Wake Up (TV program)

Wake Up
Genre Breakfast television[1]
Created by Adam Boland[2]
Presented by
Opening theme "Gonna Make It" by Vydamo
Country of origin Australia
Original language(s) English
No. of seasons 1
No. of episodes 147
Production
Executive producer(s) Steve Wood[2]
Location(s)
Running time 120 minutes[3]
Release
Original network Network Ten
Picture format 576i (SDTV)
Audio format Stereo
Original release 4 November 2013 (2013-11-04) – 23 May 2014 (2014-05-23)
Chronology
Preceded by Breakfast (2012)

Wake Up was an Australian breakfast television program produced by Network Ten. The show was hosted by Natarsha Belling and James Mathison. It aired weekday mornings from 6.30am to 8.30am, before Ten's morning talk show Studio 10.[3][4][5] Wake Up, launched on 4 November 2013, was presented from Queenscliff Surf Club at Manly Beach in Sydney, with Nuala Hafner presenting national news updates from a glass studio at Federation Square in Melbourne.[6] Due to poor ratings, the show was cancelled just six months after its debut, with the last episode airing 23 May 2014.[1]

Presenters

Presenter Role Tenure
James Mathison Co-host 2013–2014
Natarsha Belling Co-host 2013–2014
Nuala Hafner News 2013–2014

Reporters and contributors

Presenter Role
Maude Garrett L.A. correspondent
Michele Mahone Entertainment correspondent
Sam Mac Reporter
James Kerley Online reporter
Jo Lamble Psychologist
Monica Attard Foreign affairs analyst
Andrew Rochford Health reporter
Fr. Bob Maguire "The World According to Fr. Bob" segment

Natasha Exelby was originally a co-host alongside Belling and Mathison, but was dropped from the show less than three weeks after its launch due to a lack of chemistry.[7] Creator Adam Boland stated that he saw "genuine spark during show rehearsals" but that it did not translate on air.[8]

Controversy

On 14 May 2014, the morning after the announcement of the 2014 Australian federal budget, Wake Up invited Prime Minister Tony Abbott to take part in an on-air forum involving members of the public. One of the participants, 85-year-old Brisbane pensioner Vilma Ward, began to ambush Abbott live on air, telling him "I've never heard such rubbish in all my life" referring to his plan to raise the pension age. Ward also called Abbott a "comedian". It later emerged that Ward had strong links with the Australian Labor Party dating back to the 1960s and had appeared in an election campaign brochure.[9] Network Ten admitted they were not aware of Ward's links prior to the segment.[10]

Reception

Following its first show, Wake Up was considered in some quarters as a vast improvement over its predecessor, Breakfast. However, its first show averaged only 52,000 viewers nationally.[4] A week after the first episode, the show had lost around half of its audience share, even rating lower than Breakfast (Wake Up's predecessor, which had been cancelled the year before due to low ratings).[11]

References

  1. 1 2 "Channel Ten breakfast show Wake Up bids final farewell to viewers". News.com.au. May 23, 2014. Retrieved January 5, 2016.
  2. 1 2 Willis, Charlotte (January 23, 2014). "Adam Boland's shock resignation from Channel 10 as Executive Producer of Wake Up". News.com.au. Retrieved January 5, 2016.
  3. 1 2 Bodey, Michael (October 16, 2013). "Ten viewers wake up with new format". The Australian. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  4. 1 2 Knox, David (November 5, 2013). "Long haul for Wake Up, Studio 10 as first ratings emphasise uphill battle". TV Tonight. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  5. ↑ Harris, Amy (May 17, 2014). "Channel Ten set to finally scrap ratings disaster Wake Up. Will TV queen Kerri-Anne Kennerley be returning to our screens?". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  6. ↑ Knox, David (July 18, 2013). "TEN to Wake Up with "Tash, Tarsh & Matho"". TV Tonight. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  7. ↑ Levy, Megan; Heffernan, Madeleine (November 20, 2013). "Natasha Exelby leaves Ten breakfast show Wake Up". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  8. ↑ "Natasha Exelby dumped from Wake Up". mUmBRELLA. November 20, 2013. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  9. ↑ Killoran, Matthew (May 15, 2014). "Pensioner who attacked Tony Abbott on Wake Up program over Budget has a Labor past". The Courier Mail. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  10. ↑ Knox, David (May 15, 2014). "TEN admits Wake Up "should have known" about Vilma's Labor links". TV Tonight. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  11. ↑ Kruger, Colin (November 14, 2013). "Ten cost cutting looks like a silver lining". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
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