A new Breakfast menu

As The Mail and The Guardian try to stoke up interest in which BBC Breakfast presenters might stay on screen after the move to Salford in 2012 (decision deadline day is March 31), let's take a few reality checks.  Most of the current presenters are really battling for shorter rotas, so they can do as the bosses - three days in a row, overnights in a nice hotel, and then back to the Home Counties.  The BBC management side is twitchy because of a current, huge lead over Daybreak in audience figures, based more on ITV's inept relaunch rather than searing insights and interviews on the red sofa.  It's different for the production team; they are replaceable in the North. And, as the 5Live staff who aren't making the journey have had first dibs at vacancies in London, they've much less chance of resettlement in the Television Centre Mothership.

I hope the BBC plays hardball with the talent;  there's plenty of time to replace people who won't make the journey, there is talent around Manchester, and the sky won't fall in on a Breakfast set without one or two of the current regulars.  

• If you've time on your hands this Friday, try following the Twitter spat between @ResignLondon and @ResignManchestr.   The ResignLondon website, funded by Government grant to the dying North West Development Agency, offers an "hilarious" multi-choice resignation letter, and a tasteless cod-missing child video.  Not the best advertisement for creative talent and judgement in the North West.