There is quite a debate on the plan to get half the cast of Waterloo Road to move to the new filming base in Scotland, create a new school there and call it Waterloo Road again.

There is plenty of suggestion from the conflicting views of the audience so far that this could effect the credibility and viewing figures.

It is being done for political reasons (and to give young Scottish actors new opportunities I guess). It will add new dimensions to the storytelling - which given the longevity for the show that the BBC are conceiving might suggest a refresh like this with a new setting, culture and education system (and cheaper uni fees to drive the reason for the move?) could prevent staleness.

Doing it this way retains some of the cast which they likely see as more important to long term viewer loyalty than a quickly forgotten period of absurdity during the move 200 miles or more.

I wonder if ITV have the £100,000 to pay the winner of Show me the funny in the live final on Thursday.

Is there a contract clause to offer it as £50 up front and the rest in instalments?

The national tour and DVD launch also part of the prize is not going to threaten the X Factor winner's success in the attendance or DVD charts either.

I have actually enjoyed the series (must be the only one) - though flawed it was a neat idea that just did not pay off.

But credit to ITV for giving it a go.

This might have worked on a weekend better than half the shows they did screen then. Who feels like being (mildly) amused by dubious comedians at 9 pm on a Monday?

Is the other thread accurate that Law and Order UK is back as soon as 26 September?

Monday night if so.

Wonder if they need to see if it gets better ratings then in order to make an early decision on a recommission?

But good that the cliffhanger gets such a swift conclusion.

I think this is to boost BBC1 Scotlands UK out put. - The Weakest Link moving up therefor example. The SNP have been complaining for sometime that hardly any Scottish based/made output was from BBC Scotland.

i think the should have just aired River City in the UK each week. Though I've never watched it, maybe it wasn't good enough

Broadcast mentioning that Only Connect 'did the business's on BBC4. I don't subscribe, anyone know how it did?

I doubt it. Doc Martin is apparently airing on Mondays this Autumn (various sources say DM begins on 12 September). I suspect the next series of L&O will be shown next year.


Only Connect: 632k (2.6%) inc HD

Indeed, but the argument is over whether they should have just filmed in Scotland and kept it set in the same location (Rochdale) as other shows do - eg Casualty and Holby filmed in completely different locations and both set in a third.

They could have done this or chosen to start the series anew with an existing school (maybe one called Waterloo Road even) in, say, Edinburgh.

Instead there is a sort of fudge moving some of the cast to Scotland as well where they create a new academy that they choose to name after their old school.

This retains continuity of sorts and adds new opportunities for Scottish actors.

Maybe this is the first fictional story that is subconsciously retelling the trauma of the BBC staff being relocated from London to Salford....

That could be right as it would finish on 31st October ready for The Jury for the following week.

It does, however, contradict the expected Doc Martin on Mondays on 12th September. If Law and Order: UK is on Mondays, then it means Doc Martin is either on Tuesdays, Thursdays or Fridays.

With DCI Banks also on at some point, it looks like Doc Martin could be headed for Tuesdays - I doubt they would want to put a relatively new drama on Tuesdays for obvious reasons(!).

Also, it means a two part drama would air on 12th and 19th September. Appropriate Adult in theory could air there if the DVD date is moved, but it would mean displacing the 8:30pm Corrie for 2 weeks or moving News at Ten.

ITV Press Office is updating for 'Red or Black week', currently for Saturday 3rd September:

18:00 - All Star Family Fortunes
19:00 - tba
21:30 - The Jonathan Ross Show

I imagine it would be Red or Black either side of X Factor similar to my prediction here. I hope that changes, because if it turns out to be Red or Black at 7pm, Doctor Who will slaughter it.

That wasn't because of the trailer, it was because it was on at half past five in the middle of August. And if the BBC expected anymore, they wouldn't have put it at half past five in the middle of August. Anyway, it was alright, they probably could have swapped it with the film, but I suppose it does the business as an inexpensive teatime filler.


Hmm, when they stopped running it stripped in the autumn of 2000, they did instead do it I think three nights a week for months on end, usually Saturday, Sunday or Monday and Thursday, so they did run a couple at 9pm on Sunday, because I remember one week BBC1 had a documentary there and it was the first time I could remember neither BBC1 or ITV running a drama at 9pm on a Sunday. Then I think it was 2002 when it went just once a week.


I always assumed it would do better at ten than at nine because the competition wasn't so fierce, and if you're stripping a show every night I think it's easier to get a loyal audience out of primetime. The same reason why BBC3 show all their new stuff at 10.30. I remember when they had The Farm they showed it every night at 10.30 without fail, when ITV were doing the news at 10.30, in an attempt to attract their audience. I know The Farm was crap, but the scheduling was quite intelligent.


I love the way the final episode was ninety bloody minutes, a bit like how when they were showing Survivor, even though it had flopped, they still did the final for two hours in the middle of primetime. This isn't brave, though, it's just stupid, just encouraging decline. And again it proves ITV programmes are too long.


