Clearly.

Unlikely nowadays, ITV or the BBC will have to pull off something really big. Unless Crimewatch starts executing murderers on live television.

well I quite enjoyed CSI: Whitechapel

So did I. But I think they made a mistake making it so gritty. It's going to struggle against Mr Selfridge.

Once they realise they made a mistake axing wild at heart, it's only a matter of time they'll make a carbon copy set in Australia. I give it two years .

Some people might say it's dated, but you could say that about their two big soaps and saying you want them axed, could see an online lynching.

no such thing as too gritty, that is why I enjoyed it.

I dont wish to say it was an honest pulls no punches drama, about Victorian life , because clearly the writers have been watching far too much CSI for that, but I like a drama which does not shy away from those types of storyline, and scenes.

Does anyone have the most recent consolidated numbers from Christmas Day? There seems to be have been some big timeshifts though probably not quite enough for DA to move in front of EE. When will BARB issue the finals on their website?

Wouldn't be surprised!

I'm surprised they axed it but I guess there must be a reason. The budget might have gotten too big, or as others have said, maybe cast members wanted to move on.

It seems to have got a good response online though. Ripper Street more mixed but at least people are talking about it I guess.

Hard to say about WAH, a likeable drama, but maybe the cast are restless and the budget is high. Yet this should become a mainstay of the rather excellent ITV3 for years.
Yet it does beg the question, ITV might struggle to find a replacement that gets the same ratings.

http://www.skymedia.co.uk/Audience-I...s-of-sky+.aspx

Was a bit underwhelmed by it. I'm sure it will do better in the coming weeks; it looks like a slow burner.

I agree - it was a bit too derivative in places but I can see it doing reasonably well.

Wild At Heart was axed because Call The Midwife killed it on Sundays. Would have returned this year had it not been for losing against CTM.

Yes it was losing - but was still getting 6m+ a week and consolidating to over 7m+ in the officials. Crazy decision axing it really. What else pulls in those figures every week?

I think ITV should have kept it and just show it slightly later in the year. Midwife wasn't going to be on all year. Cost might have been a factor but I thought Wild At Heart had at least another 2 series in it.

I have never been a fan of Wild at Heart as it doed seem like Emmerdale in Africa. But such a loyal fanbase I think ITV would have been wise to invest in it until it dropped too low. Another evening would perhaps have revived it. Its cost must not match the six million it got last year so time for it to go but the cheap television they are replacing it with is an Error.

They're basically replacing one drama with another on Sundays and it looks like they've spent some serious money on Mr Selfridge.

Yes personally I will watch Mr Selfridge but as an commissioner I would have recomissioned another series of Wild at Heart until the drama department started producing more hits. It gets it off the screen though as it was like watching a worthers original advert so guess that money will be put to better use I just would go for a quality drama on Saturday evening

Saw the ad for CBB today and I reckon it could pull in 2.5-3 million. Actually the Sunday Mirror, which was the first redtop to turn against it, was quite positive today. I'm not a fan and won't be watching, but I'd like it to do well for Channel 5. Maybe Channel 4 are still kicking themselves for losing this, yet the buffoons still decided the world's worst reality show( Shipwrecked) was worth another try, even if it died to complete apathy.

All depends on the castlist, doesn't it? The ones I've seen haven't had me thinking those kind of numbers.

Looking at the ITV schedule for next weekend I'm struck with a single question – have they lost their minds?

Are they seriously launching Splash on Saturday night and then following that up the next night with the launch of the new series of Dancing on Ice? Has no one at ITV caught onto the fact that they're basically airing the exact same format back-to-back over the weekend and that this might cause them some problems? Equally as concerning must surely be that Dancing on Ice was noticeably struggling with its last series so surely needs all the help it can get which doesn't include ITV launching a fairly similar show the night before. Especially given that Dancing on Ice is being used as the launching pad for their big new Q1 drama Mr Selfridge. This really seems like truly terrible scheduling.

