It was as if she never left: The brilliant Christiane Amanpour is back on CNN International (DStv 401) on weeknights at 21:00 (South African time) with her own (old) show Amanpour which looked like and ran like an incredibly well-oiled news machine.
Everything from Amanpour and Amanpour on its launch episode on Monday night on CNN International was familiar, smooth, fair and objective - just like when she did Amanpour previously.
She started her own show, Amanpour in September 2009 on CNN International but left the news channel and her show in August 2010.
Later in 2010 when I interviewed CNN International executives from London during a trip to Uganda, a high ranking CNN executive - when I asked how they really feel about Christiane Amanpour leaving, told me this (with a wry smile): "We love her. And to be honest I don't think Christiane is really gone. I more think of it as 'she is on loan'. She's on loan from us. We're just allowing her to go and do something else for a bit but Christiane Amanpour is and will always be a part of CNN. She's part of our DNA."
The Amanpour set looks basically the same with a few small adjustments; the opening title and music remains basically unchanged, even the format of the show is the same as before which only added a "The Brief'' section showing Christiane Amanpour's strength and insight over news events and the players shaping the news agenda which she's built up over many years.
Every day's episode can also be watched in full online at http://www.amanpour.com/
"Let me start by saying how delighted I am to be back broadcasting from this seat again. I aim to bring you the big ideas and the top stories, including tonight an exclusive interview with the Afghan president Hamid Karzai," Christiane Amanpour said in Monday's debut show.
''I also want to explore stories in-depth, so each night I'll be starting the programme with The Brief, drawing upon different perspectives and my own experience in the field to explore the whole picture."
