All eyes will have been on Claudia Winkleman as her BBC One chat show made its long-awaited debut on Friday night.
Fronting The Traitors after years as host of Strictly Come Dancing has firmly cemented her status as an A-list television star.
But the entire future of that brilliant career was on the line, as Winkleman took over the late evening slot that has for so long belonged to Graham Norton, putting herself under scrutiny as never before.
Get it right and she could reign supreme as Queen of the Chat Show for decades to come.
Slip up, and the debacle of a dull snooze-fest leaving viewers slumped on their sofas at home would have been hard to shake off.
Then there was the question of what sort of chat show host Winkleman would turn out to be.
Were we about to discover an old-school listener, in the mode of Michael Parkinson, politely prodding the guests along with well-placed prompts and light interjections?
Or would Winkleman reveal she has the quick-witted banter to emulate Norton as a performer whose own personality is itself one of the star attractions for the show?
So, with so much at stake, it was with understandable nervous excitement that Winkleman stepped out before a live audience, ready to usher on her guests.
Fashion-watchers will have noted that “The Claudia” – her famous trademark ink-black fringe – seemed longer and glossier than ever before.
Perhaps, just as Samson drew his strength from his locks, she was doing the same for an extra boost of confidence on this all-important night.
A soft-ball first-night line-up of guests suggested the producers were taking good care of their frontwoman by providing the kind of stars who can always be relied on to deliver without too much trouble.
Underneath the quirky eccentricity, Jeff Goldblum is an affable Mr Dependable for a stream of unfailing anecdotes.
Jennifer Saunders provides the cosily familiar presence of a British television national treasure, albeit with the twist that she has a capacity for flinty barbs.
Vanessa Williams (Desperate Housewives) simply exudes unadulterated Hollywood glam with her perfect poise and light grace.
Tom Allen, meanwhile, is who you call when you want guaranteed laughs, thanks to his preternatural ability to turn the joyful camp comedy tap on at will.
Introductions over, Winkleman wondered if this would be not only the first show but the last one too. Ever the gentleman, Goldblum was quick to jump in with the comforting prospect of a 30-year run instead.
It was, in truth, a shaky start, in which the set’s custom-designed sofa was the focus of the first few minutes’ conversation. After an extended debate we learned that the colour is officially ‘dark teal’. Ho hum.
And as Winkleman turned from one star to another in sequence asking about their new book/film/music recording (delete as appropriate), there was a formulaic predictability that would surely have caught the ire of the Strictly judges.
“More plugs than B&Q,” Craig Revel Horwood might have quipped.
At one point Winkleman even asked her quartet of stars straight-faced: “Is there anything you want to sell a bit harder?”
Even so, there were no outright gaffes, and if there were no moments of brilliant sparkling wit by the host, that may have been no bad thing: the last thing television needs is another diva who won’t let their guests get a word in edgeways.
Perhaps the best tribute that could be paid at the end of this first episode is the sense of a Friday night fixture which might already have been around for years.
With time and growing confidence, Winkleman will surely come more into her own. That dark teal sofa may soon be very much part of the furniture.
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