Richard Madeley has shared that he opts to sleep in a different bedroom from his wife Judy Finnigan when presenting on Good Morning Britain, and its for the sweetest reason.
The 68 year old, who has presented alongside Judy since their days fronting ITVs This Morning in the 1980s. Judy has become less visible on TV for the last 10 years following her departure from Loose Women, an experience she is reportedly “really enjoying”. Judy supports Richard’s ongoing role at Good Morning Britain where he partners with Susanna Reid. The early broadcast time of 6am necessitates some early starts.
To avoid disturbing Judy’s slumber, Richard has taken to sleeping separately, a revelation he made on the White Wine Question Time podcast hosted by Kate Thornton.
He said: “When I’m doing Good Morning Britain I sleep in the spare room. I do probably sleep a little bit better in bed with Judy but I’m okay on my own.”
On considering the alternative and waking Judy up early, he reflected: “I wouldn’t think of doing that to Judy. Apart from anything else, Judy and her sleep, you do not mess with,” reports Gloucestershire Live.
Thornton contrasted this with how fellow presenter Amol Rajan deals with similar circumstances, mentioning that he acknowledges sleeping more soundly beside his wife, meaning the entire family, including their four young children under seven, get an earlier start when he is set to present The Today programme.
Richard Madeley shared a candid insight into his marriage with Judy Finnigan, comparing their routine to that of Amol Rajan by saying: “Amol Rajan’s wife must be a saint.”
He went on to detail their shared mornings during their time on This Morning: “The alarm would go off, we’d both get up and roll into our jeans, get in the car, and drive to Liverpool to do the show, and then when we were in London, drive down to the Southbank. So we went to bed at the same time and woke up at the same time.”
Reflecting on how he and Judy first met while working on separate Granada TV programmes in the 1980s, Richard recalled an incident where Judy was “dicing [an executive] into small cubes with her tongue” after he made “something sexist”. This moment left a strong impression on Richard, who told the Guardian in 2014: “I thought, wow I’m going to marry her.”
The couple, who married in 1986 and have two children together, have been a staple of British television for decades. Judy also brought two children from her previous marriage into their family.