''Good Morning Australia'' (or ''GMA''), also known as ''GMA with Bert Newton'', originally titled ''The Morning Show'', was an Australian
breakfast television
Breakfast television (Europe and Australia) or morning show (Canada and the United States) is a type of news broadcasting, news or infotainment television programme that broadcasts Live television, live in the morning (typically broadcast pro ...
variety program on
Network Ten
Network 10 (commonly known as the 10 Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Paramount Global's Paramount Networks UK & Australia, UK & Australia division and is o ...
hosted by
Bert Newton
Albert Watson Newton (23 July 1938 – 30 October 2021) was an Australian media personality. He was a Logie Hall of Fame inductee, quadruple Gold Logie–winning entertainer, and radio, theatre and television personality and compère.
Ne ...
between 20 January 1992 and 16 December 2005 featuring regular segments and celebrity guests.
The program aired from 9:00am to 11:00am or 11:30am. The show was a lead in to the
11:30 News.
Program history
The show debuted on Network Ten on 20 January 1992 with the title ''The Morning Show'', changing its name the following year from 1 February 1993 to ''Good Morning Australia'' (aka ''GMA'' and ''GMA with Bert Newton'') after the
breakfast news program with the same name on the same network ended. The original ''GMA'' had aired between 1981 and December 1992.
''The Morning Show'' had replaced the long running Sydney based Til-Ten which was presented by Joan McInnes. ''GMA'' was Australia's first national morning talk program, unchallenged ratings wise until October 2002, when the
Nine Network
Nine Network (stylised 9Network, and commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of the five main free-to-air television ...
launched ''
Mornings with Kerri-Anne
''Kerri-Anne'' was an Australian morning television program shown on the Nine Network, hosted by Kerri-Anne Kennerley. It was broadcast on weekdays at 9am for two hours. The final episode of the series was on 25 November 2011. It was replaced b ...
''.
For most of 1992, the program was produced in Melbourne from Ten's Nunawading Studios but later that year, production of the show moved to level 4 at Network Ten's
South Yarra
South Yarra is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 4 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Melbourne and Stonnington local government areas. South Yarra recorded a populati ...
studios.
The show featured numerous guests in each episode, often singers and actors. Regular segments included cooking, crafts, gardening, movie reviews and parenting. There was a segment called "In Bed with Bert", where four of his regulars answer questions that Newton reads. The questions were sent from viewers at home.
Often the off-camera crew acted as the studio audience. Starting in 2005 the public could view the taping on Fridays.
Bert Newton's sign off at the end of each program was: ''"We'll see you tomorrow ''
r ‘Monday’ on Friday's show' morning at 9:00".''
Originally the program was live-to-air on Mondays and Tuesdays, and live-to-tape on Wednesday, Thursdays and Fridays. From mid-2004 onwards, the show became live-to-air five days a week to compete with ''Mornings with Kerri Anne''.
In October 2005, Network Ten announced that ''GMA'' would be cancelled at the end of the year after a fourteen-year run. Following this announcement and after months of speculation, Bert Newton decided to leave Ten and return to the
Nine Network
Nine Network (stylised 9Network, and commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of the five main free-to-air television ...
.
The final live edition of ''Good Morning Australia'' aired Friday 16 December 2005, and included guest appearances by former ''GMA'' regular
Susie Elelman and showbiz legend
Maria Venuti. The following week, ''GMA'' switched to summer mode, with the summer show airing from 19 December 2005. The summer series of ''Good Morning Australia'' ended on 27 January 2006, a week before the premiere of ''
9am with David and Kim''.
Musical direction
John Foreman was the program's musical director from the program's inception in 1992 for ''GMA'' until his retirement in 2004, when Mark Amato was appointed as his replacement for the final two years.
Musicians, entertainers and singers
Some of the musicians that have performed on the show include:
Regular segment contributors
The program had many regular contributors to various topical segments.
Robert Mascara, the floor manager and assistant director for the programme's entire run, appeared as "Belvedere", the official food taste tester during the cooking segments.
Celebrity chefs
Cast Regulars
Shannon Watts joined ''GMA'' in May 2005 replacing
Ed Phillips who went on to host ''
Temptation
Temptation is a desire to engage in short-term urges for enjoyment that threatens long-term goals.Webb, J.R. (Sep 2014). Incorporating Spirituality into Psychology of temptation: Conceptualization, measurement, and clinical implications. Sp ...
'' for the
Nine Network
Nine Network (stylised 9Network, and commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of the five main free-to-air television ...
