Westcountry Live

Westcountry Live was the flagship regional news programme of ITV Westcountry, serving the South West of England.. In 2009, it was replaced by The West Country Tonight following the merger between the West and Westcountry regions.

History
1993: The programme was first broadcast on Monday 4 January 1993 - four days after Westcountry Television took over the ITV regional franchise from Television South West. Westcountry live broadcast at 6pm for hour each weekday.

1997: An update in presentation takes place on Westcountry Live around November 1997, retaining a similar logo to that used since the service's launch in January 1993.[1] The Westcountry Live titles and set retain the station's former ident (i.e. the use of the word "westcountry" in Gill Sans Condensed Bold), used three years after the channel itself was rebranded on-air from Westcountry to Carlton. 2002: The remaining traces of previous station branding on Westcountry Live are finally removed when the programme receives a new set, graphics and title sequence on 13 May. 2004: The merger of Westcountry's parent company, Carlton, and Granada to form ITV plc lead to a mass rebranding of the company's local news services on 2 February. Westcountry Live is now billed as "An ITV Production" on its end production caption, with all references to Carlton removed. The studio design first seen on-screen in 2002, which is adapted for the new look introduced in 2004, is replaced for the now-standard ITV plc regional news set on 10 October 2005. 2006: On the day ITV plc spreads use of its new corporate logo across all of its networks, Westcountry Live receives new opening titles and graphics on Monday 16 January. 2007: An update to on-air presentation Westcountry Live, in line with other regional news programmes in England, Wales and the Scottish Borders, takes place on 2 December. However, unlike the other ITV-plc owned regions, Westcountry Live remains broadcast in 14:9 zoomed into a 16:9 frame, instead of a true 16:9 widescreen signal.

Merger
The first disclosure of plans by ITV plc to save production costs through the merger of the West and Westcountry regions comes in 2007 Confirmation of the end of Westcountry Live is delivered in January 2009 following Ofcom's consultation. It's reported 84 jobs will be lost through the closure of the Plymouth studios[10], while news bureaux in the region would be retained only in Plymouth, Exeter and Truro.[11]

The final main edition of Westcountry Live, transmitted on Friday 13 February, concludes with a six-minute piece, described by presenter Richard Bath as "an unashamedly nostalgic look back" , features station staff recalling the stories they covered and the memories they made over 16 years. Co-presenter Alexis Bowater goes on to observe: "So many wonderful people have worked on this programme to make it an absolutely fantastic, creative, innovative show and you are wonderful, wonderful viewers who tune in." With a final word of thanks and an embrace between the presenters, local ITV broadcasting from Plymouth ends after over 47 years. Westcountry Live is replaced by The West Country Tonight, shared with viewers in the former ITV West region, on 16 February 2009

Following ITV Westcountry's merger with ITV West to form ITV West & Westcountry, the new pan-regional programme The West Country Tonight launched on Monday 16 February 2009. A 15-minute opt-out for the current Westcountry region is featured within the 18:00 programme alongside a fully separate late night bulletin and localised weather forecasts. Weekday daytime bulletins for the Westcountry region were reintroduced in September 2011.

Depending on the day's news, either the West or Westcountry bulletins are pre-recorded. The service is presented from Bristol with newsrooms in Plymouth, Truro and Exeter covering the region. Former Westcountry Live newscasters at time of closure Richard Bath, Alexis Bowater and Jemma Woodman were made redundant. Bath and Woodman presented the final main edition of the programme on Friday 13 February 2009, which featured a special highlights compilation with contributions from presenters, reporters and production staff. Newsrooms in Plymouth, Barnstaple, Penzance, Torbay and Weymouth were closed. A new, smaller Plymouth newsroom opened at the offices of independent production company Twofour.

Main Westcountry Live presenters
Richard Bath[16][17] Alexis Bowater[18][19] Lorna Dunkley[20][21] Katy Haswell[22]

Relief Westcountry Live presenters
John Andrews[23] Claire Manning[24] Jemma Woodman[25] GMTV bulletin presenters Shelley McKenna[26] Other bulletin presenters Neil Bradford[27][28] Opt-out bulletin presenters

South
Mike Armagon[29] Vanessa Cuddeford[30] Julie Fisher[31] Richard Lawrence[32] Helen Pearson[33][34] Emma Snowdon[35]

Reporters
Paul Brennan[36] Bob Cruwys[37] Jonathan Gibson[38] Tony Gray[39] Shelley Roberts[40]

Sport
Mark Tyler[41][42] Jeff Welch[43][44]

Weather
Peter Griffin[45] Kate Reeves

Former on air team

 * John Andrews (now with The West Country Tonight)
 * Richard Bath
 * Ron Bendell
 * Alexis Bowater
 * Neil Bradford
 * Paul Brennan
 * Vanessa Cuddeford (now with The West Country Tonight)
 * Bob Cruwys (now with The West Country Tonight)
 * Martyn Dean


 * Dan Downs (freelance with The West Country Tonight)
 * Lorna Dunkley (now with Sky News)
 * Julie Fisher
 * Jonathan Gibson (now with The West Country Tonight)
 * Tony Gray
 * Peter Griffin (freelance with The West Country Tonight)
 * Alison Johns
 * Richard Lawrence
 * Claire Manning (now with The West Country Tonight)


 * Helen Pearson (now with North East Tonight)
 * Kate Reeves (freelance with The West Country Tonight)
 * Shelley Roberts (now with The West Country Tonight)
 * Tiffany Royce (now with Daybreak)
 * Philippa Tomson (now with Sky News)
 * Mark Tyler
 * Jeff Welch
 * Jemma Woodman