Producer Maury Povich reflects on the “unscrupulous things” his staff did to attract guests

Morey’s producer reveals the secrets of making a talk show in the ’90s and the ruthless behind-the-scenes battles that erupted between competitors.

In the premiere episode of ABC News Studios’ new documentary Dirty Talk: When Daytime Talk Shows Rule TV, which premiered Wednesday, Jan. 14, Morey producer Anthony Freier spoke about the unsung competition to secure guests in a crowded market.

While sharing his war story, Freire recalled one instance in which Morley’s producers poached a guest who was scheduled to appear on Sally Jesse Raphael’s self-titled talk show.

“It was crazy. We did something unscrupulous,” Freire said. “It was Sally’s guest, and it was a woman who had done breast implants herself. It was like Morley’s producer brought her into our studio and shoved her onto the set, and there she was talking to Morley.”

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Bert Dubrow, the producer of “Sally Jesse Raphael” at the time, also remembered the incident.

“I’d like to think we’ve never stolen a guest from another show, but I do remember someone stealing a guest from us,” Dubrow said. “We took her on a plane and put her in a nice Holiday Inn across the street. And the producers went to pick her up and she wasn’t there.”

Dirty Talk: When Daytime Talk Shows Ruled TV features interesting anecdotes about the rise of the so-called “trash TV” era, which included shows like The Maury Povich Show, Montel Willams, The Jerry Springer Show, Ricki Lake, Leeza, and Sally Jesse Raphael.

Povich will appear in the documentary along with Williams, Rafael, Leeza Gibbons and a number of producers who worked on the show.

In the documentary, Williams, 69, said all the prominent talk show hosts of the time were in on the frenzy.

“In the early days, I did as many strippers as Oprah, I did as many strippers as Sally, I did as many strippers as Phil,” Williams said of The Oprah Winfrey Show, Sally and the Phil Donahue Show. “Everyone was thinking about how to make their breasts bigger on the air.”

According to the trailer, the series will also feature other taboo episodes, including one in which Povich, 86, says she “couldn’t” do it today.

The first episode detailed how sex and conflict were key to the show’s appeal, and how the daytime format exploded in the ’90s.

The second episode, which will air on January 21, will explore why viewers tuned in and why the guests agreed to reveal everything on air, according to a release. We also delve into a shocking incident in which one guest murdered another after being recorded. And in the third and final episode, which will be released on January 28, The Jerry Springer Show will lead the race as it dives into the “new level of sensationalism” that the genre has built.

Dirty Talk: When Daytime Talk Shows Ruled TV airs Wednesdays (9 p.m.), and episodes stream the next day on Disney+ and Hulu.