A review of ITV’s Euro 2012 studio

They’ve got to sit somewhere and every two years ITV seemingly go to great lengths to make their studio’s as Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen-fantastic as possible.

Once again, all MDF has been covered in the best varnish Homebase has to offer, furniture has been custom built from old pieces of trellising and a bag of semi-precious rubble has been cleverly placed under a sheet of high-grade Perspex as an eye-catching centre-piece.

Handy Andy – it must be him as no else possess the ability to so generously slather materials in so much glossy emulsion – has truly performed wonders.

And it’s the chairs that steal the show. As wide as they are unimaginably deep they allow the sitter to excitedly search for comfort throughout the programme, whilst also giving Adrian Chiles the opportunity to perch on the edge of his seat in a position of faux-interest, simultaneously allowing his stubby little legs reach the floor.

Gordon Strachan though seems happy to sit back in his wooden throne like an extra from Harry Enfield’s Charlie and Lulu sketch.

This is only the beginning though, as carefully positioned around the studio are a series of largely useless tables.

The glass table sitting in front of the pundits at first glance appears to serve no practical purpose, as nothing is ever placed on it due to its lack of height in comparison to the chairs, plus it carries no advertising logo to remind the forgetful viewer which channel they’re aimlessly gawping at, as done by the BBC.

Often forgotten though is the fact that Gareth Southgate has a hideous taste in smart-casual footwear and the glass table also helps to break up the general tree-house feel.

Plus, in a major coup, ITV have successfully managed to obtain a series of bedside tables from the Basingstoke Reparatory theatre’s production of The Flintstones that neither match the pale wood of the seating, or the overly glossy staging area, allowing them to gloriously stand out from the background.

The studio’s location is another masterstroke.

Positioned on a balcony overlooking the truly wonderful Old Town Square in Warsaw, ITV have ensured that their highlights programme - aired at 23:30 local time - will be soundtracked by the vociferous crowd below, drowning out the drones of Gareth Southgate and Matt Smith.

Rather disappointingly though, English fans have yet to locate the studio and bombard the channel’s evening coverage with a barrage of water balloons. There’s still plenty of time for that though.

Tags: Adrian Chiles, Gareth Southgate, ITV