Daytime soap Doctors axed by BBC

[Carrie Fairchild]

Ref The Royal Today, ITV probably hoped for success with it because of how the original parent series had been.

Unfortunately it launched at the time ITV was considering the future of the parent series and Heartbeat due to cost cutting, so may not have helped either.

ITV were keen to spin something off from one of their established series, as I remember talk at the time of them looking at offshoots (memories of these may be vague) from Corrie (a Weatherfield police series), Emmerdale (set in a vet’s practice) and The Bill (a hospital spin-off set in Sun Hill General).

(A similar thing had happened in the US, when the Pax TV network, now Ion Television, and famous for the Sue Thomas series, launched a version of Ballykissangel in 1999 starring Cameron Daddo called Hope Island at the time the UK parent show was struggling ratings wise, having lost their two main leads and having another of the main cast die later on. Not surprisingly, Hope Island failed after one season and nor it was given a UK airing - don't think RTE aired it either).

Wow! I didn’t realise Ballykissangel inspired a US remake. I’ve a vague recollection of Hope Island. I’ve a feeling it may have aired on the Hallmark Channel in Ireland and the UK.

 

[AndyB2008]

If the UK follows the same trend as the US, then any cancelled daytime soap won't be replaced by a new soap, but something cheaper, like a talk show, cooking show, reality tv, news...

Not just the US that has cancelled long running soaps - South Africa has too.

Isidingo went in 2020 after nearly 22 years on air (had been running since 1998), while the Afrikaans soap 7de Laan is to end in December after 23 years (having run since 2000).

Wonder if Shortland Street would be next in line for New Zealand to be axed, given it has been running for over 30 years, should TVNZ feel the need to replace it with something cheaper? Either that or they would reduce the budget, which would mean Chris Warner departing as the actor due to his longevity would be expensive, not to mention location shoots.

Except possibly Ireland which has been loyal to the show (and given their cost cutting in recent years, would RTE be willing to fund production of Shortland Street when they have their own soap, Fair City, which they own?), Shortland Street, sadly for the current producer, doesn't have an big international partner\fanbase to rescue the show if it is cancelled due to ratings\production costs like Neighbours has\had (a factor why Amazon was able to pick it up, as much as I'm no fan of the reboot) and what The Bold and The Beautiful has.

 

[ArchieLucasCarringtonEwing1989]

There is a feeling that the soap genre is basically on borrowed time.

ITV were keen to spin something off from one of their established series, as I remember talk at the time of them looking at offshoots (memories of these may be vague) from Corrie (a Weatherfield police series), Emmerdale (set in a vet’s practice) and The Bill (a hospital spin-off set in Sun Hill General).

I had no idea that ITV wanted spin-off series from their flagship shows?

Although I do recall back in the early 1990s ITV wanted to have a spin off Emmerdale series, a youth oriented drama set at Leeds University, this was a few years before Hollyoaks would sure.

Rachel Hughes was set to be the leading character since she was going off to the University at the time, Mark Hughes, Michael Feldman, Zoe Tate and Nick Bates were all set to make appearances too, but the idea was dropped as soon as it was planned

 

[AndyB2008]

There is a feeling that the soap genre is basically on borrowed time.




I had no idea that ITV wanted spin-off series from their flagship shows?

Although I do recall back in the early 1990s ITV wanted to have a spin off Emmerdale series, a youth oriented drama set at Leeds University, this was a few years before Hollyoaks would sure.

Rachel Hughes was set to be the leading character since she was going off to the University at the time, Mark Hughes, Michael Feldman, Zoe Tate and Nick Bates were all set to make appearances too, but the idea was dropped as soon as it was planned

Would agree ref the soap genre, hence why I mentioned Shortland Street earlier and the South African soaps.

Sadly unlike Jason Herbison with Neighbours, Oliver Driver (the current producer) would have a hard time persuading a UK broadcast partner to fund production if TVNZ pull out, given they haven't aired the soap for almost 20 years, except for a brief period in 2010. Amazon wouldn't be interested either as Shortland Street hasn't a strong following in the UK as Neighbours does.

Which leaves Ireland where it has a loyal following, and RTE probably wouldn't given their financial issues.

7de Laan went because of financial issues with the SABC and the production company, while Isidingo was cancelled due to low ratings.

 

[Angela’s Cauldron]

I was never a regular viewer of Doctors but I watched it a few times each year and what I always liked about it was that each episode was a self contained so you didn't have to commit to watching any more than one episode at a time. I thought the production values were good and it was an entertaining show.

There are very few original home grown dramas on during the daytime and it made a nice change from quiz, news and magazine shows, or repeats, that are screened on the other channels. The demise of Doctors will mean less variety on the TV at that time of the day which is a great shame.

 

[Carrie Fairchild]

Not an axing but more of a “sign of the times”, Irish TV’s only remaining English language soap Fair City, has had its episodes cut back from 4 to 3 episodes a week as part of cost cutting at the beleaguered national broadcaster RTE. The Friday episode will now be replaced by ecological programme Eco Eye. I think Fair City still rates OK but it’s a sign that it is expendable.

 

[AndyB2008]

Not an axing but more of a “sign of the times”, Irish TV’s only remaining English language soap Fair City, has had its episodes cut back from 4 to 3 episodes a week as part of cost cutting at the beleaguered national broadcaster RTE. The Friday episode will now be replaced by ecological programme Eco Eye. I think Fair City still rates OK but it’s a sign that it is expendable.

TVNZ have announced some cost cutting this morning - 2 of their news bulletins and the programmes Sunday and Fair Go (the latter which had been running for 47 years) are to be axed.

