Next week, A Current Affair is Live from Paris as Olympics fever ramps up.
Anchor Ally Langdon will be hosting from locations around the city with special one hour editions on Monday and Tuesday, and while there are best laid plans, she admits there is a need to be nimble and ready for anything.
“I’m just going to be on the street somewhere,” she tells TV Tonight.
“We’ll find a different location each day, just to be in the mix. I think it’s until we get over there and and get a real sense of that excitement, we won’t know exactly what the show will look like. We’ve got a plan. We’ve got a rundown, but my plan is we get over there and we throw it all out, and we start again.”
For Langdon, who has hosted plenty of Live events from overseas, the 7pm Australia / 11am France start time is much friendlier than previous crosses in her old Today show role.
“I’ve been talking to Sarah and Karl about this. I feel that for every Royal Wedding, Engagement, the passing of the Queen, anytime we’ve gone over to big events, I’ve always been on the worst shift, the overnight shift. And often I’d be doing, 60 Minutes as well Today or Weekend Today,” she explains.
“This is the first time ever that I’ve got beautiful hours! I’ve always been the one stuck doing night shifts, so I do feel for them. Those hours are ugly, you can’t sugarcoat that.”
ACA will include human interest stories on athletes ahead of the Games, with Langdon particularly excited about some of the more obscure sports.
“For the last couple of months, I’ve been trying to get around different corners of Australia to tell some of those fabulous back stories. Matt Denny, is one of our real medal champs in the Discus, (so I was) meeting his parents and grandmother, and some fabulous characters that we don’t hear too much about until the Olympics come around every four years,” she continues.
“I love that Breakdancing is being introduced this year, and I’m looking forward to Jeff Dunne, who’s only 16. He’s quite phenomenal.
“I’m sure you probably know that rather than it all being in stadiums, a lot of it is interweaving tthrough the heart of Paris, with Breakdancing and Skateboarding. It’s right there in the city, and it’s all very open. In any direction you look, there’s a monument that you’re going to recognise. It’s just going to look so beautiful in that sense.”
On Wednesday night Leila McKinnon hosts ACA from Paris ahead of Langdon and James Bracey hosting a two hour Olympics preview, Paris 2024: Let The Games Begin with live crosses to the men’s and women’s flag bearer announcement, feature stories and guests.
Once the Games kick off, Langdon will also be anchoring daily Live coverage with James Bracey from 7pm – 1am AEST.
“We’ve got Diving, we’ve got Jess Fox in the Canoe Slalom, and you’ve also got our swimmers. So there’s a fair bit going on in those first couple of days, which is fantastic.”
Since succeeding Tracey Grimshaw in the chair, Langdon has enjoyed winning ratings in the competitive 7pm timeslot.
“I feel as a show we’re humming, and we’ve got this brilliant team. Everyone works really hard, and our viewers are such a big part of that. A lot of the stories actually come in come from them. For me, I always say our stories are about heart and soul. Whenever we’re looking at what’s in the mix it’s looking for that and having that impact,” she insists.
“The ratings are going really well, but I don’t think you ever rest or take your foot off the pedal, because things are traveling well.”
Meanwhile, ACA will be off air for the duration of the Games, which conclude with a Closing Ceremony early morning, Australian time on Monday August 12.
For the production team, that’s a perfect time to recharge their batteries.
“I think most of the team will probably take the first week off, and then come back strong in that second week, so we’ve got some cracking yarns ready to go when we’re back on air on the 12th of August.”
A Current Affair screens 7pm Monday – Saturday on Nine.
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