Now This Morning faces the chop

ITV is to ditch some of the nation’s favourite television programmes while axing 600 jobs, it was revealed yesterday.

SHELVED Fern Britton and Phillip Schofield s This Morning SHELVED? Fern Britton and Phillip Schofield's This Morning

As the recession took its biggest bite into the broadcasting industry, the network announced a £575million cost-cutting drive – the biggest in its 54-year history.

Hit shows such as Sharpe and Wire in the Blood will be discarded. Other favourites to be confined to history will include Heartbeat, The Royal and Lewis – the popular spin-off from Inspector Morse – after the network recorded a loss of around £2.7billion last year.

Frost will also finish filming later this year when David Jason retires from the lead role while filming of popular afternoon quiz Countdown is being moved across the Pennines to Salford Quays in Manchester.

Ant and Dec will be affected by the cost cuts Ant and Dec will be affected by the cost cuts

The troubled broadcaster, which has been crippled by a massive slump in advertising revenue, may even shelve its flagship show This Morning during the quieter summer months.

While the likes of X-Factor and Coronation Street have not been earmarked to end, one ITV source said “no programme was 100 per cent safe”.

And expensive stars such as Ant and Dec and Simon Cowell have been warned that future golden handcuffs deals may have to be cut back when their contracts come up for negotiation, it has been reported.

The tough actions we are taking have to be seen against that backdrop

Executive chairman Michael Grade

Even long-standing shows such as The Bill will be affected with its slot moved from 8pm to 9pm and one less episode a week.

Experts warned the cutbacks will see ITV relying even more heavily on reality entertainment shows such as I’m a Celebrity and Britain’s Got Talent.

The cutbacks mean the world’s first purpose-built colour TV studios – which were responsible for creating some of Britain’s best-loved programmes – are to be flattened to make way for a supermarket.

Yorkshire Television’s Kirkstall Lane produced classic programmes such as Rising Damp, The Darling Buds Of May, Frost, Stars On Sunday and Emmerdale.

Countdown is being moved from there while production of Heartbeat and The Royal has already ceased.

Unions claimed the drastic bid to cut costs would result in the studios being mothballed, with only Emmerdale made at the site.

Emmerdale star Chris Chittell, who plays Eric Pollard in the soap, said: “It’s a dreadful state of affairs – 34, 35 years of making tremendous programmes here. It’s a shame.”

Around 150 of the 600 job losses will be in Leeds, it was revealed.

But most of the cuts will be in London, affecting every department and accounting for around 15 per cent of ITV’s 4,500-strong workforce. Jobs being axed include production and back office roles.

Such is the plight of ITV, the Government even said it might consider a bank-style bailout if things continue to deteriorate.

A Downing Street spokesman said: “ITV is a valuable part of the broadcasting landscape and we are in discussions with all major broadcasters. We have an open mind. All options remain on the table.”

ITV bosses said the losses of £2.7billion last year meant programme budgets would now have to be cut by £135million over the next two years, with drama production dropping from eight to seven hours a week.

ITV said as part of the massive savings drive it would also be selling off the Friends Reunited social networking website and the Scoot directory while considering whether to sell its Freeview business to raise extra cash.

The company, which blamed the cuts on a chronic fall in advertising, said it planned efficiency savings of £155million this year, rising to £175million in 2010 and £245million in 2011.

The crisis hitting ITV has seen its share price collapse, costing investors millions of pounds. Two years ago shares were worth 118 pence but after yesterday’s news they were worth just 23.5 pence.

Executive chairman Michael Grade said the cuts were due to the “short-term horrors” of the economic downturn, which had seen advertising deteriorate significantly from the end of last year.

He said: “The tough actions we are taking have to be seen against that backdrop. These are unprecedented and extremely difficult times. We have to be focused more on our core business.”

Mr Grade said the savings would ensure ITV is in the “best possible shape” when the recession ends.

But unions were furious.

Gerry Morrissey, general secretary of the broadcasting workers’ union Bectu, said: “We will do everything we can to protect our members and we will protest to Ofcom about ITV’s claim to be investing more in programmes when they are cutting back.

“Michael Grade has abrogated his responsibility to ITV’s staff. We desperately need a new management model.”

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