[interestednovice]

Not necessarily, I could imagine a “close” sting at 8:59, cut back to a welcome to Breakfast ahead of the TOTH, and then headlines at 9:00am before a brief look at the top story and then regional opt at 9:10. After the regional opt, the usual interview and softer fluff until the end of the programme.

The benefit of that format is that it allows the NC to leave Breakfast and then go almost straight into the TOTH. If they had to leave at an opt point at 8:56 or 8:57, they’d have to awkwardly fill until 9:00am - either with extended trailers, or with a precisely-timed weather forecast which the Breakfast weather presenter would have to find time to record. Neither option would be optimal, so leaving at 8:59 makes much better sense.