Brookside set to be axed

Brookside looks set to be axed after Channel 4 today announced that it was moving the drama from its prime time evening slot.

From November 30, the long-running soap opera will only be broadcast as a single, 90-minute special on Saturday afternoons.

The soap, made by Phil Redmond’s Mersey Television, is currently on three days a week – Wednesday, Thursday and Friday – but the last peak-time transmission will be on November 21 at 8.30pm.

Channel 4 Chief Executive Mark Thompson said: “Brookside has been a brilliant programme for Channel 4 as well as the most ground-breaking and influential soap of the past two decades.

“It remains a high quality drama, which is still enjoyed by many viewers.

“But peak-time has changed radically across British TV and is no longer an environment in which Brookside can thrive.

“We want to explore new ideas in peak, while still giving Brookside regulars a chance to enjoy the show over the next year.”

TV insiders predicted the move was a prelude to the plug being pulled on the show altogether.

Brookside helped launch Channel 4 in 1982 and was once its biggest draw.

The show helped kick start the careers of stars like Anna Friel, Amanda Burton, Sue Johnston and Ricky Tomlinson.

Its hard-hitting storylines have included murders, drug addiction, a lesbian kiss and rape.

But it has struggled to maintain audience levels.