54 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 3 1 JULY 2019
Δ maintain viewer interest as I’ve
never done before, and to swap
quickly to new locations and
interview subjects. Rider gets along
cheerily with pit-lane reporter Louise
G o o d m a n , a l s o w e l l k now n f r om F 1.
Course commentator David Addison
bobs up now and again: the races
are excitedly described by him and
former racer Tim Harvey, with driver
Paul O’Neill chiming in at times.
Serious work starts in the van on
voiced links. Rider doesn’t seem to
need to rehearse; he just does it. Then
it’s onto the gantry, and the grid, to
introduce the whole programme:
“Welcome to the third meeting
in the battle for the 2019 Kwik Fit
British Touring Car Championship,
first of our two visits to the famous
old airfield circuit of Thruxton
in Hampshire...” The familiar
voice rises and falls perfectly, with
effortless command of the facts and
none of t h at aw f u l , f a l s e e mph a si s s o
many of today’s presenters employ.
No wonder Rider is welcome in so
many living rooms.
Transmission begins precisely at
11.13am and 30 seconds and sets off
at what – when you see the moving
parts – seems a furious pace. It
becomes clear one of the biggest
challenges of the day is this pre-care,
scene-setting hour, because in the
beginning you don’t have much to
describe. So we’ve heard the inside
story of today’s races, of yesterday’s
qualifying, seen the success ballast
table, know who has the strong
prospects and who’s currently
leading the championships (of
which there are several, for drivers,
teams and independent entries).
W it h i n h a l f a n hou r, t he d ay ’s
timetable has been laid out, we’ve
had two commercial breaks (totalling
9min 30sec) and there has been
time for an obituary for Tommy
Sopwith, who won the first-ever
British touring car race in 1958
and has recently died. We’ve even
had a promo for ITV’s coverage of
the French Open tennis. Goodman
runs a feature about women in
Rider’s
interviewingsecrets have stood
him in good stead for
a lifetime: know what
you’re talking about,
ask relevant questions,
be interested in
the answers.
ITV’s control centre
plots nearly seven
hours of action
Script^ maps^ ou
t ITV’s^ coverage^ t
o the^ secondInterviewer becomes Cr
opley’s interviewee