Channel 4: Big Breakfast returns for Black To Front day

AJ Odudu and Mo Gilligan have returned to the original Big Breakfast cottage

The Big Breakfast returned on Friday as part of an all-day project putting black talent on Channel 4, almost 20 years after the show was last on air.

AJ Odudu and Mo Gilligan co-hosted the one-off revival for the channel's Black To Front Day.

Elsewhere in the schedule, Sir Trevor McDonald is guest hosting Countdown and Mel B is fronting Steph's Packed Lunch.

Channel 4 said the day would "amplify black talent, voices and stories". But some have criticised it as tokenistic.

The Big Breakfast became an anarchic TV favourite when it ran from 1992 to 2002, with presenters including Chris Evans, Johnny Vaughan, Denise van Outen and Zoe Ball.

"Chris Evans was one of the first ginger presenters on British TV. That was what passed as diversity back then," Odudu joked as she opened the show.

On Friday, she and Gilligan returned to the original cottage to welcome guests like former sprinter Usain Bolt, guitarist Nile Rodgers, singer Eve and actor Idris Elba.

Sir Trevor McDonald is joined by Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon (left) and Lemn Sissay (right) on the special Countdown

The day also features a special episode of Hollyoaks made by an all-black cast and core crew; Highlife, a new reality series following successful British Nigerians and Ghanaians; and late-night talk show Unapologetic.

Channel 4 said the day was part of its "ongoing commitment as an anti-racist organisation to improve black representation on and off screen and drive long-term change in the industry".

Deputy director of programmes Kelly Webb-Lamb said the day would have "a lasting legacy" and "provide genuine opportunities for black talent to progress their careers and transform the next generation of creative decision-makers who will impact what we see on-screen in the future".

The day is providing "progression placements" on at least 10 shows, the channel said. Five Hollyoaks cast members who are introduced on Friday will stay as regulars, and new crew members "will continue to work on future episodes".

Tomi Ade (left) will join the Hollyoaks cast alongside Richard Blackwood and Kelle Bryan

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But others have questioned how much difference it will make to black British talent and aspiring programme-makers.

One of the critics has been comedian London Hughes, who has moved to the US because she says it is "the only country that knows how to showcase and celebrate black British talent properly".

She wrote on Twitter: "I grew up in a time where we were just happy to see a black man on Gladiators. If this were the 90s I'd be over the moon with #BlackToFront day! But we have moved on, television has moved on and England is still far behind."

"Everyone's entitled to their opinion," Mo Gilligan recently told The Guardian. "But I think what's getting lost is that there are people who are going to be part of this who don't normally get a look-in."

However, he told the Radio Times that his spot on The Masked Singer panel was probably achieving more for representation.

Speaking about the Black To Front Day, he said: "I think people are forgetting it's a chance for new talent, especially behind the camera, to get an opportunity.

"Sir Trevor McDonald is part of it - it's a bit of joy, man, a bit of fun and entertainment. We do need representation, but I'm probably doing more appearing as a panellist on The Masked Singer.

"The Masked Singer has got kids and families watching, and kids get to see people who look like them, their dad, their uncle, on primetime Saturday night."