UPDATE: |Richard Madeley opens up on quitting London with Judy Finnigan after emotional realisation News

Opening up about his early career outside the capital, Richard Madeley informed the Spectator’s Table Talk podcast that he was “very happy” to be up in the North with his family

Richard Madeley has confessed that he once phoned his wife, Judy Finnigan, expressing his readiness to relocate from London in a “heartbeat”.

In an episode of the Spectator’s Table Talk podcast, the Good Morning Britain host reminisced about his early career and life outside of London, where he was “born and bred”.

Richard spent approximately two decades residing in the North, including stints in Carlisle, Leeds and Manchester. It was in Manchester where he met and settled down with his future wife, Judy, a native Mancunian, before they returned to London in 1996.

He expressed his contentment living in the North, stating that he “loved” it there, especially Manchester, which he described as a “cool city”.

Richard then recounted a poignant moment of nostalgia he experienced when he revisited Manchester for work. He said: “So, I felt like a kind of adopted northerner, and it’s funny; I was back in Manchester not that long ago on some business, and I had a couple of hours free.

“And I went to the house where we used to live in Didsbury, which is a southern suburb of Manchester, and I looked at our old house and I called Judy up from outside it, here in London.

“And I said, ‘You know; I could move back here in a heartbeat’. So, even though I am a Londoner born and bred, and I love London and I love living in Hampstead, north London; it’s great, if I had to move back to Manchester, it would be a sort of blessing.”

The veteran broadcaster, now 68, kick-started his career at BBC Radio Carlisle (now known as Radio Cumbria) when he was just 19 in the 1970s, before transitioning to Granada Reports in the 1980s.

In 2023, the presenter was left red-faced when his GMB co-star, Susanna Reid, commented on how he used to sound “back in the day” as they played an old clip of him speaking on the airwaves.

During this segment, Susanna announced: “It is BBC Cumbria’s 50th anniversary and to remind you of your origins here’s Richard Madeley back in the day.”

The 1976 recording had the seasoned presenter squirming and chuckling. One of the panellists requested a replay of the clip, with Richard exclaiming: “I’m actually blushing! I can’t do that voice anymore.”

Co-host Charlotte Hawkins noted that Richard sounded rather posh in the recording. In response, Richard likened his younger self to a Second World War newsreader, while reminding everyone that he hails from Romford.

Susanna couldn’t resist teasing him further about his accent, quipping: “Even the Royals don’t talk like that”, to which he conceded: “I know, I know.”