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ITV News Central

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ITV News Central
Central Tonight opening sequence
Presented bySameena Ali-Khan
Matt Teale
Bob Warman
Country of originEngland, UK
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producersLiz Hannam
(Head of News)
Production locationsGas Street Studios, Birmingham, England, UK
Camera setupMulti-camera
Running time30 minutes
(main 6pm show)
Production companyITV Central
Original release
NetworkITV1 Central
ReleaseJanuary 1, 1982 (1982-01-01) –
present
Related
ITV News,
BBC Midlands Today,
BBC East Midlands Today

Central Tonight is a regional television news and current affairs programme, produced by ITV Central, serving the English Midlands.

History

Originally, the main weekday evening programme did not have a different title from other bulletins (unlike most other ITV regions, e.g., HTV News/Wales at 6). This finally changed in the late 1990s, when the title Central News at Six was adopted – coinciding with being rescheduled from 18:25 to 18:00. By Monday 24 July 2006, the 18:00 programme had been renamed again, to Central Tonight (except for the South Midlands edition, which retained the Central News at Six name until its final 6pm programme on 1 December 2006).

Overview

January 1982 – December 2006

Launched on 1 January 1982, replacing ATV Today, Central News was initially a pan-regional service based in Birmingham airing a 6pm programme on weeknights alongside shorter weekday bulletins after ITN's News at One and News at Ten. During the rest of the decade, the region was eventually broken up into three sub-regions, which would receive their own news service:

By December 2006, Central News bulletins during GMTV had become pan-regional across all three sub-regions. Weekend bulletins became pan-regional across the West and East Midlands earlier in the year, whilst the South Midlands retained its own weekend bulletins right up until the end of Central News South on 3 December 2006.

December 2006 – February 2009

On 4 December 2006, the South Midlands sub-region was disbanded, as follows:

Central News bulletins during GMTV were now pan-regional across the West Midlands and East Midlands only. Meanwhile, in what had now become the ITV Thames Valley region, bulletins during GMTV were pan-regional across the entire combined ITV Meridian and ITV Thames Valley regions (i.e., the entire South and South East of England), and branded as GMTV News. While weekend Meridian News bulletins were pan-regional in the South and South East sub-regions, Thames Valley Today/Tonight continued to produce its own weekend bulletins.

The Central headquarters in Gas Street, Birmingham

February 2009 – present

As of the 23 February 2009, lunchtime and early evening bulletins in the West and East Midlands on weekdays became pan-regional. The final sub-regional 6pm editions of Central Tonight were broadcast on Friday 20 February 2009. The remaining sub-regional elements are:

  • A six minute opt-out during the main 6pm programme
  • Localised weather forecast during the 6pm programme
  • The full late weeknight bulletins

Both sub-regional editions utilise the same presenter(s) and studio, therefore one of the two opt-outs (depending on the days news) is pre-recorded 'as live' shortly before broadcast.

East presenter Sameena Ali-Khan and West presenter Bob Warman present the current revision of Central Tonight.[3] From February 2012 former sports correspondent Matt Teale shares duties with Warman.

Broadcast times

Central News airs on ITV Central seven days a week. On weekdays, Central provides three pan-regional news bulletins during Daybreak. The lunchtime edition of the programme begins at 13:55, following on from the ITV News at 1:30, giving a six minute round-up of the days developments.

The main evening edition of Central Tonight begins at 18:00 each weeknight and ends at 18:30, immediately preceding the networked ITV News at 6:30. The late news update from the Central sub-regions follows the ITV News at Ten, airing between 22:30 and 22:35 every weeknight.

A pan-regional bulletin is aired in the early evening on Saturdays and Sundays. This bulletin is presented by one reporter/correspondent on a rotating basis.

Current on air team

Presenters

Person Title(s) Related note(s)
Sameena Ali-Khan Central Tonight main presenter Lunchtime/late bulletin newsreader (alternating)
Matt Teale Central Tonight main presenter (alternating)
Bob Warman
Kate Fisher Daybreak updates newsreader Stand-in presenter/newsreader
Jo Blythe ITV Weather presenter Based at ITV Granada
Emma Jesson Freelance contract
Lucy Kite Stand-in presenter/newsreader
John Willats News Correspondent and newsreader

Correspondents

Person Title(s) Related note(s)
Phil Brewster News Correspondent
Vanessa Clements
Lee Comley Newsreader
Victoria Davies Newsreader
Charlotte Grant
Nimesh Joshi
Gareth Owen Stand-in presenter/newsreader
Rajiv Popat Newsreader
Balvinder Sidhu On attachment from The West Country Tonight
Wesley Smith Freelance contract
Rachel Ward
Keith Wilkinson Newsreader
Sascha Williams Freelance contract
Kelly Wright
Peter Bearne Education Correspondent
Andy Bevan Business Correspondent Newsreader
Steve Clamp Sport Correspondent Stand-in presenter/newsreader; freelance contract
Mark Gough Consumer Correspondent Newsreader
Jane Hesketh Health Correspondent
Alison MacKenzie Political Correspondent

Notable former staff

East

West

South

Weather presenters

References

External links