Channel 4 puts its faith in the Church
By Steve Busfield / Television 12:40pm
Move over Davina, there's a new (Crazy) Chick in town. Congratulations to Channel 4 for choosing Charlotte Church as its new chat show host(ess). There were significant murmurings of support when the BBC gave a female TV presenter a prime time chat show slot. The problem was that Davina McCall and she was found to be substantially lacking the skills for such an opportunity (memo to TV bosses: anyone could do interviews on Big Brother evictions).
Now Ms Church is to be given the chance to rival Parkinson, Ross, Wogan (new and old on UKTV Gold), and all the men over the years who have been given a couple of comfy chairs and a peak time slot.
Now Charlotte is a potential loose cannon - witness the Media Monkey on Monday and the many, many stories of her drunken escapades with her rugby-playing, leg-shaving boyfriend Gavin Henson. But it will be nice to hear a Welsh accent on television and she has an interesting fan base. And she certainly has plenty to say for herself. Whether some of those celebs she has dissed - Posh Spice and Cheryl Tweedy being particular targets - will want to go on the show is questionable. But if they did appear it would make great telly.
The pilot for the show certainly seemed to feature some interesting elements - The Voice of An Angel playing a pill-popping nun. Whether she will be a good interviewer remains to be seen. But she was an interviewee on Davina's first show and she couldn't possibly do any worse.
Meanwhile ITV is bringing back Vanessa Feltz with a new daytime chat show made by Endemol subsidiary Brighter Pictures.
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I think she'll be good - she presented an episode of Have I Got News For You around 2 years ago and did really well.
