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ITV unveils Royal Wedding coverage plans

www.itv.com

1 April 2011

ITV unveils Royal Wedding coverage plans

ITV will broadcast comprehensive coverage of the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton on Friday 29th April, presented by ITV News at Ten's Julie Etchingham and ITV's Phillip Schofield, who will anchor coverage live from a specially constructed studio opposite Buckingham Palace.

An experienced line up of ITV1's presenters and reporters including Alastair Stewart, Mary Nightingale and Mark Austin will be based at key procession points all over London throughout the day.

James Mates leads commentary of events from Westminster Abbey and Tom Bradby - who conducted the only interview given by the couple following their engagement - will give an insider's insight into the life of William and Kate after their marriage.

Build up to the wedding will begin early in the morning on Daybreak, with presenters Adrian Chiles and Christine Bleakley based from a special studio at London's Canada Gate.

In addition to the live rolling coverage, ITV1 will broadcast extended news programmes in peak time, including an hour-long early evening news special at 6pm and an extended edition of ITV News at Ten.

Michael Jermey, ITV's Director of News, Current Affairs and Sport said: "ITV1 will give viewers excellent close up coverage of the all the day's events. We'll be on air live for more than 10 hours capturing the spirit of the day both in central London and around the country. It promises to be a memorable day."

Full details of coverage

Daybreak
ITV1, Friday 29th April

Anchors Adrian Chiles and Christine Bleakley will provide the gateway to the big day guiding viewers through the immediate build up from an ITV studio at Canada Gate.

Daybreak will be capturing the mood of the nation as its team of presenters and correspondents broadcast live from around the country including Kate Garraway in the bride's village of Bucklebury, Lucy Verasamy at Westminster Abbey, Grainne Seoige in Pontefract and Daybreak's team of correspondents around the UK as well as live links to Camp Bastion.

The Royal Wedding
ITV1, Friday 29th April


Julie Etchingham, presenter of ITV News at Ten and ITV1's Tonight Programme, and ITV's Phillip Schofield will anchor The Royal Wedding special from 8.30am.

Joining Julie and Phillip for live coverage of the historic day will be a range of ITV's senior news presenters and reporters.

Mary Nightingale will be reporting live from Westminster Abbey as guests arrive, accompanied by fashion experts; with reaction from guests as they spot friends of the couple, representatives of their chosen charities and members of the Armed Forces among the crowd.

Linking in to the studio, Alastair Stewart will be waiting for the first glimpse of Kate Middleton leaving her Central London location as a commoner and heading to Westminster Abbey for the marriage ceremony where she will join the Royal Family.

Senior Correspondent James Mates will lead live commentary of events inside the Abbey. Tom Bradby - who conducted the only interview given by the couple following their engagement - will give an insider's insight into the life of William and Kate after their marriage.

Mark Austin will be located on The Mall, soaking up the atmosphere of the crowds as the wedding procession passes by, along with Geraint Vincent; while Nina Hossain will join the celebrations at a live screening in London's Hyde Park. ITV News's Royal Correspondent Tim Ewart will provide his expertise throughout the extended evening news bulletins. Additionally, there will be reports from Matt Smith in St Andrews, the university town where the couple met, as well as Andrea Benfield in Anglesey, where they currently reside.

Jonathan Munro, Director of Newsgathering and Deputy Editor of ITV News:

"Covering the wedding will be one of the most complex and ambitious projects ITV News has ever undertaken. We will have every moment covered live, and we'll aim to capture the atmosphere on the streets of the capital - and at the parties and festivities across the UK. We are deploying technology not even dreamt of when Charles and Diana were married, and we want to use that to reflect the nature of the event - a celebration of two young people, to which every one of our viewers will have a front-row seat."

itv.com

During the build-up to the Royal Wedding and on the day itself, itv.com is offering full interactive online coverage on our dedicated Royal Wedding micro-site www.itv.com/royalwedding. On the site, there will be a live stream of the event and live chat enabling viewers to comment throughout the day and share their opinions with celebrity guests.

Viewers will be invited to send in pictures of their celebrations from street parties around the country to the crowds outside Buckingham Palace, which will be uploaded to the dedicated site. Key moments of the big day itself will be available allowing people to relive the special event. ITV's social media team will be tweeting throughout the day @itv_news.


Building up to the event, there will be news, gossip and pictures - as well as specially commissioned videos commemorating the occasion.

Other programming:

Broadcast in the week leading up to the Royal Wedding, When Kate Met William charts and compares the upbringings and stories so far of two young people destined to become the world's most famous couple. The documentary hears from those who know Kate Middleton and Prince William to find out how this captivating royal love story came about.

When Kate Met William is a Shiver production for ITV1.

ITV1 Daytime will be building up to the big day with three days of specially-themed live programming across Daybreak, Lorraine, This Morning and Loose Women. Adrian Chiles, Christine Bleakley, Lorraine Kelly, Phillip Schofield, Ruth Langsford, and the Loose Women will gear the nation up to the marriage of William and Kate; with a host of wedding themed celebrations, interviews, news and features across the ITV1 mornings from 26 - 28 April.