PROFILE: RICHARD MADELEY

In their 18 years with This Morning, the pair bickered their way through discussions on eclectic subjects such as cosmetic surgery, dysfunctional families and lamb casseroles. The programme also featured the first transsexual makeover and the first on-air trial of Viagra, which prompted the Daily Mail to fulminate: "Is this the tawdriest hour of British TV ever?"

But in 2001, it all started to go wrong. A series of rows with the then head of daytime television Maureen Duffy left them with the sense they were being edged out. They made their discontent known where it mattered and soon they were poached by Channel 4 in a multi-million-pound deal.