ITV commission new soap

ITV is a creating a daytime soap spin-off from its 60s medical drama The Royal.

The Royal Today will be set in the present day at the same fictional north Yorkshire hospital and town as The Royal.

The Sunday night drama about St Aidan's hospital is itself a spin-off of Heartbeat.

The ITV director of factual and daytime, Alison Sharman, has ordered 50 episodes of the 30-minute soap, which will launch on ITV1 later this year.

The Royal Today will feature 23 main characters, including The Royal's Lizzie Hopkirk, who will be in her 50s and approaching retirement in the new show.

Another character in the new daytime soap, Dr Jonathan Ormerod, is the son of Royal characters Dr Gordon Ormerod and Dr Jill Weatherill.

The cast will also feature the full range of hospital staff, from consultant surgeons and registrars to student nurses. Casting for The Royal Today is under way.

http://media.guardian.co.uk/broadcast/story/0,,2040086,00.html

Interesting, I wonder what slot it will get. Hopefully not 5 o'clock. Unimaginative name though.

Is this the NEW crossroads?

Or should that be the new new new Crossroads? (Or, indeed, the new new Heartbeat?)...

if it is then dr ormrond will suddenly wake up from a dream whilst standing in the post office queue for his pension.

interesting idea a spin off of a spin off

So this is the new ITV.

Another soap, perhaps they should scrap one or two instead.

Foolish ITV Exec 1: Oooh, that Doctors programme on BBC1 seems to be doing well... let's copy it and pop in on in the afternoons.

Foolish ITV Exec 2: But what shall we base it on?

Foolish ITV Exec 1: We'll just re-spin a much loved ITV drama, they won't notice the difference.

I wonder what slot this will get? Perhaps 2pm after the lunchtime news up against Doctors on BBC1?

As 623058 was seemingly implying, it could well be the "new Crossroads" in terms of time slot (either 5pm - 5:30pm or 5:30pm - 6pm), seeing as that has proved to be a notoriously difficult-to-fill slot.

But surely Crossroads is proof that soaps have failed in the 5pm-6pm slots.

Paul O Grady is the only programme that has been a hit in recent years and of course he is now on C4.

Anyone any ideas what sort of ratings Soapstar Superchef is getting?

I think they should bring back Night and Day! That was an original soap.

The name needs to be changed. 'The Royal Today'. Hardly the most imaginative title.

It would probably work in the early afternoon, maybe in the 2pm slot like Jez suggested. Soaps should be reduced in primetime but I think having a new one in daytime is no bad thing.

I think the name is awful, and they should come up with another. The slot I think should be around 2pm and maybe replayed in the early evening on ITV2? I like this idea, but I think the Sunday night series should be axed if/when this happens.