BBC to axe Real Story

BBC1's Tonight with Trevor McDonald rip off Real Story with Fiona Bruce is to be axed, Media Guardian reports...

The move follows the decisions to reinstate Panorama into a weekday prime time slot from January and recommission The One Show for a second series.

The series producer of Real Story, Mike Lewis, last week defected back to ITV to become editor of Tonight with Trevor McDonald.

Panorama will move, in January, to its new berth at 8.30pm on Monday - the same day Real Story goes to air, although it screens an hour earlier.

Real Story was launched in 2003 as BBC1's answer to ITV1's Tonight with Trevor McDonald. However, it never reached the profile of its ITV1 counterpart, with an independent report commissioned by the BBC governors last year saying it "did not come close" in terms of public awareness.

A BBC spokeswoman said: "No decision has been taken about Real Story, the Manchester current affairs team will continue to play an integral role in BBC current affairs as a whole."

I hope this doesn't mean that Panorama will dumb down to take on some more accessible topics that the EastEnders audience will watch

No big loss,
HALF the time we never show it in scotland

I'm glad they have, it never lived up to Tonight standard and it would look silly if you had The One Show, Real Story and Panorama all within 2 hours of each other.

As long as Inside Out is still there, then I couldn't complain..

The one show may not return, it could alrealdy have gone the same way...

No it's definately coming back, probably without Nadia Sawhala (sp?) and an alteration or two, but it's coming back, just check The Newsroom.

mmm mores the pity

Indeed, The Street Doctors were out in force in Newcastle today, so filming is clearly underway already.

iirc street doctors is a stand alone programme, promoted on the one show with vts spread across a week?

Surprised it hasn't gone sooner.

They'd be much wiser to use the resources (and branding) of Panaroma in that slot instead of Sunday's grave yard one.

Quite right, I didn't realise... Doesn't really seem enough of a concept to stand up by itself, but maybe I'm just not recognising the potential...