Traditional Tales And Traditional Faces In ITV’s Winter Schedule 2001

ITV’s director of programmes, David Liddiment, today unveiled details of the channel’s forthcoming Christmas and winter schedules.

Before launching the new programme schedule Liddiment made reference to the recently revamped BBC1 evening schedule. He stated that ITV had always competed with the BBC for audiences and that the channel didn’t have to move some of its flagship factual programmes to a graveyard slot for a ‘slow death’ like BBC1 has with Panorama. Mr Liddiment also revealed that the Prime Minister, Tony Blair, will be appearing live in primetime slot to answer the nations questions in Ask the Prime Minister.

Highlights of the winter schedule included an adaptation of Thomas Hardy’s The Mayor of Casterbridge and Charles Dickens Nicholas Nickleby. Other major dramas coming to ITV during the winter include: The Glass which sees John Thaw and Sarah Lancashire teaming up for the first time; Buried Treasure again starring John Thaw as a widower who has to look after a granddaughter he didn’t know existed, whilst trying to track down the girl’s father; The Innocent featuring Caroline Quentin as a woman whose husband is accused of raping her best friend and Perfect, which stars Michelle Collins as a serial bigamist. Drama series returning to ITV include: At Home with the Braithwaites; Hornblower; Bad Girls and A&E.

Comedy and entertainment offerings include: Popstars, which follows the creation of new pop band (just in case there weren’t enough about at present); High Stakes, which sees Richard Wilson stepping out of Victor Meldrew’s grave and moving into the world of international banking and Lily’s Savages’s Blankety Blank hot-foots it from BBC1 to begin its first ever transmission on ITV. Ricky Martin gets an opportunity to plug his latest album in the next An Audience With …, Saturday morning kings Ant & Dec will present The Brit Awards 2001, while Bob Martin and The Grimleys also have new series.

Re-affirming ITV’s commitment to factual programming within the primetime schedule, ITV will be showing Time of Our Lives which charts the post war Britain social revolution through the eyes of three ‘typical’ British families. To Kill and Kill Again will explore some of the most shocking British multiple murder cases of the last 100 years and The World at Their Feet revisits a group of young footballers, including Everton’s Francis Jeffers and Leeds’ Alan Smith, who had been taken on by the FA School of Excellence.

ITV Sport includes the continued coverage of UEFA Champion’s League football, Formula One racing, England international rugby union and basketball action from the NBA.

Christmas highlights include: the third annual Simon Nye-scripted ITV pantomime Aladdin; Ross Kemp in a modern-day adaptation of A Christmas Carol, After They Were Famous devoted to the child stars of The Sound of Music and Motown Mania a star-studded tribute to Berry Gordy’s hit factory.

Reviewer: Simon Wright

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