Sean Moore
29
May 12:50
Top of the morning and goodbye
There's always been something reassuring about Breakfast with Frost. Every Sunday morning he would be there with a selection of big-name politicians, Iain Duncan Smith, actors, sportspeople or musicians. They would have a gentle chat; maybe drink a glass of orange juice or a cup of tea. He would be polite, they would be gracious. All in all a thoroughly pleasant way to start a Sunday.That's not to say that I watched it all that often, of course. I always intended to, but at that time on a Sunday morning the balance of probabilities was inevitably on the side of me being asleep. Sometimes I would wake up in time to watch the last few minutes through bleary eyes, although usually this meant seeing no more than a couple and then sleeping through the rest. The familiar theme tune would wake me up again, though, before further dozing during the Heaven and Earth Show.
Now, alas, Breakfast with Frost is over. Sir David's armchair and cushions have been given away in aid of Children in Need; Sir David himself is about to pay a brief visit to Sky – which he was only too happy to plug – with another old-timer, Des Lynam. He'll be back irregularly for The Frost Interviews (for some reason every programme in which he appears has to bear his name, but we somehow can't begrudge him that).
The final programme this morning had a strange feel to it. Needless to say I missed the first 20 minutes, but I made a special effort to stay awake through the rest. The strangeness came not from that, however, but from the presence of a star-studded studio audience (Ronnie Corbett, Peter Sissons, some BBC manager type with a beard...), who felt the need to applaud from time to time – including after the weather forecast. Sir David seemed unfazed by the surrealism of it all and did not descend into Jerry Springer mode. Sadly nor did the audience feel the need to shout "Sir David, Sir David" as he tackled his guests.
He was, of course, too much of a professional to break down and cry at the end of the programme, but who could have blamed him? It was an end of an era; he had Moira Stewart and Neil Kinnock on the sofa. Even the weather forecaster had ventured into the studio, still looking slightly bemused from her earlier warm reception. His voice did crack for a moment, though.
Despite all the tributes and the farewells, and the fact that Sir David must be at least 105, this didn't feel like goodbye: more like the end of one stage of his career, and the beginning of the next. We haven't seen the last of him yet.
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