2 Lochkeepers Cottages, Old Ford Lock, London E3 2NN!If that address means nothing to you, you obviously didn't watch 90s television in the UK, where The Big Breakfast ran on Channel 4 for 10 years...
1992-94 - Morning Magic
Chris Evans and Gaby Roslin were the first hosts of this weekday morning show, which was launched in 1992 as a light-entertainment alternative for morning audiences fed up with ITV's GMTV. Essentially, The Big Breakfast was a kid's Saturday morning show for the whole family, with a "zoo-style" of cheeky humour, vivid colours, crazy games and a fun attitude.
The Big Breakfast became a huge hit with kids and many adults, while Evans himself became a massive star and cult figure by association. In fact, soon after Evans began presenting late-night entertainment series Don't Forget Your Toothbrush, he left Big Breakfast in 1994 to pursue other projects…
1994-96 - Gaby With...
Evans' departure led to a lull in popularity, as a succession of his replacements just didn't have the same chemistry with Gaby Roslin; from ex-Neighbours actor Mark Little, to Paul Ross and hyped newcomer Richard Orford. In 1996, Roslin also left, to be replaced by sexy children's TV star Zoë Ball.
1996-97 - Replacements & RelaunchWith both its original presenters now gone, ratings slipped even more. Keith Chegwin, a cult icon who had been the show's "roving reporter" since 1995, was promoted to main presenter alongside Zoë, in an attempt to recreate the manic energy of Evans' day.
Obviously, the bizarre Ball-Cheggers combo failed to spark any resurgence in the show's dwindling ratings, so the Big Breakfast underwent a £2 million revamp…
The show re-launched in 1996 with former Nickelodeon presenter Rick Adams and former Olympic swimmer Sharron Davies -- both hyped as worthy replacements for Evans and Roslin. But Davies' amateurishness and Adams' forced-zaniness, together with stylistic changes to the Big Breakfast house itself, led to a disastrous plummet in ratings. Even die-hard fans consider the Adams-Davies years irredeemably bad.
1997-99 - The Second Golden Age
In a panic, bosses promoted helicopter weather girl Denise Van Outen to co-present with Johnny Vaughan, the little-known presenter of Channel 4's Movie Watch.) The Outen-Vaughan partnership was an immediate hit with viewers, with the pair's cheeky chemistry and naughty banter proving a big draw. Channel 4 capitalized on this unsuspected success by trailing "what's going on with Denise and Johnny?" promos. It all helped what became known as the "Second Golden Age of The Big Breakfast".
The Johnny and Denise era brought in greater emphasis on the crew, bestowing nicknames like Carpet Monster and Study Girl that gave the show an added sense of friendly familiarity.Johnny and Denise also enjoyed dressing up as characters to present games and brought back old favourites like More Tea, Vicar? Johnny was particularly adept at creating running jokes and features; from the delights of viewers striking bulldog poses, to a joyous love of middle-aged women in tabards!
1999-2000 - Johnny's GirlsSadly, Denise decided to leave the show just one year later in 1997, leaving Johnny to co-present with a succession of women. In 1999, Kelly Brook, a then-unknown underwear model, was heralded as the sexy, natural replacement to Denise -- but her lack of presenting experience led to wooden performances and bad reviews from the tabloids, who delighted in rumours Brook used idiot boards spelled phonetically.
Ratings took a sizable drop, and Brook was unceremoniously sacked while she was on holiday -- only learning of her dismissal in a tabloid when she got back home! Actress Liza Tarbuck was brought in as Brook's replacement, on Johnny's insistence. Liza and Johnny had been friends for a long time, and their obvious affection was a welcome change from the tension with novice Kelly, but Liza was not so popular with viewers. She decided to leave after just 18 months.
2000-02 - Johnny & Denise Reunited
Now in 2000, things were getting desperate! Fortunately for the show, Denise Van Outen's post-BB career had not been the wild success she'd expected it would be, so she was persuaded to return to the show in 2000. With the Johnny-Denise partnership back in force, ratings began to climb...
2001-02 - IndigestionHowever, just a year after their much-trumpeted reunion, both Johnny and Denise decided to quit the show together. In 2001, their departure signaled the "spiritual death" of The Big Breakfast in most peoples' eyes. Bosses were unable to find a decent duo to replace them -- despite trying various combinations of Irish presenter Amanda Byram, shamed Blue Peter presenter Richard Bacon, stand-up comedian Paul Tonkinson, ladette Donna Air, cheeky Mike Mclean and ditsy Lisa Rogers.
After a year spent shuffling presenters around and later conceding defeat and adapting the show into a "multi-presenter" format, ratings were still down and the show was regularly being beaten by GMTV and BBC Breakfast News. Finally, Channel 4 decided enough was enough, and it was time to call it a day…
On 29 March 2002, The Big Breakfast transmitted its last ever show, culminating in a 20-minute retrospective with classic clips and interviews with past presenters... and the last Big Breakfast was served up...
