Richard Madeley has opened up about the surprisingly tender reason he sleeps in a separate bedroom from his wife Judy Finnigan — and it has everything to do with protecting her peace after she stepped away from television.
The Good Morning Britain presenter, 69, became one of Britain’s best-known daytime TV faces alongside Judy in the 1980s, when the pair fronted This Morning before later launching their own Channel 4 show, Richard and Judy.
The couple first met in 1982 while both were still married to other people, but their relationship later blossomed. They tied the knot in Manchester 39 years ago and went on to build both a family and a hugely successful television partnership.
Together, they share children Jack and Chloe Madeley, while Richard is also stepfather to Judy’s sons Dan and Tom Henshaw from her previous marriage.
But while Richard is still part of the early-morning TV world, Judy — who celebrates her 78th birthday today — made the major decision around a decade ago to step back from the spotlight. Since then, she has been enjoying a quieter life away from the demands of live television.
Richard, meanwhile, continues to appear on Good Morning Britain alongside Susanna Reid, a role that requires brutally early starts. And because GMB goes on air from 6am, Richard has revealed he often sleeps in the spare room so Judy is not disturbed.
Speaking on Kate Thornton’s White Wine Question Time podcast, Richard explained: “When I’m doing Good Morning Britain I sleep in the spare room. I do probably sleep a little bit better in bed with Judy but I’m okay on my own.”
Asked whether he would ever consider staying in the same bed and simply waking Judy when his alarm goes off, Richard made it clear that was not an option.
“I wouldn’t think of doing that to Judy. Apart from anything else, Judy and her sleep, you do not mess with,” he said.
The admission offered a sweet glimpse into the couple’s long marriage, showing that after nearly four decades together, Richard still takes Judy’s comfort seriously.
Kate Thornton then mentioned that fellow broadcaster Amol Rajan has said he sleeps better with his wife beside him, despite his own early starts for the Today programme. Richard joked in response: “Amol Rajan’s wife must be a saint.”
Richard also reflected on how different things were when he and Judy hosted This Morning together. Back then, their schedules matched, meaning they would wake up and head to work at the same time.
“We did This Morning, but the difference between me and Amol there is that Judy and I would get up at the same time. The alarm would go off, we’d both get up and roll into our jeans, get in the car, and drive to Liverpool to do the show, and then when we were in London, drive down to the Southbank.
“So we went to bed at the same time and woke up at the same time,” he said.
Richard and Judy’s love story began at Granada TV, where Richard once recalled being struck by Judy’s sharp wit after hearing she was taking an executive to task for making what he described as a sexist remark.
Speaking to The Guardian in 2014, Richard remembered thinking: “I thought, wow – I’m going to marry her.”
More recently, he has also spoken about the seriousness with which he approached becoming a stepfather to Judy’s sons. Appearing on Matt Willis’ On the Mend podcast, Richard said Judy had made it clear she came as a “three-pack” with twins Dan and Tom.
Rather than rushing into the relationship lightly, Richard took himself away to Greece for two weeks to think carefully about whether he was truly ready for that responsibility.
“So, I went off on my own. I went off to Greece for two weeks on a kind of a solo holiday to think about it, because I didn’t want to rush – well, I wasn’t rushing – but I didn’t want to make that mistake,” he said.
Richard said that time apart helped him realise he was ready to be part of the boys’ lives. He added: “I didn’t want to say airily and with super-confidence, ‘Oh, yeah, it’ll be fine. You know, I’m happy to be a stepfather’. I needed to know that I could deliver and that I meant it.”
Decades later, his latest comments about sleeping apart from Judy appear to underline the same thing: for Richard, love has always been about showing up properly — even if that means quietly moving into the spare room before an early alarm.
