Normally known for his sports broadcasts, Ian Payne is spreading his wings to sprearhead a new, men only talk show, he tells Steve Pratt.

AFTER a week with rugby hero Jonny Wilkinson, sports presenter Ian Payne is more than ready to get a few things off his chest. He'll have the ideal opportunity as front man on Tyne Tees Television's new daily men only chat show, being screened from this Monday to Friday.

Just Men is being seen as the male equivalent of ITV's Loose Women, with a panel of regulars and guests offering opinions and observations on every topic under the sun.

As the presenter, Payne is making his first foray into non-sports TV since joining Tyne Tees 11 years ago. He thought he'd have a fairly easy week of pre-production. England's World Cup rugby victory changed all that, after ITV commissioned Tyne Tees to make a Wilkinson profile for screening on the network last night.

He's spent the week working on that programme. "It was fantastic to do. He's a guy we know as well as anyone does. He's been a great supporter of ours, and we have been of him and the Falcons," says Payne.

"He's an adopted Geordie and has achieved his superstardom while in the North-East. Alan Shearer became a star elsewhere and we had to pay £15m to bring him back."

Sport won't be high on his agenda in Just Men. Regular panellists - historian Max Adams, Jim Rees of York Railway Museum and Leigh Proud, Head of Theatre and Dance at Newcastle College - will be joined by a different guest each day to talk about topics from a male perspective.

"We're testing out whether blokes can talk. The commonly-held belief is that they don't," explains Payne.

"We don't know each other terribly well. We're just guys thrown into the melting pot. We'll have met each other beforehand, and seen background notes about each other."

The production team is aiming for a relaxed, informal atmosphere to encourage conversation.

"There will be no allies and no enemies in the studio. We don't know who we'll agree with. We're not looking to strip anyone bare. We don't need to do that. We're just trying to be a little bit more candid and open than blokes normally are," says Payne.

The talk will be all-male, but the afternoon slot means plenty of women viewers. "I think blokes will sneak a look at Cosmopolitan if they see it lying around, just as women will pick up Loaded or GQ," he says.

"We're going to tell them what we think. They might be appalled or heartened, but hopefully not offended.

"When men open themselves up, they're more likely to do so to people they don't know as well, rather than friends, because we don't want it to be a burden on the friendship. Women are more likely to confide in their best friend."

Topics set for the week are image, relationships, fear, ambition and - one close to Payne's heart - sport. The twist is that guests won't necessarily be paired with their specialist subject. Rugby player Doddie Weir appears in the edition discussing relationships. Royal Shakespeare Company actor David Bradley appears on the day sport is the topic. Darlington-based millionaire Duncan Bannatyne and magician Paul Lytton are other guests lined up.

The mechanics of the series - "I have to keep them in order and get off air on time" - don't worry an experienced live programme presenter like Payne, but he's aware something other than reporting is required. "I have to open myself up, they might be asking me questions. If we're on our guard, it won't work."

* Just Men is on Tyne Tees Television at 2.30pm, from Monday to Friday.

Published: 29/11/2003