BBC axe Crimewatch

Oh yeah! Keith Burnside presented it I think. It was broadcast on a Sunday

Agree on some of these.

The Apprentice - I think there’s only another series or so left of Alan Sugar before they revamp it with someone different.

HIGNFY - tend to think it’ll survive but I can see them losing Hislop and/or Merton (Merton the most likely imho). Ideally they need a female regular to ease the need to always book at least one female guest.

Casualty / Holby - should have gone years ago.

HIGNFY has pretty much become the Ian and Paul show, however. They're the anchors that keep the show in place. If one of them was to leave I think it would spark the demise, regardless of the gender of the replacement(s).

HIGNFY survived on the fact it is well known and long running, despite some sometimes below par performances from Merton, it still rates really well. Whenever a new similar show comes along they always rate much lower even if they are actually just as funny.

I could seriously see Blue Peter going at some point.

Happens with a lot of these panel shows, Buzzcocks sort of survived after Mark LaMarr left, but it died very quickly after Simon Amstell was gone. They Think It's All Over didn't last long after Nick Hancock left either. Though to be honest it was a bit suprising HIGNFY lasted Angus Deaton's sacking (and has run for longer without him!)

Remember that the main Crimewatch programme has been axed from it's slot, which is crucially different to the format being axed. Crimewatch Roadshow is essentially the same programme 'creatively re-imagined' [to use w1a speak] in a different slot.

I don't mean to move the thread dramatically off topic, but the list above becomes more difficult to decide upon and everything becomes a bit meta if you take that into account. Would an internet only 'Blue Peter' mean that 'Blue Peter' has been axed? What if a magazine show for 5-11 year olds was online only without the branding? Is it still Blue Peter?

Programmes that echo long running radio formats can withstand the ebbs and flows of television - HIGNFY, Songs of Praise, A Question of Sport all fall into that category, they just need new blood every so often.

As to whether the BBC should be showing all the continuing dramas it does - especially with Holby and Casualty being internal productions - is another thing. I should think that Casualty actors being so far up the high earners list hasn't won them many fans around the BBC executive corridors. Would people binge watch Casualty on Netflix? It's a good question to ask - because at the moment it falls into the 'expensive soap' category for me, which could be a problem. Not big budget enough to make appointment-to-view, but not really a regular soap either. Plus, half an hour episodes (in the case of Eastenders, even longer for Casualty) are too long for younger audiences - fifteen minute episodes dropped with a notification on your phone from the iPlayer app would boost audiences in the 12-24 age bracket.

I actually remember the original Crimewatch Daily from the early 00s, came from the foyer of New Scotland Yard. I watched it loads when I was off school for weeks with the flu in 2001!

Nick Hancock was dropped because the ratings were falling... A bit of difference to Buzzcocks. Also the life of HIGNFY has probably being extended due to the dropping of Angus.



Both will still be around in 10 years time, both effectively fulfill all the BBC's charter commitment to training the next generation of scriptwriters, directors, set designers etc at a fraction of the cost 9pm dramas. The industry is more reliant than ever before on those training schemes than since ITV axed The Bill.

How the hell is A Question of Sport still running? It really is so ridiculously dull.

I only got into Buzzcocks in its last few series, so if the show had been declining after Amstell left, it went over my head at the time. I think taking Rhod Gilbert on as a full time host was a mistake though. I have nothing against him but he didn't have the level of scathing wit that the show became known for.

I've found it so stale in recent years with long running captains which if you're not a fan of it's difficult to get past and the same seemingly small pool of guests.

So that's the true purpose of Casualty / Holby. A training scheme.

I don't know if it's true or just my own perception of things that Casualty in more recent years attracts a fraction of the audience that watched the programme back in the 1990s and its loyal fanbase is now tiny in comparison. Basically it's a programme that most of its viewers watch sporadically if they are at a loose end on a Saturday evening. I have encountered a fair few people in recent years who are surprised that Casualty is still soldiering on (they often don't have any close associates that watch it on anything other than an occasional basis) or say that it's long in the tooth or a relic from another era when we had The Bill and Londons Burning to accompany it.

I have read somewhere that BBC management was badly criticised for squandering money on Holby City whilst making swingeing cuts elsewhere.

If what you are saying really is true then both Casualty and Holby could well become immortal programmes regardless of how tired and stale they become on-screen or how much criticism they receive from the public as being unworthy productions from a PSB perspective.