[Stuart]

I can see why you'd want a sofa on a rostrum because it looks better and I believe it's easier for cameras to get eye-level shots without having to be very low down on their peds.  Those screens don't look very well calibrated for broadcast quality.

They haven't really used the sofa area very much at TVC, it's generally been for performances. I guess it's easy enough to whip out the sofa/table to This Morning's kitchen area and just have someone using the rostrum for a quick warble.