BBC Morning Live Announces Temporary Hiatus as Presenters Bid Farewell
BBC Morning Live hosts Holly Hamilton and Greg Rutherford delivered bittersweet news to viewers at the start of Friday's programme, announcing that the show is taking a break for several weeks. The popular morning programme will be temporarily replaced by repeated episodes of Animal Park beginning next Monday, coinciding with the upcoming Easter holidays.
Presenters' Emotional Announcement
During the broadcast from their Manchester studio, Holly Hamilton informed viewers: "We are with you all the way until 10:45 on BBC One and iPlayer, and it is our last show for a couple of weeks!" Co-host Greg Rutherford added humorously: "It is indeed, and joining us in the incredible Manchester st, stadium I was about to say! Studio. To be fair, as the last show we probably should have it in a stadium, we could get enough people in."
Schedule Changes During Hiatus
While the exact return date for Morning Live remains unconfirmed, BBC has announced interim programming that will fill the show's regular time slot. From next week, viewers can expect:
- Farm 999 airing weekdays at 9:15am
- Crimewatch Caught following at 9:45am
- Homes Under the Hammer at 10:15am
Screen Time Discussion During Final Episode
In their final episode before the break, the presenters addressed timely issues including the government's new guidance on children's screen time. With millions of children preparing for Easter holidays, the discussion focused on recommendations that children under five should have no more than one hour of screen time daily.
BBC Radio personality OJ Borg shared his perspective: "I think when it comes to screen time, sometimes you feel quite judged because my youngest is seven and she definitely has more than an hour of screen time. I think it depends on what's on the screen, that's the thing here. I think it's an hour of things that isn't too wholesome, it's YouTube and things like that, probably not the best. An hour of great things like iPlayer and kids TV is absolutely fine for me."
Dr. Punam, who also has young children, emphasized the importance of balance: "I think we need to be realistic parents. There are times and places where my kids do use the screen. My five-year-old loves it for little resource tools and games and number blocks; she learns so much from it. I think it's about having that balance, I'm in favour of this. Yes, we should limit and moderate it, but I think it's a good intervention."
Morning Live remains available for streaming on BBC iPlayer, though new episodes will pause temporarily during this scheduled break. The programme's return date will be announced by the BBC in due course.