I know we need more sitcoms but at least Would I Lie To You is a good show. I think, HIGNFY aside, most of BBC1's panel games are after 10.30 though, they're certainly not shoved in the middle of primetime like Odd One In.

Back in 1998, though, BBC1 on Christmas Day had Auntie's Bloomers, Before They Were Famous and They Think It's All Over, so quite a lot of men sitting behind desks. I never liked it when they put They Think It's All Over on Christmas Day, it was completely unsuitable.


And that wasn't a particularly thrilling MOTD2 either, just Bolton vs Man City to pull in the casual audience, and City certainly at the top table like Man U or Liverpool just yet. It's an impressively consistent show, as it MOTD, it's absolutely the most popular way to watch football in Britain.


Also, they'd also done Design Wars, Trouble In Paradise and Building The Dream all within a year, which were virtually identical formats.


Not sure how long you can rely on The Inbetweeners though, given there were only three series, compared to the two hundred or so episodes of Friends. That said, BBC3 did alright with three series of Little Britain.


Heh, the SNP there who advertise massively with STV, who used to own Ginger TV and Virgin Radio and make absolutely nothing in Scotland, but now they're a tiny wee Scottish company forever dumped on by big old nasty London.

The next series of L&O is 7 episodes so it wouldn't finish before The Jury begins if it began on 26 September. I don't think the next series of it will be shown until next year as they've already shown 2 series so far this year; it's unusual to have 3 series in a year.

The OP has yet to confirm a source.

But they might need an early decision on a recommission to retain cast and contracts and the viewing figures on Sundays were on the cusp of getting the go ahead I imagine. Could need to test them on a different night sooner than planned.

7pm seems a bit early for auditions, I know they have done this before, but won't it affect ratings?

Okay I guess that rules that out - I would be surprised if The Jury is not stripped across the week before I'm a Celebrity starts like Collision was. I guess it could air the week after I'm a Celebrity, but I doubt it.

According to the listings on ITV.com, it's Red or Black from 7-8 and again from 9-9.30. XFactor 8-9, Jonathan Ross 9.30-10.30.

Cannot find anything about Law and Order UK starting again on 26 September outside that thread on here.

But the ever reliable Wikiwhatsit claims it starts on 28 September in the USA. And gives the opening episode synopsis referenced in that thread.

But I think the US has been ahead of UK screenings most series so far.

Promo push begins for Home & Away's Great Storm:

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/s1...-trailers.html

Looks seriously impressive, H&A proving it can provide spectacular drama like the best of 'em when it wants to. These episodes will air in Australia on Channel 7 in week commencing 5th September and in the UK on Channel 5 during week commencing 24th October.

It does look excellent and very well produced. Quite surprised though-I thought these episodes were airing as part of the 2011 finale. Hopefully they will live up to the hype of 'Summer Bay changing forever' and it will be interesting if they kill off a main character..

I reckon Ch5 will promote this heavily too. The advert produced by Ch7 is very good for them to use.

Thanks. According to ITV.com, the following two days will be:

Sun 4/9: 19.00- Red or Black?, 20.00- Coronation Street, 20.30- Red or Black?, 21.00- Appropriate Adult
Mon 5/9: 19.00- Emmerdale (1hr), 20.00- Red or Black, 21.00- Coronation Street, 21.30- Red or Black?

That could be a big mistake by ITV putting RoB's Saturday episode against Doctor Who and Monday's (and presumably Friday's) episode up against EastEnders.

I'm not sure that the Doctor Who clash would be too much of a disaster. We're only talking about an overnight audience of 6m or so - for a very different genre and with a lot of viewers who from past experience seem ill-inclined towards shiny floor entertainment. Using DW as a lead-in hasn't helped repeated BBC efforts, and we have seen a sizeable anti-Who audience gathering in the past for offerings as mundane as Mr and Mrs. I'd still be relatively confident in a big Ant and Dec / Cowell project like this scoring 6-7m or more, regardless.

EastEnders, I grant you, may be more of an obstacle and hurt its chances of growing an audience over the week.

The whole thing is a terrible mess. The "performance/results" format. The England game. Corrie in the middle. The fact that it's even stripped in the first place. Clashing with Eastenders (twice) and Doctor Who. Starting before X Factor rather than after. Airing in some bizzare schedule that no international broadcaster is likely to replicate.

If they had aired it as 1x90' at 9pm every night they'd have had an X Factor lead-in on Sat/Sun/Sat and Corrie on Mon/Thur/Fri. I really can't see what they expect to gain from this scheduling.

More extraordinary scenes out of Tripoli, I presume there will be boosts for all news broadcasts this evening.

Schedules are out.

Would I Lie To You? confirmed to be returning Fri 9th September at 9:30pm.

So at the same time as the BBC are moving hundreds of staff from London to Manchester, they decide to move one of the channel's biggest dramas out of Manchester to Scotland.

You couldn't make it up, who makes these decisions?!

The whole idea and supposed storyline sounds awful, definally the show's 'jump the shark' moment.

How is the CBB schedules looking that week Dancc? Is the CBB Final/BB12 launch on Thursday/Friday and how long are those episodes?