Channel 5 in the UK are launching a new daytime program later this month, titled Vanessa.
Vanessa Feltz will be no stranger to brits, having done a lot of TV and Radio over the years - she previously hosted a ITV show of the same name from 1994-1998 before moving to BBC for ‘The Vanessa Show’ which was cancelled after about 6 months due to a scandal which involved paid actors appearing as guests.
https://www.itn.co.uk/media-centre/itn-productions-produces-new-channel-5-daytime-show-vanessa-feltz
Feltz also hosted a slot on TalkTV prior to its digital-only relaunch and is currently at rival LBC, hosting the 3-6 pm weekend slot.
Cue Pam for the updated ident on Chann- I mean, 5:
The 2020 original looked better in the same animation. I might be onto somehthing with the rings on my 5 News mock though… 
Channel 5 in general is dull and boring, its schedule is aimed at the middle ground of middle grounds and its look is the same. Dull and slow.
The news was revealed by Channel 5 content boss Ben Frow at a showcase in London, as Channel 5 and streamer My5 officially rebrand under one unified brand titled 5.
Frow also revealed new series The Trial (w/t), a one-off drama starring Derry Girls breakout Saoirse-Monica Jackson, The Crown’s Ben Miles and Claire Skinner. The Trial explores a chillingly plausible near-future in which parents are held legally responsible for the crimes of their children, raising unsettling questions about justice, culpability, and the limits of state control.
Channel 5 has recently moved into the single drama space and says it will break records by having more than 100 hours worth of drama on the network this year. High profile shows set to launch include David Suchet-starrer The Au Pair, Jason Watkins and Robson Green’s cat and mouse drama Catch You Later and the latest season of All Creatures (Great and Small reboot).
To me it just feels cheap and a bit naff. Like you say it’s all very safe but then I guess that works for them. This rebrand seems to largely be a big fuss over nothing.
I liked when it was called ‘five’ 20 years ago and they tried to make it a bit more upmarket. Back then they used to show nature and history documentaries (not just crap about 70s lollies. Yes that really was something they showed recently) and they were the first UK channel to show House and Prison Break. The idents were really good too:
With all that said and done about the branding, they have found a bit of a rhythm with what they’re doing - and it seems to be working. Producing a record amount of local drama etc, audiences are up.
Because they axed Neighbours to redirect that spend, the rest of the schedule is Top 100 songs of the 80s and Air Fryers: Are They Worth It?
Well that’s half their output so perhaps it was money well spent? 
Yep, they’re doing well and that can’t be denied. I just wish they didn’t treat their viewers with such contempt. Moving shows around the schedule (or more usually dropping them) with a ruthlessness that would make even channels 7 and 9 blush. But I suppose they’re at least doing better than channel 4…
Ancient Greece by train - C4
No doubt we’ll be getting this is due course on SBS.
I wonder how it will compare with the Marc Fennell episode of Stuff the British stole also on the Elgin Marbles. Similar to the sentiment expressed in the Marc Fennell series, Alice Roberts suggests:
There is a pressing need to recognise some of the questionable practices of the past, which often went hand in hand with the history of colonialism.
Alice Roberts is a heavy weight in TV documentary making and it will be interesting to see if she causes any ripples with this C4 doco.
I doubt the British Museum will take any notice though.
