Steph McGovern has spoken out after the new format of Have I Got News For You – which she hosted for the first time last night – seemed to divide viewers.
The former BBC Breakfast presenter made her debut on the topical news programme, alongside regular panellists Paul Merton and Ian Hislop, as well as guests Miles Jupp and Helen Lewis.
Due to the growing nature of the coronavirus pandemic, the show has switched up how its filmed, seeing each star beemed into the set live from their own homes in self-isolation.
‘Am in my kitchen,’ Steph wrote on Twitter. ‘Or as I like to call it now, Television Centre.
‘Thanks for [the] messages about Have I Got News For you. It’s been going 30 years with [the] same format, so I think that it’s great that [the show] tried something different to keep it on the air.’
She continued: ‘I was weird, but so is life at the mo.’
Indeed, it seemed that fans were unsure watching the live broadcast last nigth whether the new format had succeeded.
‘This is the most surreal episode of Have I Got News For You I’ve ever watched,’ one fan wrote. ‘And I’ve watched it for decades. Odd without the studio audience, but as topical and on-point as ever.’
Another viewer was far more critical, arguing: ‘Have I Got News For You via teleconference has all the comic rhythm of the office Zoom call. Grimly fascinating though.’
But there were those at home still willing to give the show the benefit of the doubt. One viewer added: ‘Fair play to them for trying, but I’m not entirely sure it’s working.’
Steph is certainly getting used to using her own home as a TV studio, however. It’s currently being used as the HQ of her brand new chat-show, The Steph Show.
As a format, we argued that it mixed the sensibility of The Big Brother with the set-up of Big Brother, which is certainly saying something.
Have I Got News For You airs Fridays on BBC One. The Steph Show airs weekdays from 12pm on Channel 4.
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