ITV sets out Spring schedule to inform and entertain viewers

ITV sets out Spring schedule to inform and entertain viewers

Over the weeks ahead across its family of channels ITV will offer the latest insight and guidance as we move through this unprecedented crisis, reflect the ways we are rapidly adapting our lifestyles and bring bags of drama and entertainment to lift viewers' spirits.

ITV's Spring schedule is bursting with new programming and returning favourites that will bring together audiences, keep people informed and engaged with developments and offer them some escape from the impacts of the crisis. ITV's schedule is built around several strong pillars:

Daytime Live - offering six and a half hours of live news and discussion programmes from GMB through to This Morning. All shows have seen an increase in viewing volumes and share of viewing as they report on the crisis and help people manage through it. Both Dr Hilary and Martin Lewis have established themselves as the leading TV experts providing advice and guidance during these uncertain times.

Afternoon - ITV's popular quiz and game shows entertaining millions every day and culminating in the ever popular Chase.

National and regional news - our trusted news teams are showing great innovation and professionalism to bring viewers the latest and best reporting with newly commissioned current affairs programmes on life during the crisis.

Saturday night entertainment - ITV's trademark uplifting shiny floor shows with brand new episodes each week throughout the Spring from the record breaking Saturday Night Takeaway [ITV Studios and Mitre Television production] to the returning Britain's Got Talent [Fremantle].

Drama - an impressive slate from Julian Fellowes' Belgravia [Carnival Films] to the eagerly anticipated Quiz [Left Bank Pictures] starring Michael Sheen as Chris Tarrant with Matthew Macfadyen as the so-called coughing Major' and Sian Clifford as his wife Diana in the scandal which rocked Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.

Soaps - the two biggest Soaps on TV, Coronation Street and Emmerdale [ITV Studios], will continue to run through the Spring and into the early Summer.

Factual Entertainment - offering adventure, humour and emotion with new Harry's Heroes: Euro Having a Laugh [Talkback] and Gordon Gino & Fred: Road Trip [Studio Ramsay].

CITV - with brand new shows for children including Lego Hiddenside and Mighty Mike during the week and Scrambled! on weekend mornings.

Sport - we've even found a way to bring you some live sport with the Virtual Grand National [Carm Productions] using CGI and sophisticated algorithms to stage the race.

Britain Get Talking - ITV's landmark mental wellness campaign, Britain Get Talking, returned last Saturday and continues to be supported on air with messages of support and love from viewers and famous faces including Ant and Dec, Davina McCall, Susanna Reid, Lorraine Kelly and Gordon Ramsay.

Kevin Lygo, ITV Director of Television, said:

ITV's aims are to serve up as much information, guidance and entertainment as possible to help people to get through this extraordinary time.

That's why we've put exciting new shows into the schedule while doing everything possible to keep our live daytime programmes on air to speak directly to you each day, along with our rock solid news bulletins.

We hope Saturday night entertainment like Saturday Night Takeaway, Britain's Got Talent and In For a Penny continue to entertain millions of people on a Saturday night, and factual offerings from Harry's Heroes to Gordon, Gino and Fred's Road Trip will offer some comfort and escapism in the weeks ahead. New dramas such as Julian Fellows' Belgravia, The Good Karma Hospital and the upcoming Quiz all aim to enthrall viewers through the coming weeks. We've even staged our own Virtual Grand National to help you ride this out. We hope you tune in and enjoy what we have to offer.

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SATURDAY NIGHT ENTERTAINMENT:

Weekends will be brightened with much-needed glamour and excitement from new Saturday evening shows each week. Demonstrated by last week's Saturday Night Takeaway, [ITV Studios Entertainment/Mitre Productions], big, event shows can create unifying national moments, providing a welcome focal point for collective experience at this time. Highlights coming soon include the return of Britain's Got Talent [Thames TV/Syco Entertainment], a brand new primetime take on daytime hit The Chase Beat The Chasers [produced by ITV Studios label Potato], and later in the spring, riotous new offering, Alan Carr's Epic Gameshow [Talkback, part of Fremantle].

DRAMA:

Alongside new hits Kate & Koji [Hat Trick Productions] and Belgravia, in Drama we have Michael Sheen playing Chris Tarrant alongside Matthew Macfadyen and Sian Clifford as Major Charles Ingram and his wife Diana in Quiz, which tells the extraordinary and sensational true story of how the couple attempted an audacious heist' on the ITV quiz show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? New series Van der Valk (Company Pictures) stars Marc Warren as streetwise Dutch detective Van der Valk in a new detective drama filmed entirely on location in Amsterdam. And throughout Spring the two biggest Soaps on TV, Coronation Street and Emmerdale [ITV Studios] continue to run.

DAYTIME:

Days indoors will be enlivened by our uniquely vibrant live morning menu, which has drawn record audiences in recent days as viewers engage with Good Morning Britain and This Morning during the crisis. Already these shows have been adapting to the unprecedented changes happening around us to bring viewers new features with the most relevant guidance as well as its unrivalled brand of debate on the issues that matter most to people at home. Across the extended Good Morning Britain [ITV Studios] with Piers Morgan, Susanna Reid [even in isola

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