Adrian Chiles admits he was wrong over Daybreak

Adrian Chiles had admitted he was “totally wrong” in assuming his ITV breakfast show Daybreak would be a runaway success.

“I’d been saying to Christine for two or three years we should do a breakfast show together, the time is right to do a breakfast show. I was absolutely sure. And I was completely wrong.” – Adrian Chiles in The Guardian

In an interview with The Guardian the presenter admitted he was too optimistic over the success he expected for Daybreak and wouldn’t make the same mistake again. Daybreak launched in September with much fanfare by ITV but was widely slammed by critics and viewers alike. While it launched with nearly 1 million viewers ratings quickly sank for the production until less than half its launch audience were watching.

The presenter also revealed to the newspaper that both he and Christine Bleakley – who left primetime BBC One’s The One Show to move to ITV – believed the first edition of Daybreak had gone well – until they saw the reviews and viewer comments and realised it hadn’t been a hit with the audience.

“We woke up in the morning and found out that, far from being OK, it was actually one of the biggest crocks of s***e anyone had seen in years.” – Adrian Chiles in The Guardian

However, while some have been quick to stick the knife into Daybreak others have come to its aid. Anne Diamond and Lorraine Kelly both defended the breakfast programme and also its presenters stating its problems were not the fault of either Bleakley or Chiles. In recent weeks Daybreak has seen a reverse in its ratings decline with figures improving slowly.