''The West Tonight'' was a regional news programme for the West of England, produced by
ITV West.
History
The launch of
Harlech Television in May 1968 led to the launch of a full half-hour evening news programme, ''Report'', broadcast to South Wales and the West of England. Previously, former ITV franchise holder for Wales and the West of England
TWW had provided short evening bulletins known as ''TWW Reports'', presented jointly from studios in Cardiff and Bristol, where the station ran a joint news operation covering the two areas.
The opening of a colour service from the
Mendip transmitter in May 1970 led to the creation of a separate HTV West service and the launch of a full evening news programme for the region, ''Report West''. Up until the early 1980s, the first half of the programme also aired on HTV's 'General Service', followed by a full edition of ''Report Wales''. During 1982, ''Report West'' was relaunched as ''HTV News''.
For 28 years, the main anchor of HTV West's news programmes was former TWW reporter Bruce Hockin, who went on to become one of the longest serving presenters of any ITV news programme. He retired from the station in May 1996, shortly after his 60th birthday.
Shorter daytime, late night and weekend bulletins were gradually introduced - some of which were generally presented by HTV West's continuity announcers, and until 1987, were broadcast from HTV's Cardiff playout centre serving both Wales and the West.
The opening of a digital broadcast centre at HTV's Bristol studios in 1997 led to the relaunch of the main evening programme as ''The West Tonight''. The branding was discontinued two years later and returned as ''HTV News'' then ''ITV West News'' in 2002 following the rebranding of all English and Welsh ITV franchises. The West Tonight was however reintroduced in 2005 when
Lisa Aziz rejoined ITV West from
Sky News
Sky News is a British free-to-air television news channel and organisation. Sky News is distributed via an English-language radio news service, and through online channels. It is owned by Sky Group, a division of Comcast. John Ryley is the he ...
.
On 4 December 2006,
ITV Central
ITV Central, previously known as Central Independent Television, Carlton Central, ITV1 for Central England and commonly referred to as simply Central, is the Independent Television franchisee for the Midlands. It was created following the rest ...
disbanded its South Midlands sub-region and the parts of
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean.
The county town is the city of ...
served by ''Central News South'' joined the majority of the county already covered by
ITV West and began receiving ''The West Tonight''.
In February 2009, ITV West was merged with
ITV Westcountry to form
ITV West & Westcountry, a new dual-regional service with shorter opt-outs for both areas on weeknights. ''The Westcountry Tonight'' was launched on Monday 16 February 2009, although a full regional news service for the West
ITV News West Country
''ITV News West Country'' is a British television news service broadcast and produced by ITV West Country.
Overview
''ITV News West Country''
is broadcast from studios in Brislington, Bristol, with district reporters and camera crews based i ...
was restored in September 2013.
Presenters/reporters
*
Lisa Aziz
*
Alex Beresford
Alexander Isaac Beresford (born 17 October 1980) is an English weather presenter employed by ITV. (
freelance
''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance ...
with ''
Good Morning Britain'',
ITV Weather & ''ITV News West Country'')
*
Michael Buerk
*
Bob Crampton (''ITV News West Country'')
*
Nazaneen Ghaffar (
Sky News
Sky News is a British free-to-air television news channel and organisation. Sky News is distributed via an English-language radio news service, and through online channels. It is owned by Sky Group, a division of Comcast. John Ryley is the he ...
)
*
Alastair Hignell (sports presenter)
*
Alison Holloway
*
Jackie Kabler (
QVC)
*
Jan Leeming
*
Charlie Neil
*
Kevin Owen
Kevin Owen (born 1966) is a British television and radio news anchor, reporter and presenter who was born in Plymouth, UK. He has worked in UK regional and network broadcasting for more than three decades. From 2006 to 2022, he worked at the Ru ...
(
RT)
*
Peter Rowell (jailed)
Ex-BBC presenter Peter Rowell jailed for abusing girls
/ref>
* Steve Scott (''ITV News'')
* Annie St John (deceased)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:West Tonight, The
1968 British television series debuts
1960s British television series
1970s British television series
1980s British television series
1990s British television series
2009 British television series endings
ITV regional news shows
Mass media in Bristol
Television series by ITV Studios
Television news in England
Television shows produced by Harlech Television (HTV)
English-language television shows