Tonight recommissioned as it celebrates 20 years on air

Published: Fri 14 Dec 2018

Tonight recommissioned as it celebrates 20 years on air

Shiver, the award-winning ITV Studios label, has been recommissioned to produce Tonight, the ITV current affairs programme which will celebrate its 20th anniversary next year.

Shiver will produce 30 episodes for ITV in 2019, with the first programme scheduled to air on Thursday 3rd January. Made by a dedicated team based at the label's MediaCityUK base in Manchester, this new run also sees series producer, Laura Caveney-Morgan, stepping up to become the show's series editor.

Tonight, which is presented by Julie Etchingham, reaches its two-decade milestone in April and is the most-watched current affairs show on TV, having seen year-on-year audience growth in 2018, averaging 2.7m viewers and gaining its highest share since 2007. In March, it also gained its biggest audience since May 2014 when 4.6m viewers tuned in to watch Snowstorm: Britain's Big Chill.

During its 20 years on air, Tonight has featured interviews with a host of political and public figures, from former U.S. President, George W. Bush to Tony Blair, Michael Jackson to Naomi Campbell. From 1999-2007, the programme was known as Tonight with Trevor McDonald, while it has featured a wide range of reporters over the years, including Martin Lewis, Ranvir Singh, Martin Bashir and Helen Skelton.

Mike Blair, Head of Consumer & Current Affairs at Shiver and Executive Producer, Tonight, said:

Being a mainstay of the prime-time schedule for 20 years is no mean feat and Tonight has consistently been at the heart of the news agenda during that time. With viewing figures up year on year, the show continues to be a successful formula and I'm looking forward to it going from strength to strength under Laura's guidance.

ITV Controller of Current Affairs, Tom Giles, said:

Were very proud at ITV to be commissioning a 20th year of Tonight. Its still the most watched weekly Current Affairs show on network TV and, unlike its rivals, has been steadily building share in the last couple of years. Julie and the Tonight teams at Shiver and ITV News have continued with the trusted formula of knowing their audiences and of informing, challenging and surprising viewers while never talking down to them. We look forward to it going from strength to strength.

Ends

LINK:	https://www.itv.com/presscentre/press-releases/tonight-recommissioned-...
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