'Stale' London's Burning is axed
after 14 years
Mirror.co.uk - Wednesday 27TH November 2002
By Nicola Methven, TV Editor
LONDON'S Burning is to be axed after 14 years because bosses say it has become "stale".
ITV chiefs will officially inform producers this week they want the show scrapped.
Earlier this year, ratings for the Sunday night programme plummeted after it was moved from its traditional winter schedule to the summer.
Last night, an insider said: "ITV have wanted to get rid of it for a while. It takes up a valuable slice of Sunday evenings where bosses would rather be showcasing new dramas. They decided to put it out of its misery.
"But the danger is they will not be able to replace it with a series which does as well."
The show started with eight million viewers in July, but that dwindled to 4.8million by August.
An audience of 11million were watching at the start of 2001, making it the year's third most popular drama.
The last run of London's Burning, featuring the fictional Blue Watch firefighters at Blackwall station, was spiced up by producers. The programme's famous pyrotechnic displays vanished and there was a heavier focus on the personal lives of the team.
Five cast members were sacked and the number of episodes slashed to eight.
Casualty star Jan Anderson was brought in as the raunchy station cook.
But many viewers who preferred the firefighting scenes, where characters such as Sicknote, Recall and Charisma risked their lives in blazes, found the new format a turn-off. The axe comes after ITV drama chief Nick Elliott warned makers of long-running shows, like Heartbeat, Peak Practice and A&E, to come up with better storylines or face the consequences.
He said: "I've told them, 'Go and make it more interesting'. We want it to be more edgy.
"We'll see if they survive. For some, it may be their last chance."
Peak Practice was first to be scrapped in June. It will be replaced by new medical show Sweet Medicine.
A London's Burning spokesman said last night: "No decision has yet been taken on the future of the series."