. Shannon was soon put out in the field hosting segments from the
AFL Grand Final
The AFL Grand Final is an Australian rules football match to determine the premiers for the Australian Football League (AFL) season. Prior to 1990 it was known as the VFL Grand Final, as the league was then known as the Victorian Football Leag ...
, the
Australian Grand Prix
The Australian Grand Prix is an annual Formula One motor racing event, taking place in Melbourne, Victoria. The event is contracted to be held at least until 2035. One of the oldest surviving motorsport competitions held in Australia, the Gran ...
and the
Gold Coast Indy 300
The Gold Coast Indy 300 was an annual open-wheel motor race event that took place at the Surfers Paradise Street Circuit on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia from 1991 to 2008. The challenging track, alongside a str ...
. Not long after, Shannon was appointed as an
advertorial
An advertorial is an advertisement in the form of editorial content. The term "advertorial" is a blend word, blend (see portmanteau) of the words "advertisement" and "editorial". Merriam-Webster dates the origin of the word to 1946.
In printed pub ...
presenter on ''GMA''. Shannon did over 160 episodes of ''Good Morning Australia''. Shannon stayed with ''GMA'' until the show's end and went on to be a reporter on the replacement show ''
9am with David & Kim
''9am with David & Kim'' is an Australian morning show which premiered on Monday 30 January 2006 on Network Ten. It aired live from 9 am - 11 am weekdays, and was hosted by musician and former '' Getaway'' reporter David Reyne and for ...
''.
Fill-in presenters
A number of people have filled in for Bert Newton as presenter over the years when he was either ill or on leave. The people that have filled in for him include:
Advertorials
The show featured a number of advertorial presenters
The advertorials were for products from various local and international direct selling companies ''Danoz Direct,
Guthy Renker'' and ''Global Shop Direct.''
Related shows
Prior to Newton's tenure as host of ''GMA'' Network Ten in Melbourne ran a similar program titled ''Good Morning Melbourne'' hosted by Roy Hampson and Annette Allison During Hampson's tenure. The program had a number of different titles, such as ''The Roy Hampson Show'' and ''Roundabout''.
Successor
Network Ten successor to ''GMA'' was ''
9am with David & Kim
''9am with David & Kim'' is an Australian morning show which premiered on Monday 30 January 2006 on Network Ten. It aired live from 9 am - 11 am weekdays, and was hosted by musician and former '' Getaway'' reporter David Reyne and for ...
'', hosted by musician
David Reyne
David Nicholas Reyne (born 14 May 1959) is an Australian actor, musician, television and radio presenter. Reyne was born in Lagos, Nigeria to an Australian mother and English diplomat father. The family moved to Victoria, Australia in the earl ...
and journalist/news anchor
Kim Watkins, which had a similar format, however 9am was not filmed in front of the live studio audience.
Ten pins daytime hopes on 9am
Robert Fidgeon, ''Herald Sun
The ''Herald Sun'' is a Conservatism, conservative daily tabloid newspaper based in Melbourne, Australia, published by The Herald and Weekly Times, a subsidiary of News Corp Australia, itself a subsidiary of the American Rupert Murdoch, Murd ...
'' via ''Vogue Australia
''Vogue'' ''Australia'' is the Australian edition of '' Vogue'' magazine. Prior to becoming a stand-alone edition, the Australian edition operated as a supplement to British Vogue from 1952. The magazine is published by News Corp under a licence f ...
'' website, 12 January 2006. Accessed 30 April 2017.
See also
* List of longest-running Australian television series
Below is a list of all the longest-running Australian television programs, both past and present, that have been broadcast for a minimum of 6–10 years or 6 seasons (or both).
All data is updated as of 22 September 2024.
Note: Programs with a ...
* List of Australian television series
Future shows
Seven
Nine
*''The Golden Bachelor'' (reality, 2025)
*''The Floor'' (game show, 2025)
*''Château DIY Australia'' (lifestyle, 2025)
Network 10
* ''Airport 24/7'' (reality, 2025)
* ''Ghosts Australia'' (comedy, 2025)
* ...
* ''9am with David & Kim
''9am with David & Kim'' is an Australian morning show which premiered on Monday 30 January 2006 on Network Ten. It aired live from 9 am - 11 am weekdays, and was hosted by musician and former '' Getaway'' reporter David Reyne and for ...
''
* '' Elizabeth Chong's Tiny Delights''
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Good Morning Australia (1992 Tv program)
1992 Australian television series debuts
2005 Australian television series endings
Australian variety television shows
Australian English-language television shows
Network 10 original programming
Television shows set in Melbourne