I think its been abit poor the last few days. It started well but now its like we're just waiting for it to end. It feels more like Celeb BB to me rather than Ultimate BB. I always prefered the series with normal people rather than celebrities.

Obviously John McCririck is a bigger ratings pull than perhaps we thought. It's a weird one for me though - enjoying the episodes, but unlike BB11 not particularly interested in keeping up to date with what's happening outside of the episodes. Victor though really lifted it when he went in the bedsit, but the "game plan" talk is getting boring now basically because there is absolutely nothing they can influence now within the game. There's only one more round of noms (heck, BB might even deny us that and put them all up) and no Save & Replace, so no opportunity for tactical play of any kind really.

Really sad to see The Bill go tonight I watched it for years and I do believe ITV killed it off by moving it to 9pm. I'll have fond memories of the programme.

The ratings D.M.N posted on the last page just goes to show how it was getting perfectly fine ratings at 8pm. Nothing needed to be changed but ITV insisted. I tried to be positive about the 9pm episodes initially, but it just wasn't 'The Bill' anymore - it was always meant to be a pre watershed police drama, not a post watershed programme. The writers had to change the material of the programme to fit with ITV's vision that it was now a serious 9pm drama that could compete with other 9pm offerings on other channels but that just didn't suit The Bill at all.

ITV should have moved it back to 8pm when they seen it was failing and the material changed back to how it used to be. The Bill would have always been relevant to audiences.

It's too late to rant now, but I'm just angry that ITV cancelled it in the end.

NEWSFLASH-We've had ITV1 on from 8:00pm-11:35pm

does anyone know when Digital Spy are going to update the ratings.

Yeah looks like i missed the big Coolio Nadia thing, but on first glance I love dit tonight, maybe because it was my first night and I like most of the HMs there.

Someone watching ITV for three and a half hours without a break? That must be a record. Except for maybe last night where ITV had a very good night against the BBC. Maybe Coronation Street having a key storyline running through it boosted the shows around it. EastEnders dipped but will bounce back. Ultimate Big Brother suffered and is back in the realms of the normal series which isn't brilliant.

I don't think ITV had much of a choice than to move The Bill to 9pm because they needed to cost-cut and this was a logical way of doing it. What they shouldn't have done is alter the look of the show until it had settled in the new slot IMO.

I think The Bill would have stayed where it was comfortably bobbing along if it wasn't for the football rights. I don't think ITV moved it to 9pm with the intention of killing it off (the move was preceded by a huge TV and poster campaign IIRC) - where else could it really have gone?

Tell me about it
The only time i watched the BBC today was the News at 6 as ITV's really is terrible and that Brilliant TV show(EastEnders)

Didn't realise you watched EastEnders. Kept that quiet.

Plenty of places
Mondays at 9:00pm would have been better as thats the strongest corrie night anyway

Weekends could be a good opition but tbh i think ITV are only interested in rubbish reality shows
after axing 3 popular dramas The bill,Where the heart is and Heartbeat(was The Royal Axed?)

Thats once thing i like the BBC for they keep their long running shows on as long as they can

Top of the pops,Grange hill,Byker grove

And then they have Panorama,EastEnders,News round,Crimewatch,Casualty,Blue peter still running
they at least give the shows a go even once the ratings fall

Yeah i know im not one to keep going on

I think they had a choice but chose to go for the cheapest option, as ITV usually does. I dont know what the costs were to make 2 episodes of The Bill a week but it brought in good ratings, often 5m+ before the revamp. and I would have thought the demos would be decent.

However, its all history now. I havent watched for a few years but used to occasionally watch and usually enjoyed it. I hope it gets a decent rating.


Yeh, the football moving from Tuesday to Wednesday has caused huge problems for ITV. The Bill could have just moved to Tuesday and stayed on Thursdays and had the soap hour on Thursday go to Sunday. That way Corrie would probably be better of on the Sunday too.


The Bill, even though it fif good business, didnt deserve the Monday 9pm slot. That slot should go to the new dramas.

In fairness to ITV they do have to think about revenue from shows and cant hold on forever due to nostalgia but they have contributed to the shows you mentioned decreasing ratings-wise so im not going to be too sympathetic towards them.

The BBC does seem to treat its long-running shows much better.

It had a Corrie lead-in on Thursdays. Nothing to say it would have done better simply because Monday's Corrie performs better. And Corrie moved to Thursdays at the same time so at that point nobody knew that Corrie would perform less well on that evening.

I think it was the 9pm timeslot which killed The Bill. It was better off pre-watershed.

Yeah But didn't The bill go out against new tricks?

It wasn't just that it was like the show had totally changed.
New Theme tune and horrible Music over scenes make it feel Amercian or something
The horrible camera aswell.

I think with all Long running and popular shows
EastEnders,Casualty,Emmerdale,blue peter,newsround and there's another one somewhere...
Oh Yeah Corrie

They need to keep it up to date without totally changing the show that people know and love

ITV showed some naivety with their scheduling after the football moved. For me they should have had Coronation Street at 8pm with Emmerdale at 8.30pm on Tuesday's and Thursday's to cement the hours which were left vacant by The Bill. The Bill would've probably had a better initial chance at 9pm on Tuesday against weaker opposition and with a soap lead in.

Thursday was meant to be its permanent home - New Tricks isn't on every week of the year is it?

The BBC could buy it and show it Tuesdays at 8:00pm after EastEnders

Well with the repeats it isn't far off!

No i know but if New Tricks is going up against it 5/6 weeks then people are missing alot of the Bill and chances are they won't tune back i

Yeah But it seems ITV couldn't wait to move the show to Tuesdays

BREAKING NEWS

The X Factor Australia rises to 1.48m for its second instalment.

And there was me Thinking only The British were sad

What would they do with Holby City then? That seems to dip without the EastEnders lead in.