Hi all,

Please note I am away from 4 April to 18 April, so it may take longer to process your submission if you submit content to any guides of which I am editor. I will try and check this website every few days.

Aleks

ITV Announces a new format for The Bill

23 Jan 09

ITV has today announced that for the first time on British television it will be running a drama all year round in the 9pm slot as The Bill is repositioned as a weekly show at the heart of the ITV1 schedule.

Later this year the multi-award winning programme will be re-launched in a post watershed slot allowing for a grittier, action filled series in a more traditional home for terrestrial drama. As the format changes from its current twice weekly run viewers will have an appointment to view each week in a dedicated slot.

The police drama celebrated its 25th anniversary last year, continuing to deliver intelligent, compelling and topical drama to peak audiences of over 6 million. The move to 9pm will enable the series to build on its strengths. Unique in always telling the narrative from the police point of view, The Bill will maintain its reputation for telling stories with integrity about its blue collar heroes and the challenges they face, digging deeper than ever before into the reality of policing the streets of modern Britain.

Peter Fincham, ITV's Director of Television said "I'm delighted to announce The Bill's transition to weekly 9pm drama on ITV1. It's a fantastic opportunity to take the series to another level, marking a new era for one of the most established brands on British television."

Lorraine Heggessey, CEO, added: "This is a huge vote of confidence from ITV in the show and is a genuine first on UK television. We are incredibly proud of the show and we look forward to embracing the new opportunities this will bring."

Whether or not it will be better, this means 1/2 the episodes each week (though hopefully more consistent, being on each and every week, even if there is football/award ceremonies, I doubt this). Also, I think 8pm is a better time than 9pm, so this equates to a change in schedule I am not happy about.

It was interesting to find that I had joined TV.com in March 2006 - how time flies! During this time, the amount of content I have submitted has fluctuated considerably, from just checking my editor queue to submitting lots of additions and corrections on a daily basis. Being in my summer holidays, I have got a bit more time, so am submitting a few things a day at the moment.

And yesterday I reached Level 25 eventually.

Happy holidays

I will be on holiday from 19 July - 3 August.

Therefore, it may take longer for any submissions, regarding shows for which I am editor, to be moderated. Sorry for any inconvenience. Fingers crossed, I should be able to check my queue once or twice each week.

I am going on holiday, so I will have limited access to TV.com between 20 March and 5 April.

However, I will try and visit TV.com at least once a week during this time. Your submissions may be moderated by a moderator and take longer to moderate so sorry for any inconvenience.

Happy Easter!