Peter Fincham, Director of Television
One of the most enjoyable things about being the Director of Television at ITV is keeping abreast of the reaction of ITV’s viewers and customers to our programmes. If the research data that arrives in the inbox every morning or the reams of press cuttings that weigh down the post tray are any indicator, there’s no shortage of opinion from the audience on our output.
Nothing illustrates this better than the current series of The X Factor, which since the end of August, has filled page upon page of the national press with news, rumour, speculation and gossip; has dominated trending patterns on Twitter; and has recorded record breaking ratings on every single weekend of this year’s show – already averaging a phenomenal 12 million across its 11 week run. If ever you need to search for the definition of that well worn phrase, ‘talked about TV’, then The X Factor is it.
No less talked about, and still filling the pages of the broadsheets and Sunday supplements, is the Julian Fellowes scripted Downton Abbey which launched with an audience of over 9.2 million viewers – making it the most successful drama launch on any channel in over 18 months. The response to the series from critics and viewers alike has been phenomenal, and we’re delighted to have commissioned a new eight-part series for 2011. Alongside the likes of DCI Banks, Bouquet of Barbed Wire, Joe Maddison’s War, U Be Dead, and The Little House, our autumn season of series and one-off films demonstrates that high quality drama continues to be at the heart of ITV1’s schedule.
This is very much the case as we look ahead to 2011, as we have been doing with the Upfronts season, and I’m hugely excited about the new projects we have coming to screen. Brenda Blethyn plays Detective Inspector Vera Stanhope in Vera, a television adaptation of crime writer Ann Cleeves’ book, Hidden Depths, which is shot in contemporary Northumberland. Injustice is Anthony Howowitz’s next project for ITV1 following the huge success of last year’s Collision – and stars James Purefoy as William Travers, a criminal barrister who is recovering from a traumatic series of events that have shaken his belief in the legal system.
The Oaks is the gripping story of three different families living in the same house in the 1960’s, 1980’s and present day, and is the first commission to come from a new creative collaboration between ITV Studios and Fox. Scott and Bailey, which will star Suranne Jones and Lesley Sharp in the title roles of one of two homicide detectives from Greater Manchester Police’s prestigious Major Incident Team, is scripted by Sally Wainwright whose drama Unforgiven won the coveted RTS Award for Best Drama earlier this year. Monroe stars James Nesbitt in a new series about a brilliant and unusual neurosurgeon; and Kidnap and Ransom stars Trevor Eve as an international hostage negotiator. Let’s not also forget the gripping storylines of our soaps, as life continues apace in Emmerdale and of course, Coronation Street – which celebrates its 50th anniversary in some style at the end of 2010.
We announced last month that we had agreed a new deal with Simon Cowell’s Syco and producers FremantleMedia to secure The X Factor and Britain’s Got Talent, on ITV1 for the next three years – and we’re delighted that they will be back in their usual slots in late-spring and autumn 2011. Alongside them in terms of entertainment the channel will also see the return of our hit dating show, Take Me Out, The Cube, Harry Hill’s TV Burp, Push The Button – which returns with a twist – and we also welcome Jonathan Ross back to ITV1 with his brand new show.
Following on from the success of the critically acclaimed Wormwood Scrubs, ITV1’s factual programming for 2011 includes hard hitting and unique access into HMP Strangeways. At the other end of the spectrum we continue to broadcast some stunning travelogues including Caroline Quentin: A Passage Through India and Sir Trevor McDonald’s Secret Mediterranean. In a brand new series, Long Lost Family, Davina McCall and Nicky Campbell help relatives find the family members they are desperate to trace.
Next year will also see the launch of our new documentary strand, Perspectives, which I hope will be a new home for a range of single, factual films from a variety of film-makers and presenters, offering their take on a range of subject matter. The strand begins with a run of five documentaries including film-makers Brian Hill and Antony Thomas, who, respectively, tackle Britain’s most common street-crime, mugging and challenge perceptions of our country’s children, so often demonised in the daily news agenda; Andrew Lloyd Webber telling the story of Pre-Raphaelite art; and miner’s son, Robson Green on the story of the Pitmen Painters, a group of Northumberland miners who became nationally recognised artists.
As ever, ITV1 will also continue to be the home of some of the nation’s biggest sporting events, with Adrian Chiles hosting coverage of England’s qualification journey to Euro 2012, the best of the UEFA Champions League and The FA Cup. And, we’re very pleased that we will continue our long association with the IRB Rugby World Cup, with exclusive live coverage of every live match from New Zealand in next year’s tournament.