Created by OK! Magazine
Channel 5 Original language(s) English No. of episodes 208 (list of episodes) | Country of origin United Kingdom No. of series 1 | |
Presented by Matt Johnson & Kate Walsh
(February–August 2011)
Jeff Brazier & Jenny Frost (August–December 2011) | ||
OK! TV was an early evening magazine programme, broadcast on Channel 5 as a brand extension of celebrity title OK! Magazine. It replaced the former magazine and discussion show Live from Studio Five on 14 February 2011, and was presented by Kate Walsh and Matt Johnson, both of whom later left the programme. Jeff Brazier and Jenny Frost replaced Walsh and Johnson in August 2011 and presented the show until its cancellation. The show was made by the 5 News team and produced by Sky News for Channel 5. On 8 November 2011, it was announced that the show has been cancelled by Channel 5. The show aired its final edition on 16 December after ten months on air due to the contract for 5 News returning to ITN.
Contents
Previous series
The show's first series was broadcast in 1999 on ITV.
In 1999, Carlton Television poached the executive producer of This Morning to set up a celebrity department. The first production was OK! TV, a tie-in with the celebrity lifestyle magazine, which ran on Friday nights for six weeks from November to December 1999.
Fiona Phillips hosted with Nigel Havers, Twiggy, Patsy Palmer and Tracie Bennett. Guests included Sharon Stone, Paula Yates and Tom Jones.
Overview
OK! TV aired on weekdays from 18:25 to 19.00, and featured a mix of news, celebrity gossip, interviews, and chat. It replaced Live from Studio Five which was axed on 4 February 2011. Denise van Outen and Matt Johnson were announced as presenters of the programme on 3 February 2011. However, the following week, van Outen pulled out of presenting the show and was replaced by former Live from Studio Five host Kate Walsh.
On 5 April 2011, Walsh and Johnson announced that the launch of OK! TV Sunday from 10 April 2011, showing highlights of the previous week's episodes. The format was cancelled after a few weeks on air.
OK! TV: When 'Bruv Takes Over
On Wednesday 17 August 2011, Brazier and Frost presented a spin-off show devoted to Big Brother 12 and Celebrity Big Brother 8. It made its debut on the eve of the launch of CBB8. The format mixed showbiz news with reports on the previous day's events in the house along with some exclusive episode previews.
Opening titles and set
The opening titles use the same logo as OK magazine and feature various celebrities including Cheryl Cole and Kate Moss. The original set included a blue sofa where guests were interviewed and with a large OK! logo. For the duration of Big Brother 2011, the studio was moved to Elstree Studios.
Debut show
The debut show on 14 February 2011 contained an interview in the studio with Louis Walsh with Jenson Button acting as celebrity reporter.
Reception and ratings
Stuart Heritage of The Guardian was unimpressed with the programme's first edition. He dubbed it, "a remedial level One Show" and "colossally vapid". The ratings for the debut show showed an improvement on Live from Studio Five's low audience figures gaining 449,000 viewers (2.1%).
Cancellation
In November 2011, it was announced that OKTV was to be axed from Channel 5's schedules as part of negotiations for ITN to take over as news producer for the channel in early 2012. It aired its final edition on 16 December 2011. This final edition contained a montage of clips from Brazier and Frost's time presenting the show but did not feature any material from Walsh and Johnson's interviews. The last live act to appear on the show was The Wombles who closed the very last edition of the show.