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Tuesday, November 3, 1998 Published at 18:41 GMT

Entertainment

McDonald's digital chat

And finally, my guest will be: Trevor McDonald will be on ITV2

Newsreader Trevor McDonald is to get his own chat show on ITV's new digital TV channel.

The new service, ITV2, is designed to complement the existing ITV service with re-runs of two of Britain's top soaps and other popular programmes.

But director of programming Brian Barwick said it would not be "another golden oldies channel" and pointed out there will be 30 specially commissioned new shows.

"We want to see ourselves as now television, not then television," he said.

The new channel will be available on digital terrestrial television from 7 December, with 500,000 homes expected to be able to see it by the end of 1999.

A further 2.5m potential viewers will be able to see it via cable.

The channel will be shown in England and Wales only, with separate services for both Scotland and Northern Ireland, operated by Scottish Television and Ulster Television.

Chat show with a difference

[ image: On ITV too: Ioan Grufford in Hornblower, to be repeated on ITV2]
On ITV too: Ioan Grufford in Hornblower, to be repeated on ITV2
Trevor McDonald Meets will be a 30-minute show which will be aired at 8pm each Sunday. The News At Ten anchor promises a chat show with a difference.

He said there were plenty of news shows wich gave analysis of the Clinton saga and the crisis in Kosovo, "but nothing which talked to people about what they do and why they do it and their view of the world- and that's what this programme is going to do."

Mr Barwick said: "Trevor's very up for this. It gives him another area. He sees it as an exciting new challenge."

He added the new service, costing Ł28.5m, was aimed at "younger, more diverse viewers".

Sport will be a central feature of ITV2, with Uefa Champions League football matches, and coverage of the Rugby World Cup to complement matches already being shown on ITV.

ITV2 will also cover snooker, NBA basketball, mountain biking and snowboarding.

"We will service the sports-loving public like never before across the two channels," said Barwick.

Launch pad for new talent

[ image: BBC Choice: The BBC's digital service is already on air]
BBC Choice: The BBC's digital service is already on air
He added that he saw the channel as a launch pad for new talent and ideas in the same way BBC Two has pioneered shows like Changing Rooms, Ground Force and The Mrs Merton Show which have since transferred to BBC One.

"I'd like to think we've created a channel that is different to ITV but has links with it, he said.

Other highlights include:

GMTV2, which will fill the same 0600-0925 slot it occupies on ITV.

Highlights of the best of This Morning.

Re-runs of shows like Coronation Street, Emmerdale, Blind Date, Trisha, Touching Evil and Hornblower.

The Locker - a fitness programme fronted by On The Ball presenter Gabby Yorath.

I Suppose You Think That's Funny - a comedy quiz show hosted by Liza Tarbuck.

Through The Lens - a chat show hosted by Koo Stark.

Wide Angle - Katie Derham takes an in-depth look at a key issue of the week.

The new channel faces stiff competition. The BBC recently launched BBC Choice, a similar mix of new and complementary programming and Channel 4 has just launched Film Four, a subscription service which makes use of its extensive film archive.