MEDIA: THE TERRY AND GABY SHOW - AN EXPERT'S VIEW.(Television Program Review)

Ian Darby thinks that five's new daytime show started well but suffered from lack of originality.

Last week, Chris Evans pictured himself as a market trader who will be forced to take his stall elsewhere if his latest production, the daytime chatshow The Terry and Gaby Show, is not a success. And, after a couple of less than impressive programmes, Boys and Girls and Live ... with Chris Moyles, he needs Terry Wogan and Gaby Roslin to be a hit for five.

Daytime has been something of a battleground lately and it will be interesting to see how well Terry and Gaby do against the even cuddlier coupling of Pip Schofield and Fern Britton on ITV1's This Morning.

Wogan and Roslin are a proven live team following their experiences on Children in Need and, while it is impressive that five has managed to lure them to its schedule, the show itself plays it safe by aping the cosiness created by Des and Mel over on ITV1 or Richard and Judy in their heyday.

It opened with Terry and Gaby beaming on a couple of green leather sofas that were straight out of Knowing Me, Knowing You with Alan Partridge.

Whether this was an ironic recognition of the cheesiness to come or a coincidence was unclear.

Monday's first edition started promisingly. Both presenters are at home with live TV and seemed relatively at ease. The Evans touches were apparent from early on - the 'amusing' shot of first guest Jonathan Ross semi-naked in his dressing room and a rowdy, albeit mainly blue-rinsed, audience.