Where Are They Now?
Chris Evans went on to become a very successful presenter of 90s shows Don’t Forget Your Toothbrush and TFI Friday, before focusing on radio for Radio 1 and Virgin Radio. Evans became a multi-millionaire and married Billie Piper in 2001, although they separated and eventually divorced in 2004...Evans' standing declined in the 00s following his "marital wilderness years", and comeback TV show OFI Sunday proved a ratings disaster on late-night ITV1. He now fronts the popular weekday drive-time show on BBC Radio 2.
Gaby Roslin went on to co-present Children In Need with Terry Wogan ever year, although she was axed in 2004. Her attempt at primetime success failed with Whatever You Want (a modern spin on Jim'll Fix It) and she teamed-up with Terry Wogan for Five's morning show The Terry And Gaby Show, which only lasted a year.She joined forces yet again with Terry on Eurovision: Making Your Mind Up, but was replaced after just one year. Lately, Gaby has moved into musical theatre, performing in When Harry Met Sally and Chicago. Her last primetime appearance was in 2005, as a singing contestant on BBC1's Just The Two Of Us.
Johnny Vaughan left the Big Breakfast amidst big expectations from industry insiders and was lured to present a late-night chat show for a BBC digital channel. It wasn't a hit, so Vaughan co-wrote and starred in sitcom 'Orrible -- where the title became every critics review.An attempt to milk his famous chemistry with Denise Van Outen, on light-entertainment show Passport To Paradise, was also a flop. Johnny, reeling from a run of TV disasters, retreated to Radio Five Live to host a comedy-sports show, before replacing Chris Tarrant on the popular Capital FM breakfast show.
He also tried his luck in the US market, with doomed reality show My Kind Of Town. These days, beyond his London radio gig and hosting hoax reality show Space Cadets, Johnny mostly appears on comedy panel shows like Best Of The Worst, QI and TV Heaven, Telly Hell.
Denise Van Outen starred in some low-budget films like Tube Tales, before moving into musical theatre, playing Roxie Hart in Chicago on the West End. She also earned rave reviews when the show toured in Broadway! Back in the UK, Denise co-presented Passport To Paradise with Johnny Vaughan, although the show was a ratings dud.She moved back into theatre for Tell Me On A Sunday in 2003, before a short stint on ITV drama Where The Heart is. In 2005, she co-presented This Morning with Big Breakfast veteran Richard Bacon, and in 2006 she hosted reality show The Race for Sky One -- although it wasn't a hit.
Since 2007, Denise has been a judge on a reality show to find actors for West End musicals on the BBC, alongside Andrew Lloyd Webber. She subsequently achieved some US success by presenting Grease – You're The One That I Want for NBC. She is now starring in the London revival of RENT and was the face of a Morrisons supermarket ad campaign.
The Big Breakfast House had a "significant portion" destroyed by a fire, just 8 months after the show finished, with the police suspecting arsonist. The house was extensively restored and is now used as a family home, with a high perimeter fence. It retains some features from it Big Breakfast studio days, such as the sun-burst wall, red brick paint effect and white picket fence.
Interestingly, the house is 200 metres away from the planned Olympic Stadium for the London 2012 games, giving rise to suspicion that the homeowners could be bought out and the building demolished -- although outlined building plans do not indicate this.
Will BB Be Back?
Since The Big Breakfast vanished from our screens in 2002, it was immediately replaced by RI:SE – a disaster in the ratings that made even BB's darkest days seem radiant by comparison!
At the moment, Channel 4 doesn't have a morning TV show to compete against GMTV, although there were signs of resurgence when Dermot O'Leary (a one-time BB guest presenter) hosted Morning Glory a few years ago.
It now seems likely that a show called Freshly Squeezed (based on E4's Music Zone) will slip into the gap left by The Big Breakfast 5 years ago, presented by Rick Edwards, Sarah Hendy and George Lamb!
However, there's a strong rumour from an alleged former employee of Planet 24 (The Big Breakfast's production company) that Five are planning to revive the show! The rumour suggests that Five are about to revamp their schedule and want to resurrect The Big Breakfast as part of that plan....
If true, an announcement is likely later this year, or in early-2008…
Links
A Big Breakfast Fansite
The Big Breakfast House - recent photos
Your Final Vaughaning - clips of Johnny Vaughn's best moments
Blooper Reel
The First Show: Part 1 of 12
The Last Show's Final 15 minutes
Johnny & Denise's Farewell Kiss - the spiritual end of the show?
The Big Breakfast Opening Titles
Stop The Mop game
Court With Your Pants Down game
