|
Written by Administrator
|
|
Friday, 23 March 2007 |
A satirical news quiz fronted by Sir Trevor McDonald, the return of Ben Elton and new dramas are among the weapons ITV said yesterday would help revive flagging viewing figures this summer.
ITV's director of television, Simon Shaps, said he had gone back to basics in a bid to lure viewers, axing the flop Celebrity Love Island and concentrating instead on quality drama and entertainment shows. Rather than being "preoccupied with what other channels are doing", he said he wanted to "build on our strengths but also introduce some new flavours". Mr Shaps said recent drama hits such as Primeval and Fallen Angel had given ITV confidence following the arrival of Michael Grade as executive chairman.
He said the popularity of Dancing on Ice showed that entertainment shows pitting celebrities or members of the public against a panel of judges were as popular as ever, provided they were well made and well cast. New shows in that vein include Britain's Got Talent, judged by Simon Cowell, Piers Morgan and Amanda Holden, and entrepreneur Peter Jones choosing which business ideas to back in Tycoon.
But yesterday's season launch also contained a raft of familiar faces including the return of David Jason in Diamond Geezer, a one-off Martin Clunes drama and a new observational comedy show hosted by Elton. Despite Mr Grade's recent promise to weed out "copycat" formats, some of the other new programmes had a tinge of the familiar. News Knight is a satirical panel show that will see Sir Trevor dissect the past week's headlines with two guest comedians, while Grease is the Word will search for two new leads for the musical of the same name.
Mr Shaps also announced a number of new commissions to be screened later this year, including Lost in Austen, which will see a modern-day woman with boyfriend trouble transported back to the world of Pride and Prejudice.
Source |
|
Last Updated ( Saturday, 07 April 2007 )
|
