Judy Finnigan admits crying in This Morning dressing room after major change with Richard

Judy Finnigan has candidly revealed that This Morning's move from Liverpool to London left her in tears behind-the-scenes on several occasions. Back in 1988, she and husband Richard Madeley became the first presenting duo on the ITV show, broadcasting live from Liverpool's Royal Albert Dock.

At the time, they commuted from their home in Manchester to the city while also juggling their two children Chloe, now 36, and Jack, 38, who were infants, as well as Judy's other two children with her ex-husband David Henshaw.

Eight years into the gig, Richard and Judy told bosses that they had plans to leave the show due to a "combination of factors" and suggested that a new pair of co-hosts should take their place.

Reflecting on this moment in their new Channel 5 documentary titled Richard & Judy: Our Best Bits - In Our Own Words, he tells viewers: "We began making vague noises to our bosses, 'Maybe this might be our last year doing it and maybe they should think about putting on somebody else'."

Judy went on to liken that period of time to "groundhog day" as she admitted to finding the juggle of working a five-day week, commuting, and looking after their growing family "very intense". Richard chimed in saying: "It wasn't a definite plan but it was something we were kind of thinking out loud and this really alarmed Granada.

"They went away and came back to us and said, 'We kind of agree with you that the programme needs a bit of a refresh, how would you feel if we moved the show to the Southbank in London?'"

Richard, being born near London, admits he was excited by the idea while Judy also welcomed the "thrill", until they actually moved.

Opening up their first show from London at the time after an emotional exit from Liverpool, Judy described the move as "traumatic", to which Richard added: "She's settling in very well."

Reflecting on the change in the film, the mother-of-four goes on to discuss just how emotional she became behind-the-scenes.

She shares in the documentary: "When we did move to London, I spent the first year, year and a half, desperately home sick.

"As did many of our team, we all used to gather in the dressing room after the programme and cry."

Also speaking in the film is the show's co-creator Dianne Nelmes, who admitted she wasn't keen on the change of location.

"I still think to this day that it was never quite the same when it moved to London," she confessed.

Dianne also reflected on the moment she learned that Richard and Judy were a couple after hearing rumours about an affair.

She shared: "Rumours started that Richard and Judy were having an affair and I simply didn't believe it.

"I remember at one point I got a few journalists together and read the riot act and said, 'Will you stop all this gossip they've got a great chemistry on screen and they are just good friends, so stop it'. Well, I never live that down."

Richard and Judy's This Morning stint came to an end in 2001 after 13 years when they were approached by Channel 4 to host a similar show.

After eight more years on screen, their programme came to an end and the pair went their separate ways professionally.

Nowadays, Richard continues to present shows such as Good Morning Britain, while Judy is mostly focused on her writing career.

Richard & Judy: Our Best Bits - In Our Own Words is available to watch on My 5.