BBC Breakfast

BBC Breakfast is a national British morning television news programme simulcast on BBC One and BBC News. It is presented live from MediaCityUK and contains a mixture of news, sport, weather, business and feature items. The programme is broadcast seven days a week, every week of the year, including weekends and public holidays.

Adam Bullimore is the editor. He had been the deputy editor for five years. Alison Ford, previously the UK Editor for BBC Newsgathering, was the editor of the programme until her death in July 2013. Her appointment followed the departure of David Kermode to 5 News.

History

Breakfast Time was the first BBC breakfast programme, with Ron Neil as producer. It was conceived in response to the plans of the commercial television company TV-am to introduce a breakfast television show. Breakfast Time's first broadcast was on 17 January 1983, featuring multiple presenters: Frank Bough, Selina Scott, Nick Ross and Russell Grant. The atmosphere of the set was intended to encourage a relaxed informality; a set that mimicked a living-room rather than a studio, with red leather sofas, and Bough and Ross wearing jumpers and open-necked shirts. This allowed for an unconventional mix of authoritative and highbrow news and informative and entertainment features that made the show dominate the new genre and trounce the anticipated threat by the star-name commercial TV rival. So, a senior government minister might be subjected to intense questioning while sitting on the red sofa, to be then included in the presentation of a food cooking demonstration. Breakfast Time lasted 150 minutes, initially being transmitted between 6.30 am and 9 am—moving to a 6.50 am to 9.20 am slot on 18 February 1985.

BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is the public service broadcaster of the United Kingdom, headquartered at Broadcasting House in London.

The BBC is the world's oldest national broadcasting organisation and the largest broadcaster in the world by number of employees, with over 20,950 staff in total, of whom 16,672 are in public sector broadcasting; including part-time, flexible as well as fixed contract staff, the total number is 35,402.

The BBC is established under a Royal Charter and operates under its Agreement with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. Its work is funded principally by an annual television licence fee which is charged to all British households, companies, and organisations using any type of equipment to receive or record live television broadcasts. The fee is set by the British Government, agreed by Parliament, and used to fund the BBC's extensive radio, TV, and online services covering the nations and regions of the UK. From 1 April 2014, it also funds the BBC World Service, launched in 1932, which provides comprehensive TV, radio, and online services in Arabic, and Persian, and broadcasts in 28 languages.

Breakfast

Breakfast is the first meal of a day, most often eaten in the early morning before undertaking the day's work. Among English speakers, "breakfast" can be used to refer to this meal or to refer to a meal composed of traditional breakfast foods (such as eggs, porridge and sausage) served at any time of day. The word literally refers to breaking the fasting period of the prior night. It has its origin in the Christian custom of fasting from food between the supper meal of one day and receiving Holy Communion the following morning (such a Eucharistic fast is still observed by Orthodox Christians, but is shortened to one hour before Mass for Roman Catholics). Foregoing the natural craving to eat was seen as an act of self-denial that honors God, while strengthening the religious resolve and faith of the believer.

Breakfast foods vary widely from place to place, but often include a carbohydrate such as grains or cereals, fruit, vegetables, a protein food such as eggs, meat or fish, and a beverage such as tea, coffee, milk, or fruit juice. Coffee, milk, tea, juice, breakfast cereals, pancakes, waffles, sausages, French toast, bacon, sweetened breads, fresh fruit, vegetables, eggs, baked beans, muffins, crumpets and toast with butter, margarine, jam or marmalade are common examples of Western breakfast foods, though a large range of preparations and ingredients are associated with breakfast globally.