Also why on earth are they scheduling Splash against Britain's Brightest? I can't say I hold out much hope for Britain's Brightest but still...

Looking back at this Saturday I can't help but feel that Superstars might have done better if it didn't look a low budget sports day. And if the presenting team hadn't been taking the whole thing quite so seriously. Although I thought Iwan Thomas did quite a good job. The whole thing was just a bit rubbish though.

I suppose the thought process was that BBC One tends to be weak on Quarter One Saturday's so this would be the best place to air a new light entertainment format. Why on earth they didn't just split Dancing on Ice over two nights instead is what bugs me; with no competition on Saturday's an established show would sweep up and the results could air earlier in the evening to keep them out of the way of Call The Midwife. Splash! could have been held back until the quiet summer period - Britain's Got Talent's first series was spread across the second and third weeks in June.

Intriguingly I've seen more trailers for Dancing on Ice than Splash! which on the face of it is strange as Dancing on Ice is established whereas Splash! is trying to establish itself. I wonder if that's because Dancing on Ice is in house...

The football audience caves in at the end, though, even if the post match it short. And it's not the audience Splash is targeting either so even if the audience did hold or if they do promote it during the football, I doubt it will make much difference. FA Cup is one of the last things I'd have put as a lead-in.


The problem is that for all the moaning, celebrity shows do better than "average Joe" shows. Even when it's C Listers (which is all these shows ever achieve).


I think it'll hit 6m - but you never know with ITV at this time of year.

If Ripper rates well, builds through the hour and gets a strong response from viewers then ITV can start worrying. For now I think they're prepared for a good opening but betting that it drops next week, leaving more potential viewers for Mr Selfridge. Even if Ripper rates well, it only damages Wild at Heart. Sure, they'd like a good farewell for that but it's finished either way and Mr Selfridge is the bigger deal for them by far.


Cost and falling ratings, probably. As a general rule, dramas escalate in cost as the years go by. I'd have been tempted to keep it on and give it one more run at 8pm on Wednesdays after Corrie and see how it did and whether Mr Selfridge catches on.


I think ITV binned this too soon. Ant & Dec got a pretty rough deal from ITV when it came to their own productions - Beat The Star, Pokerface and Duel are probably among the few cancelled ITV entertainment formats of the past 5 years that I think should have had another series. They all had some potential.

Tbh I don't think ITV have had good leadership in entertainment commissioning since Claudia Rosencrantz left. She commissioned some turkeys but for every one of those she had an out of this world smash. Just look at Bedell bringing back All Star Mr and Mrs and Takeaway - a clear sign that she hasn't been getting it right.


I've seen this mentioned a lot - will need to find some clips and watch it. Sounds like it could be a bit different but still have the kind of star involvement that might work on a Saturday night.


Wasn't someone doing this here? I'm not that hot on hidden camera stuff these days. The only one I liked (and the novelty wore off quickly) was CBS "I Get That A Lot" which they did on April Fools a few years ago and a few specials that followed (each one to lower ratings than the last).


To be fair, High Stakes was developed by the Los Angeles based arm of ITV Studios. It's just that NBC, who optioned it, had the sense to pass.

Great British Bake Off is the only thing I can think of that has really travelled of late with quite a few sales - and interesting how it's produced by one of the few true "indies" left in the UK. Undercover Boss to a lesser extent. But I do agree that we're slipping behind in new formats. Nonetheless, the sustained success of Got Talent, Dancing With The Stars and X Factor among others means the UK is still #1.

It might be poorer commissioning or commissioners less willing to take risks. Or maybe the ideas just aren't being delivered. But there do seem to be quite a few foreign formats landing on UK TV next year. Splash, My Man Can, I Love My Country, The Voice returning, Britain's Brightest and probably a couple of others I can't recall.

I'm not sure there's a huge amount of confidence in Splash! But we shall see.

DOI has had a big revamp, they've spent money on the celebs this year and I think they're keen to try and halt the decline.

That it's in-house probably helps but I think it's important enough for ITV1 that they'd be right behind it anyway.