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Grainne toasts her big breakfast-time break

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By Breda Heffernan
Wednesday Jul 21 2010

MILLIONS of television viewers in Britain will soon be waking up to Grainne Seoige after she landed a plum role on one of the country's biggest breakfast shows.

The presenter has made no secret of her ambitions to move across the Irish Sea following the announcement of her marriage breakdown last month.

Familiar on Irish TV screens, most Britons will never have heard of her despite recent stints for ITV hosting 'GMTV' Cheltenham horse-racing coverage and celebrity interview spots.

But her efforts paid off yesterday when she was unveiled as one of the new faces for 'Daybreak', which will replace 'GMTV' from September this year.

Ms Seoige will have the onscreen title 'features editor' on the programme, which will be hosted by anchors Adrian Chiles and Christine Bleakley.

The Galway native has not entirely cut her ties with RTE and will be commuting back and forth between Dublin and London as she juggles 'Daybreak' with Irish shows such as RTE's 'The All Ireland Talent Show' in the autumn.

Confirmed

In a statement released by her manager Noel Kelly yesterday, Ms Seoige confirmed her new appointment.

"I am absolutely thrilled at the news and am delighted everything has gone so well since I began working with 'GMTV' in March of this year.

"I will continue to work with RTE and I am really looking forward to working with both broadcasters," she added.

The career boost comes less than two months since the 36-year-old split from her husband of eight years, television producer Stephen Cullinane.

Their parting is said to be amicable and the couple continue to share the family home in Kilmacanogue, Co Wicklow, with Seoige's 16-year-old son Conall.

Mr Kelly last night congratulated his star client on her presenting coup.

"I would like to wish Grainne the very best of luck in her exciting new venture and I am delighted," he added.

Meanwhile a spokesperson for RTE said the broadcaster will have an "ongoing relationship" with Seoige and she will be fronting a number of programmes in the coming months including 'The People of the Year Awards', 'The All Ireland Talent Show' and 'Up for the Match'.

'Daybreak' begins its run in September and will air on weekdays in the fiercely competitive breakfast time slot from 6am to 8.30am. The pressure will be on to build their viewership from the start.

Director of 'GMTV', Alison Sharman, admitted that ITV's flagship breakfast show had been "lagging behind its competitors in recent years".

Announcing the new line-up, she said: "Change, both on and off screen, is an essential part of the process in our bid to reclaim the top breakfast-show spot."

Seoige launched her broadcasting career in 1996 as newsreader on Teilifis na Gaeilge (now TG4) before moving to the TV3 newsroom and then to Sky News Ireland.

She swapped news for light entertainment following her move to RTE in 2006. After a lukewarm start, the daytime show 'Seoige and O'Shea' built-up a loyal following before Joe O'Shea was dropped in favour of a Seoige double act of Grainne and her sister Sile. However, 'Seoige' failed to set the screen alight and was axed after just one season.

Since then Seoige has been without a regular daily or weekly slot.

- Breda Heffernan

Irish Independent