Someone might mention ITV’s news and feature programme This Morning and make you immediately think of stay-at-home parents, retired and part-time workers and pass it off as a bit of light morning viewing with a cup of Douwe Egberts. I couldn’t agree any less. In fact, as a student (albeit with more free time than a full-time worker) I make sure I get up and watch This Morning whenever I get the chance to, because quite frankly, I get just as much from the programme as my weekly nine am lectures. No, seriously.
Firstly, This Morning features some of the most controversial debates in the UK, touching on themes of politics, mental health, social care and finance. Yesterday morning (9.06.15) I caught the start of the first debate where the programme received calls from young-adult carers arguing whether they had enough support from the nation, with one caller feeling very distressed at the lack of care that she had received. Last week, the programme interviewed a lady who had miscarried every time she had fallen pregnant and for half an hour they touched on how miscarriages can effect both women and men mentally and the recognition from the National Health Service. Through the use of social media, the programme asked viewers who had miscarried to answer a poll which asked whether they felt there was enough support available to them and unsurprisingly, the answer was ‘No.’
Dr Chris Steele regularly answers health queries
As well as these issues This Morning often discusses the topic of mental health, in terms of how it is viewed, whether it has the recognition it should have and how it affects our nation on a daily basis. The programme’s Doctor Chris Steele and agony aunt Denise Robertson often answer questions for a variety of issues surrounding mental health, including depression, eating disorders, and stress and anxiety .This is just a small example of the topics that they discuss on the programme.
Secondly, as well as the debates surrounding our health services the programme covers financial queries through the use of the infamous financial advisor, Martin Lewis, who scours comparison websites and spreadsheets with the hope to save us a few pennies and as a result he has been crowned the money king. Martin Lewis has tricks to save on car insurance, mortgages, and paying off student loans. He researches the best bank accounts to invest in, which ones have the highest interest rates and the best customer service and gives advice on how to make the most of our monthly pay checks. As students, some of his money saving tips are definitely worth tuning into, if not now, but for post-graduation.
Amanda Holden takes Holly Willoughby’s place on the sofa as Holly is on maternity leave
As well as the more serious topics the programme also features cookery, both basic and advanced, with a variety of delicious cuisines. For fashionistas alike, Gok Wan often takes part in the fashion feature advising viewers on how to dress for their ‘shape’ with the new season’s picks and discusses how to make the most of the way we dress and to feel confident with it touching on the theme of body image. It also includes features advertising the new gadgets on the market, the best tv drama series to watch and celebrity gossip because you’ve got to have a bit of fun too. Throw in some likeable presenters (Not always Philip Schofield and Holly Willoughby, this week it’s Philip and Amanda Holden) and you have a great programme. And to add, the presenters are always the catalyst, genuinely caring about the issues on the programme and are not afraid to get their hands dirty. Switch over to ITV tomorrow morning from 10:30 and I guarantee that you will feel enlightened at some of the topics that are discussed and maybe even want to get involved.
There’s a reason it continues to win the National Television Award for best Daytime programme and I am certain that this is due to the programme being far more than one just following The Jeremy Kyle Show. Now that’s an entirely different debate…
This Morning is on ITV every week-day morning from 10:30am to 12:30 am. For more details have a browse on their website here.
