Thames Valley Tonight
Encyclopedia
Thames Valley Tonight was a regional news programme broadcast to part of the ITV
Network in the Thames Valley
area of southern England
. The Thames Valley
news region was launched on Monday 4 December 2006 and ceased to exist on 8 February 2009.
Like all regional news programmes on ITV1 in England and Wales and Channel Television
, it used the generic ITV font and idents.
and Central South
's regional news services, and broadcast to the Meridian West sub-region from the Hannington transmitter, and the Central South sub-region from the Oxford transmitter
. The Thames Valley operation covered Berkshire, Buckinghamshire (west including Aylesbury), Hampshire (north of and including Winchester), Oxfordshire, Surrey (west and including Camberley) and Wiltshire (east and including Swindon). In all the population of the patch was around 3 million people.
The main presenters were Wesley Smith and Mary Green
(with Hannah Shellswell co-presenting with Wesley on Fridays). Chris Maughan, Victoria Bennett and David Reilly presented the Sports News, either in the studio or from the newsroom. While the newsgathering arm of the operation was based at the old Central South location at Abingdon in Oxfordshire, the presentation studio (formerly used for Meridian West) was based at Meridian's headquarters in Whiteley, Hampshire. Bureaux offices were located at Swindon, Reading and Westminster. The view projected on to the screen behind the newsreaders was of the Oracle Shopping Centre in Reading, chosen presumably as the town lay in the heart of the new region - previously it sat in an overlap of the now replaced Central South and Meridian West sub-regions - therefore avoiding accusations of favouritism towards one side or the other.
In just over two years on air, Thames Valley Tonight won a number of awards, including the RTS Southern Centre 'Programme of the Year' Award in 2007 for coverage of the summer floods and the 2008 EDF News Programme of the Year Award for its coverage of the opening of Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport.
boss Michael Grade
wanted to cut down its number of regional newsrooms from seventeen to nine by merging some services, which could save between £35m and £40m per year. This would involve combining the Meridian and Thames Valley regions. In the Thames Valley, the merger would signal the end of Thames Valley Tonight/Thames Valley Today and would be replaced by a pan-regional edition of Meridian Tonight
. The current Thames Valley region would be merged with the Meridian South sub-region for opt-outs within the main weekday programme, a late night bulletin and localised weather forecasts.
Robin Britton, previously Head of News for ITV Thames Valley and Regional Editor for Meridian West, was subsequently appointed Head of News for the new operation.
The final main edition of Thames Valley Tonight was broadcast on Friday 6 February 2009. The last Thames Valley news bulletin was broadcast at 1810 on Sunday 8 February 2009.
Robin Britton
Producer
Kim Hewitt
Output Producers
Caroline Asker
Caroline Ferguson
Natalie Kenny
Emma Pyne
Assistant Producer
Janet Hayman
News Editor
Jim Stevens
Features Producer
Alan Hayman
Forward Planning Editor
Kate Taylor
Studio Directors
Keith Peries
James Tee
Technical Co-ordinator
Steve Atkey
Graphic Designer
Amanda Hall
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
Network in the Thames Valley
Thames Valley
The Thames Valley Region is a loose term for the English counties and towns roughly following the course of the River Thames as it flows from Oxfordshire in the west to London in the east. It includes parts of Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, North Hampshire, Surrey and west London...
area of southern England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The Thames Valley
ITV Thames Valley
ITV Thames Valley was a non-franchise ITV news region covering the Thames Valley area of the United Kingdom from 4 December 2006 until 8 February 2009. It served the south/south-eastern area of the legal Central franchise and the north/north-western area of the legal Meridian franchise...
news region was launched on Monday 4 December 2006 and ceased to exist on 8 February 2009.
Like all regional news programmes on ITV1 in England and Wales and Channel Television
Channel Television
Channel Television is a British television station which has served as an Independent Television contractor to the Channel Islands since 1962. It is based in Jersey...
, it used the generic ITV font and idents.
