Judi Love is back grilling guests “On The Bed” as The Big Breakfast bursts back on to our screens in a series of summer episodes.
Building on the successful one-off return in 2021 as part of the Black to Front experiment, Channel Four’s morning entertainment show The Big Breakfast is back on Saturday 13 August with first raucous live summer episodes. Award-winning duo Mo Gilligan and AJ Odudu are once again hosting the series.
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In addition to Judi Love getting the gossip from guests in her On The Bed Interview segment, Melvin Odoom and Harriet Rose will be out and about on the streets of the UK playing games with members of the public and Big Breakfast newsreader Phil Gayle returns to deliver the morning’s headlines.
Loose Women presenter, Judi Love is a familiar and popular personality on British TV, and her straight-talking, friendly manner is perfect for putting her celebrity interviewees at ease.
In the following interview, Judi shared her excitement about being involved in the new series of The Big Breakfast.
Image credit: Shutterstock/Channel4
How excited are you for the return of The Big Breakfast?
It’s an iconic show and its return with AJ and Mo hosting was brilliant – it was a pleasure to be a part of the team. You watch it on TV and enjoy it, but to be there live was like watching fireworks. It was so entertaining and so much fun.
What did you make of the reaction to the one-off special?
It was nice that it came back after 20 years and people appreciated it. The reaction reminds you the vision the team had for the show worked and that they knew what they were doing.
It was great to be a part of the show’s return. You look back and think, “I used to watch this” and then you have that iconic moment on the actual bed.
Loads of people told me how happy they were to see it back – the Loose Women gang and people I speak to in the industry – but the most important thing is that lots of people watched it. That was brilliant.
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What were some of the comments?
The main comment was that they hoped it came back! They were so excited to have it back again.
How did you find the early start?
I was good with it – early start, early finish!
Are you a morning person?
Whatever time the clock starts for work, I’m that type of person. When you’re doing something you absolutely love, that’s what inspires me to get going. In the mornings, you do your work and then, before you know it, you’ve got the rest of the day!
You’re used to making live TV, but did you feel an extra element of pressure with The Big Breakfast because there was such an expectation for its return?
I didn’t necessarily feel pressure, just passion to perform to the best of your abilities. The fact that everyone I was working with felt the same enhanced the experience. That was very humbling for me.
To be on the iconic bed, as the interviewer, was a surreal moment. I thought, “Oh my God, this is really happening.” To be asked back again is brilliant.
Do you enjoy the possibility anything can happen on live TV, or does that make you nervous?
It’s exciting because you’re live in the moment and you can’t do anything else apart from just go with it. I just sit there and enjoy the ride. I’ve realised that the best thing is not to panic.
Who would be your dream interviewee on your bed?
Stormzy. Anthony Joshua. Daniel Kaluuya. I’ll tell you who I’d love to have, as well – Louis Theroux.
Stormzy and I might have a little fun, and I’ve met him a few times. Louis Theroux is a complex and interesting character, and he’s normally the one doing the interviews.
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What did it mean to you to be part of the Black to Front initiative in the revival of this iconic show?
It’s history making, isn’t it? It’s history making, which is a beautiful thing.
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How do you feel the TV industry is doing in terms of representation and diversity of representation?
If we’re still at the stage where you have to ask, “How do you think we’re doing?”, then we’ve still got a long way to go. It’s a hard conversation, but that’s the truth, isn’t it? Consider the circumstances around it – the world had to say, “Black Lives Matter.”
I hope generations ahead of us will feel inspired and that something has been done to make way for others. That’s what’s important.
Why do you think The Big Breakfast has such a special place in viewers’ hearts?
It’s nostalgic, people appreciate the chaotic energy, and it’s a lot of fun. And it’s a pick-me-up! You want that energy in the morning, and you want the day to carry on how it started.
