{alltv} Marilyn Denis returns to daytime TV

Gee, it seems as if The Marilyn Denis Show has been in the works for about 17 years.

"That's correct," said Denis, always willing to play along. It's one of the many reasons she has been such a beloved figure on radio and TV through the years.

The truth is, The Marilyn Denis Show -- a national Canadian daytime talk show that debuts Monday, Jan. 10 on CTV -- has been brewing since the CTV empire bought the CHUM empire about four years ago.

"The delays happened for a reason and throughout this whole thing, I have had the support of CTV, always," Denis said. "But we all agreed the timing wasn't right when we first thought about doing this, and now the timing couldn't be better.

"Aside from that, and I don't know if a lot of people know this, but my mother got quite sick a couple of years ago, and she passed away a year ago. She was my biggest viewer and biggest fan. I was very happy that I could be there for my father and my family. But all the planets are aligning now."

The Marilyn Denis Show will be broadcast before a live studio audience in Toronto, where Denis is a well-known entity because of her decades on radio at CHUM-FM and on TV at Cityline. But we asked Denis to tee things up for Canadians who might not be as familiar with her.

"Well, the host is a very attractive, 25-year-old woman," Denis said.

Yowza!

"This is a topical show -- not serious, serious subject matter, but watching this show will be like having a great conversation with your best girlfriend," Denis continued. "And the audience is a big factor. They drive the content."

Denis said the value placed upon audience input has been the biggest change in daytime TV in recent years.

"In past decades, I don't know if people paid too much attention to the audience, or what they wanted," Denis said. "Now, because of all the social media, there is so much information out there that you really have to listen.

"Radio does that all the time, but now you have to do it with television, too. Twenty years ago, you just did what you thought the trends were. Now, people are telling you, 'This is what we want to know.' "

Denis is continuing with her morning radio show before rushing into hair and makeup, changing her clothes and going on TV. Either of those things on its own could be a grind.

"Well, it certainly isn't the money," Denis said with a laugh when asked why she wants to work this hard. "Boy, if I were down in the States, huh? I'd be on my island in the Caribbean doing this interview as palm trees waved in the background. But that's not the case.

"What keeps me going is, I love radio and I love doing this type of television. I would not be good taped. I'm much better live and I live off that."

Wow, such wisdom and perspective from a 25-year-old!