History
The region was created by a merger between Meridian WestMeridian Tonight
Meridian Tonight is a regional television news and current affairs programme, produced by ITV Meridian , serving the South and South East of England , and usually broadcast at 6pm and 10.30pm every weeknight. Other bulletins are branded as Meridian News...
and Central South
Central Tonight
Central Tonight is a regional television news and current affairs programme, produced by ITV Central, serving the English Midlands.-History:...
's regional news services, and broadcast to the Meridian West sub-region from the Hannington transmitter, and the Central South sub-region from the Oxford transmitter
Oxford transmitting station
The Oxford transmitting station is a broadcasting and telecommunications facility, situated on land above Ordnance Datum to the north east of the city of Oxford, in Oxfordshire, England . It has a guyed steel lattice mast which is in height to the top of the main steel structure...
. The Thames Valley operation covered Berkshire, Buckinghamshire (west including Aylesbury), Hampshire (north of and including Winchester), Oxfordshire, Surrey (west and including Camberley) and Wiltshire (east and including Swindon). In all the population of the patch was around 3 million people.
The main presenters were Wesley Smith and Mary Green
Mary Green
Mary Green is a British radio and television presenter. She currently hosts the Sunday Breakfast Show on BBC Radio Berkshire from 7-9am.Previously, she presented Thames Valley Tonight on ITV Thames Valley, covering the Central South and Meridian West regions, until 6th February 2009...
(with Hannah Shellswell co-presenting with Wesley on Fridays). Chris Maughan, Victoria Bennett and David Reilly presented the Sports News, either in the studio or from the newsroom. While the newsgathering arm of the operation was based at the old Central South location at Abingdon in Oxfordshire, the presentation studio (formerly used for Meridian West) was based at Meridian's headquarters in Whiteley, Hampshire. Bureaux offices were located at Swindon, Reading and Westminster. The view projected on to the screen behind the newsreaders was of the Oracle Shopping Centre in Reading, chosen presumably as the town lay in the heart of the new region - previously it sat in an overlap of the now replaced Central South and Meridian West sub-regions - therefore avoiding accusations of favouritism towards one side or the other.
In just over two years on air, Thames Valley Tonight won a number of awards, including the RTS Southern Centre 'Programme of the Year' Award in 2007 for coverage of the summer floods and the 2008 EDF News Programme of the Year Award for its coverage of the opening of Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport.
Merger
On 12 September 2007, it was reported that ITV plcITV plc
ITV plc is a British media company that operates 12 of the 15 regional television broadcasters that make up the ITV Network, the oldest and largest commercial terrestrial television network in the United Kingdom...
boss Michael Grade
Michael Grade
Michael Ian Grade, Baron Grade of Yarmouth CBE is a British broadcast executive and businessman. He was BBC chairman from 2004 to 2006 and executive chairman of ITV plc from 2007 to 2009.-Early life:...
wanted to cut down its number of regional newsrooms from seventeen to nine by merging some services, which could save between £35m and £40m per year. This would involve combining the Meridian and Thames Valley regions. In the Thames Valley, the merger would signal the end of Thames Valley Tonight/Thames Valley Today and would be replaced by a pan-regional edition of Meridian Tonight
Meridian Tonight
Meridian Tonight is a regional television news and current affairs programme, produced by ITV Meridian , serving the South and South East of England , and usually broadcast at 6pm and 10.30pm every weeknight. Other bulletins are branded as Meridian News...
. The current Thames Valley region would be merged with the Meridian South sub-region for opt-outs within the main weekday programme, a late night bulletin and localised weather forecasts.
Robin Britton, previously Head of News for ITV Thames Valley and Regional Editor for Meridian West, was subsequently appointed Head of News for the new operation.
The final main edition of Thames Valley Tonight was broadcast on Friday 6 February 2009. The last Thames Valley news bulletin was broadcast at 1810 on Sunday 8 February 2009.
Production Team
Head of NewsRobin Britton
Producer
Kim Hewitt
Output Producers
Caroline Asker
Caroline Ferguson
Natalie Kenny
Emma Pyne
Assistant Producer
Janet Hayman
News Editor
Jim Stevens
Features Producer
Alan Hayman
Forward Planning Editor
Kate Taylor
Studio Directors
Keith Peries
James Tee
Technical Co-ordinator
Steve Atkey
Graphic Designer
Amanda Hall