Latest TV Blog: Born to run
Behind the scenes of Latest TV news with Tim Ridgway
Well, that was a marathon weekend – literally. It has taken a few days but the Latest TV team is finally all recovered after going virtually every single mile with the thousands of runners who completed the Brighton marathon.
It wasn’t pretty. And for a while it was touch and go that our sports team would make it through. But thanks to a few finely sliced oranges, a bag of Haribo and a super large tub of Vaseline to ease the nipple rub, the boys in our incredibly busy sports team did us all proud.
The result is a piece of TV magic, something which truly captures the spirit of mammoth crowds spending their Sunday cheering on thousands of strangers as they pound the pavements. It was not possible to speak to every one of the 9,000 or so runners who set out from Preston Park. But those that did find time to chat were so unbelievably happy and enthusiastic that it was difficult to remember that they were actually doing something incredibly difficult.
Unsurprisingly, the smiley optimism did not last the full 26 miles. But seeing all those glowing faces at the finish line really did get me thinking – next year that should be me. Maybe.
Filming the marathon was the end of a long weekend for our sports team. Just a day earlier they were on England duty as the Three Lionesses entertained Montenegro in a women’s World Cup qualifier at The Amex.
It was the first time that Brighton and Hove Albion’s super stadium had been used for such an important international fixture. And given the level of support that the team received, this punter would suggest it will not be too long until the national team return to the south coast.
Just days before the big match St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School in Haywards Heath enjoyed a very special assembly when they welcomed England internationals Casey Stoney and Alex Scott.
Our Latest TV Sports team (have I mentioned them yet?) were there capturing it all on camera as the footballers answered the children’s questions about their sporting lives.
Some of the St Joseph’s pupils also got to take part in an exclusive training session with the two England defenders.
It was clear that the session meant a great deal to the children but Arsenal full back Alex Scott also found the morning rewarding. She told Latest Sport: “Doing stuff like that adds that special element of being an England player where you can put smiles on the kids’ faces.”
Moving away from sport, Richard and Val relived a little bit of musical history at Brighton Dome. As our resident pair of Dancing Queens, they were tasked with standing in the shoes of musical giants when they replicated Abba’s Eurovision song contest winning performance of Waterloo 40 years on.
They were not the only ones as fans of all ages were allowed access to relive the moment. The result was a big success and extremely moving – honestly – but not one I’d necessarily want to be shown before the watershed. I mean no one should see that much pressed flesh before they can learn to say Chiquitita.
Some have suggested that Latest TV bosses “Take a chance” and use some “money, money, money” to buy lycra outfits for when we launch. Personally I think such a move would viewers calling SOS very loudly. But as always we’d appreciate your feedback.
To see some of the edited clips mentioned above visit www.thelatest.tv. And remember that Latest TV will be coming to your homes on freeview Channel 8 in summer.
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