I’m not going to write a whole long piece about the final episode of THE BILL airing tonight- The Guardian has not one but two fine such pieces already.
But it is a moment to step back and watch from afar as ITV slowly self-destructs. From next Monday, the channel’s new breakfast show debuts. I looked at the show’s press pack earlier and it’s quite badly put together. Apparently the budget didn’t stretch to new photos of the team aside from Adrian Chiles and Christine “Alex Jones” Bleakley, meaning the pack consists of images snatched from the archives and, amongst others, the Daily Mail and Sky News. One of the photos is a blurry capture from GMTV. It’s like they aren’t even trying.
As previously discussed on this here blog, CORONATION STREET is continuing on its slow transformation in to a Carry On film, even with former DOCTOR WHO producer Phil Collinson at the helm. The network has commissioned new drama, but I doubt we will see anything with the kind of longevity The Bill has enjoyed over the last 27 years. Although I haven’t been watching since the dramatic (and rubbish) changes they made last, I will miss it being on. Still, there’s always [formerly-known-as-UK] Gold.
Update: I watched the last fifteen minutes and the very end was quite nostalgic. It is a shame, but perhaps ITV realised the new format wasn’t working and killed it with some dignity. Slightly more seriously, where will young actors learn their trade now? Almost literally everybody has been in either The Bill, CASUALTY or EASTENDERS – probably all three – from Keira Knightley to Russell Brand.
In other news, ITV News (did you see what I did there?) just hit the pinnacle of ridiculousness with one of the headlines in the bongs: “Raise the Titanic”. And some naughty people in cricket is still more important than floods, apparently.