I'm sure there'll be people here who'd like to comment on this who wouldn't comment on The Bill usually, but no surprise really - ITV have axed The Bill.
The series will end after 26 years in the autumn, with ITV diverting the money into developing new shorter run 9pm dramas. Ratings have rarely topped 4m since it was revamped and moved to 9pm last year.
When they revamped it, it became so different it was pretty much a different show anyway. Its sad to see a staple of British TV go, but no surprise really. Although the irony is last night was the highest rated show since the relaunch.
I dread to think what cheap tat ITV will try to replace it with.
The Bill
started losing viewers when they began using it as an inconvenient filler when football matches weren't available. Some weeks it was on twice, other weeks not at all; yet the format had shifted to long-running story arcs which were impossible to follow when you couldn't be sure if you'd missed an episode or three.
They revamped it, and it's just settled down as a quality drama again. Hopefully another channel will pick it up and give it the prominance it deserves. With Frost also ending soon...is there going to be much drama left on ITV1?
If another channel picked it up it would almost certainly only be delaying the inevitable and probably be axed a year or two down the line. Only Five and perhaps Sky1 would be contenders anyway IMO - can't see the BBC or C4 wanting it.
I can't see it going to Sky, they don't tend to pick up dramas out of the bargain bin. Five might, but I think its that associated with ITV it probably wont work somewhere else.
The prime years were when the likes of Trudie Goodwin, Eric Richard, Larry Dann and Nula Conwell were cast members. After too many tweaks, the programme lost its appeal, IMO. Nonetheless, sad news.
I have to admit, I really didn't like the first couple of episodes of the revamp, i switched off. But by chance I just happened to catch an episode yesterday, and it was a brilliant episode. It didn't have the humourous element that I liked in the past episodes of the Bill, but it was still as, if not more gripping than the best episodes of the Bill ever were.
Kind of a shame to see it axed, but I think we all saw it coming.
Not surprised. I knew this revamp would kill it. It doesn't get any promotion (expect the odd IPP) anymore anyway, it's as if ITV have wanted rid of it for ages.
:-(
A former member
Screw it: STV was right in the first place to dump it!
:-(
A former member
Can the mods merged with the Actually bill thread. it seems we have 3 different threads for one topic
