Telly Talk: It took the kind of Dawn you want to see first thing in the morning to finally get Adrian Chiles to admit all’s not tickety-boo at Daybreak.

Taking a seat on the sofa to talk about her new book, Dawn French’s appearance this morning proved this show can pull in the names people like to see, but Dawn spotted within an instant that they hadn’t quite given the show enough thought before launching it with trumpets blaring.

“It’s dark outside” she said to Chiles, who replied that when they built the studio with its floor to ceiling glass backdrop they hadn’t known it got darker earlier in the winter.

“It has happened every year since the beginning of time,” she quipped back in that “it should have been obvious” tone.

“We’ll work on that,” joked Chiles.

Those new day-glo panels of yellow behind the sofa have helped to brighten things a little but there’s so much more which needs “working on” at Daybreak.

Now it’s true that neither TVAM or GMTV were immediate hits, but even with an allowance of a settling in period the negative response to Daybreak is staggering.

The shame of it is it can work, it just needs some key changes.

Either Kate and Dan on the sofa or, for that matter, two complete unknowns. Or least those breaking new ground in regional television. The most popular morning presenters are not stars already – morning television usually creates stars.

People want someone they can relate to in the mornings. They want to think there is some empathy rather than feel as if they are being patronised by someone who has no clue what it’s like to live in the real world – probably the reason why Christine is struggling so much with audiences. Her carefree WAG’s lifestyle is a world away from a working mother juggling the school run, nursery drop-off and getting to the office on time.

That kind of star status is okay in the evenings for a show all about glitz and escapism which is why the X-Factor worked so well for Cheryl Cole’s rising celebrity credentials.

It’s why the Lorraine segment of the show is attracting so many more more viewers than Daybreak, even with Kate Garraway fronting it this week.

I’d also get more guests on the sofa. There is just not enough ordinary people interviewed in that studio. During the course of a morning GMTV would have invited numerous people, including members of the public with a story to tell to the studio. It added to the flow and made it feel as if the audience had a stake in it.

The original ego Chris Evans has learnt that lesson, admitting that his Radio Two show is now all about the people who listen and he gets as many mentions as possible for his audience during a show.

That tactic is bringing the Ginger One back into the fold after the public fell out of love with him in a big way.

It’s simply time to get back to the basics.