Editing Richard and Judy

{{Short description|Duo of TV presenters}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2025}}
{{About|the television presenters|their programme of the same name|Richard & Judy|the 2002 song of the same name|The Supernaturals|the New Zealand television newsreading team|Richard Long (broadcaster)|and|Judy Bailey}}
{{More citations needed|date=December 2024}}

'''Richard and Judy''' is a term used to refer to British television presenters [[Richard Madeley]] and [[Judy Finnigan]], who are married. They co-hosted the [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] programme ''[[This Morning (TV programme)|This Morning]]'' from 1988 to 2001 and later presented the chat show ''[[Richard & Judy]]'' from 2001 to 2009.

==Marriage and family==
Madeley and Finnigan met in 1982 while working on separate television programmes for [[ITV Granada|Granada Television]]. Both were married to other people at the time. After divorcing their previous spouses, they began a relationship and married in 1986 in [[Manchester]]. The couple had two children together: Jack Christopher (born 1986) and [[Chloe Madeley|Chloe Susannah]] (born 1987), both born in Manchester.

==''This Morning''==

They presented [[This Morning (TV programme)|''This Morning'']] from its launch in 1988 until 2001. The programme featured a range of segments, including celebrity interviews, household tips, cookery, and [[Phone-in|phone-ins]], and typically aired for around two hours each weekday morning on [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]]. Initially broadcast from the [[Royal Albert Dock, Liverpool|Albert Dock]] in [[Liverpool]], production moved to [[London]] in 1996. 

Since leaving, Madeley has appeared on ''This Morning'' solo to promote his autobiography. On 5 October 2009, he and his co-presenter joined the show's then-current hosts, [[Phillip Schofield]] and [[Holly Willoughby]], to celebrate its 21st anniversary. The couple also returned for a special one-off episode to mark the programme's 25th anniversary.

==''Richard & Judy''==
In 2001, they left ''This Morning'' after being approached by [[Channel 4]] to host a programme titled ''[[Richard & Judy]]'', which aired for one hour in the teatime slot.

The show was produced by Cactus TV, a company run by [[Simon Ross]], the brother of [[Jonathan Ross]], and his wife [[Amanda Ross (television executive)|Amanda Ross]]. In February 2007, the couple issued a public apology on air following the discovery of a phone scam related to the daily quiz You Say We Pay, in which winners were selected in advance while viewers were still encouraged to call the premium-rate entry number. On the same broadcast, Madeley and Finnigan announced that the quiz would be suspended until further notice. Later that week, it was reported that police investigations would be conducted, potentially leading to interviews with the hosts. Channel 4 stated that the scam might have occurred over two series of the show. Both hosts denied involvement in the scam,<ref name="Judd">{{cite news |author=Terri Judd |date=19 February 2007 |title=Revealed: Richard and Judy quiz scam |url=http://news.independent.co.uk/media/article2283955.ece |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930202514/http://news.independent.co.uk/media/article2283955.ece |archive-date=30 September 2007 |access-date=27 August 2007 |newspaper=The Independent}}</ref> which was exposed by ''[[The Mail on Sunday]]'' after receiving the story from media publicist Jonathan Hartley.

The show introduced two clubs: the [[Richard & Judy Book Club]] and the Richard & Judy Wine Club, which were similar in format to those associated with [[Oprah Winfrey]]. The Book Club focused on literature by new and emerging authors, with one book reviewed each week. An awards ceremony was held annually to announce the book selected as "Read of the Year."

In July 2008, Finnigan underwent knee surgery and took a brief leave of absence from the show to recover. During this period, Madeley was joined by guest presenters [[Emma Bunton]] and [[Myleene Klass]], and presented one edition of the show alone on 23 July 2008.

In 2008, it was announced that their Channel 4 series which began in June would be the last for the programme, and ended on 22 August 2008. However, they signed a contract for a new [[Prime time|prime-time]] show on UKTV's new channel, Watch. Their new show still contained features such as the "Book Club" and "Summer Read."

===Move to Watch===
Richard and Judy began hosting a new topical chat show on [[UKTV]]'s digital channel, [[Watch (TV channel)|Watch]], after seven years at Channel 4. The programme, ''Richard and Judy's New Position'', premiered on 7 October 2008 and aired weeknights at 8:00 PM. The first episode was viewed by 200,000 people, but viewership declined over time, with the second episode attracting 53,000 viewers and numbers eventually falling to 11,000. This contrasted with their previous show on Channel 4, which had garnered up to 2.5 million viewers.<ref>{{cite news |date=30 November 2008 |title=Turning off Richard and Judy |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/tv-radio/turning-off-richard--judy-1041653.html |newspaper=The Independent}}</ref> Due to the decline in viewership, it was announced on 8 May 2009 that the show would be discontinued in July. The presenters commented that the low ratings were due to a lack of audience engagement.<ref>{{cite news |date=8 May 2009 |title=Early exit for Richard and Judy |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8040368.stm |work=BBC News}}</ref>

==Other work together==
Richard and Judy co-wrote an autobiography, ''Richard and Judy: The Autobiography'', which was published in 2002 by [[Hodder & Stoughton]].

==Political views==
Madeley has expressed support for former British Prime Minister [[Tony Blair]] and his stance on the [[Iraq War]], noting that [[international law]] on the issue was "incredibly complicated."<ref>{{Cite news |date=2010-02-03 |title=Richard Madeley on Tony Blair |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/the_daily_politics/8495223.stm |access-date=2024-11-29 |language=en-GB}}</ref> He has been described by some as aligning with neoconservative views.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hasan |first=Mehdi |date=2010-02-04 |title=Richard Madeley: neocon |url=https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2010/02/judy-finnegan-iraq-richard |access-date=2024-11-29 |website=New Statesman |language=en-US}}</ref>

In an interview, Madeley identified Cuban leader [[Fidel Castro]] as the person he most disliked.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Greenstreet |first=Rosanna |date=2006-12-15 |title=Q&A |url=https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2006/dec/16/weekend7.weekend |access-date=2024-11-29 |website=the Guardian |language=en}}</ref>

== References in popular culture ==

Richard and Judy are referenced in the song "[[Away from Here (song)|Away from Here]]," released by the British band [[The Enemy (English rock band)|The Enemy]]<ref>{{Citation |title=The Enemy (UK) – Away from Here |url=https://genius.com/The-enemy-uk-away-from-here-lyrics |access-date=2024-11-29}}</ref> in 2007.

Richard and Judy are referenced in ''[[The Vicar of Dibley]]'', Season 1, Episode 6.

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090904042355/http://www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/biography_story/1281:2492/1/Richard_Madeley_Judy_Finnigan.htm Richard Madeley & Judy Finnigan] Biographical notes, [[The Biography Channel]], Retrieved 27 August 2007
* [https://www.theguardian.com/g2/story/0,3604,380927,00.html One of Us], [[Guardian Unlimited]], Claire Phipps, 12 October 2001, Retrieved 27 August 2007

==External links==
*{{Official website|http://www.richardandjudy.co.uk/}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Richard And Judy}}
[[Category:British television talk show hosts]]
[[Category:Married couples]]