the ITC advertised for applicants to run the national breakfast franchise and the 15 ITV regions. During the construction of the applications, stories and rumors circulated about industrial espionage and secret deals between media companies.
- TV-am launch the "'93 Winning Team" campaign.
- May: deadline for the franchise applications.
- 15th Oct: it was announced that TV-am lost the ITV franchise and is given a 14 months' notice to stop broadcasting. Sunrise won it with a bid of £35 million; Good Morning Britain will be replaced by GMTV. A controversy started when other well-known reputable companies, such as Thames Television, were denied a renewed franchise.
- Margaret Thatcher, who instigated the new system leading to the end of TV-am, wrote to Bruce Gyngell to apologize: "I am only too painfully aware I was responsible for the legislation... When I see how some of the other licences have been awarded, I am mystified you did not receive yours and heartbroken...".
Greg Dyke, interviewed at the time said: "I think the ITC has done a reasonable and honest job with a terrible piece of legislation. I actually have a great deal of sympathy for Bruce Gyngell. If you run a profitable company which gets 70% of the audience, you might very reasonably say, what's all this about?...
About whether Bruce Gyngell should have bidded higher, he added: "Well, he should. But I completely understand why he didn't... You don't spend years building up a business to throw away all the profits, which is basically what you had to do if you were an incumbent company with a good bid against you... but, as a new venture, you have none of those problems."
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1992
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- 10th Jul: Last appearance of Ulrika Jonsson.
- 31st Dec: Good Morning Britain is broadcast for the last time.
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