If Fair Go can get axed , Shortland Street is probably on borrowed time. (There's no overseas partner like Neighbours to help it either if TVNZ pull out except really RTE, and given that Fair City news Carrie mentioned, would they want to fund it?).

If budget cutting does eventually happen on Shortland Street, either Michael Galvin would be dropped from the show (as he is probably expensive salary wise) or his appearances would be reduced like Joan Collins in Season 9 of Dynasty to save money.

Probably scenes would have to be filmed on the South Pacific Pictures lot too to save on location cost.

 

[Carrie Fairchild]

There's no overseas partner like Neighbours to help it either if TVNZ pull out except really RTE, and given that Fair City news Carrie mentioned, would they want to fund it?

I said it when there was talk of RTE partnering on Neighbours and the same point applies here - RTE don’t have the funds for it and even if they did, given the current scrutiny the company is under, they’d be berated by the public for spending license payers money on funding a show like Shortland Street instead of homegrown productions.

 

[AndyB2008]

I said it when there was talk of RTE partnering on Neighbours and the same point applies here - RTE don’t have the funds for it and even if they did, given the current scrutiny the company is under, they’d be berated by the public for spending license payers money on funding a show like Shortland Street instead of homegrown productions.

Interestingly after I typed this ref Shortland Street, TVNZ are debating the future of the soap. If TVNZ pull the funding (as they fully fund it via the advertising revenue), the soap is doomed given it hasn't aired in the UK for ages (so no broadcasters there to help bail it out) and RTE will be unwilling. Amazon would probably be out of the question as well funding wise.

 

[Carrie Fairchild]

Interestingly after I typed this ref Shortland Street, TVNZ are debating the future of the soap. If TVNZ pull the funding (as they fully fund it via the advertising revenue), the soap is doomed given it hasn't aired in the UK for ages (so no broadcasters there to help bail it out) and RTE will be unwilling. Amazon would probably be out of the question as well funding wise.

Wow! It really is uncertain times for the English language soaps. Re: Amazon, they have it on their Freevee service in the UK but I don’t think that’d be enough for them to invest in it. If TVNZ pulls out, it’s gone.

 

[Carrie Fairchild]

Interesting article on the state of play in the British TV industry at the moment, which makes reference to Doctors and Hollyoaks.

“Survive until 2025”: British TV and film workers battle a jobs crisis

With almost 70% of the workforce out of jobs, writers, producers and actors cling to hope that the industry will stabilise.

thelead.uk

 

[Carrie Fairchild]

Not an axing but more of a “sign of the times”, Irish TV’s only remaining English language soap Fair City, has had its episodes cut back from 4 to 3 episodes a week as part of cost cutting at the beleaguered national broadcaster RTE. The Friday episode will now be replaced by ecological programme Eco Eye. I think Fair City still rates OK but it’s a sign that it is expendable.

More uncertainty at Fair City as RTE announce that they’ll be moving production offsite in the next five years. As mentioned before, the broadcaster is in a bit of a tailspin following financial scandals and cost cutting. In a nutshell, it appears that they’ll be looking to outsource production of the soap to an independent (in conjunction with RTE). I’m not sure what the logistics of this will be, considering Fair City’s outdoor set is built on the RTE campus in south Dublin but given that there have been calls to sell off RTE land at the campus to raise much needed funds for the broadcaster, this could be a way of clearing house to do so.

Fair City production to move off RTÉ site in next 5 years

RTÉ Director General Kevin Bakhurst has told a meeting of staff that production of programmes, including Fair City and The Late Late Show, is to move off site over the next five years.

www.rte.ie

 

[AndyB2008]

Wow! It really is uncertain times for the English language soaps. Re: Amazon, they have it on their Freevee service in the UK but I don’t think that’d be enough for them to invest in it. If TVNZ pulls out, it’s gone.

Shortland Street has been saved from the axe, but will be reduced from 5 nights a week to three from next year.

 

[Carrie Fairchild]

Shortland Street has been saved from the axe, but will be reduced from 5 nights a week to three from next year.

That’s the third soap now (after Hollyoaks and Fair City) to have episodes reduced. Given the current cost issues and how saturated schedules became with soaps at one stage, it was inevitable that it would swing back this way. It might do them no harm in terms of quality too.

 

[AndyB2008]

That’s the third soap now (after Hollyoaks and Fair City) to have episodes reduced. Given the current cost issues and how saturated schedules became with soaps at one stage, it was inevitable that it would swing back this way. It might do them no harm in terms of quality too.

Unlike Hollyoaks and Fair City, which added episodes gradually, Shortland Street has aired 5 nights a week since launch (save for the coronavirus reduction).

The only reason it got saved was because NZ on Air (taxpayer owned) and the NZ government helped provide a cash boost. (As mentioned, Oliver Driver, the producer, couldn't turn to an UK broadcaster to fund it alongside TVNZ like Neighbours could).

Depending on the cast size, I gather that will be reduced, and Michael Galvin would be in less episodes (think Joan Collins in S9 in Dynasty) as he would be expensive due to longevity.

 

[soapfan]

As we all know, The BBC axing Doctors by the end of 2024.

It was a good soap, especially in the early years with Christopher Timothy (Mac Maguire) from All Creatures Great and Small etc. As time has progressed, the show has got stale in the last decade and characters who have been around too long that the show has never freshened itself up.

The only good characters left in the show now are Zara Carmichael (Elisabeth Dermot Walsh), Daniel Grainger and Rob Hollins (Christopher Walker).

Generally speaking, the characters have mostly becoming quite boring too and I think the show has ran its course, it's had its day, and with lots of new crap characters brought in (the awful Cilla character actress Wendi Peters from Coronation Street) who have made the show worse, a lot of the axing is due to budget cuts, which means that ideally the show can't be prolonged into 2025 for 25th anniversary finale as such.