Wakey wakey

Channel-hopping as Bleakley and Chiles commenced their assault on the breakfast tv market this morning, it was clear they were attacking it with some energy - and had energised their competitors. However, the basic structures of such shows mean genuine innovation is hard.

On the story side, John Stapleton had been sent back to his consumer champion days, for a revisit of the Farepak story - clearly aimed at maintaining the interest of a DE audience. At the BBC, Bill and Sian (with a glossier lippy) had a 'special investigation' (they'd asked for some figures) on how mortgage providers were making more money from home buyers, for the ABC1s. At Sky News, Eamonn Holmes and a trio of blondes led on a re-run of the investigation into the death of Mark Blanco in 2006, who'd been at a party with Pete Doherty.

For Daybreak, Lucy Verasamy (from Sky) is an asset on the weather, but the backdrop screen with its prison bars is a big failure - they should have spent slightly less on the wooden floors. The webcams around the country are currently mildly interesting at 0600, but wait for the winter months. ITV might have invested in Daybreak itself, but the London opt-out is still a pretty sorry piece of work.

All three services tap-danced around the Wayne Rooney story, with Daybreak at least mentioning the word "prostitute". The longest appearance by a member of the family was from Coleen - in an advert for Littlewoods.com. Daybreak still seems stuck with its familiar clutch of advertisers, including the ludicrous lady in shorts who apparently loses weight effortlessly thanks to a herbal slimming tablet, Adios. One for John Stapleton ?