ITV period drama The Halycon axed after just one series despite being billed as Downton Abbey’s replacement
IT was billed as the new period drama to replace Downton Abbey.
But I can reveal The Halcyon has been axed just weeks after its first series finished.
ITV bosses have decided to not make a second series of the World War Two hotel thriller after fewer than four million people tuned into its finale last month.
A source said: “It’s a shame The Halcyon hasn’t been given a second series because it had a loyal set of fans who really enjoyed it.
“Being compared to Downton Abbey is a tough act to live up to — especially after the huge success Downton had in the US.
It got really good reviews but just didn’t get the huge following that they were expecting.”
Downton producer Chris Croucher was put in charge of the show that saw spies, politicians and aristocrats gather in one of London’s poshest hotels to escape bombs and rationing.
He helped line up a top cast including Hollywood stars STEVEN MACKINTOSH and OLIVIA WILLIAMS —and ALEX JENNINGS.
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Ex-EastEnder KARA TOINTON, who was crowned Strictly champ in 2010, was also cast as a sexy singer. But it faced strong competition running against the Beeb’s long-established crime drama, Silent Witness.
An ITV spokesman said: “ITV regularly considers the range of dramas we commission to ensure the right balance. It does mean on occasions we have to take tough decisions, and not all drama can be recommissioned.
"We are really pleased so many people enjoyed The Halcyon and we are proud of what the series achieved.
“We’d like to thank The Halcyon production team and actors and everyone at Left Bank Pictures for their hard work.”
After their success with Victoria last year, I’m sure ITV have another blockbuster period drama up their frilly sleeve.
READ ON FOR THE REST OF DAN WOOTTON'S BIZARRE TV COLUMN
STEPHEN SHOW IS A NO GO
STEPHEN MULHERN is one of ITV’s biggest stars.
But the Catchphrase host’s new game show Go For It didn’t shine quite so brightly. It has been canned after just one series, with bosses eager to experiment with different formats for the early-evening Saturday slot. The show was screened from August to October last year and had an average of 2.7million viewers. It invited members of the public to share their party tricks in a bid to win £1,000. A source said: “Stephen did a brilliant job hosting and everyone at ITV was really pleased. The show had real warmth and was great fun. “Stephen has lots of other ITV projects coming up.” Given his starring roles on ANT and DEC’s Saturday Night Takeaway and Britain’s Got More Talent, viewers don’t need to worry about Stephen, above, lacking screen time. I’m sure it won’t be long before he fronts another show that goes down a storm.
Kitten gig axed over bottle yob
KERRY KATONA hasn’t been this angry since JENNY FROST replaced her in ATOMIC KITTEN's Whole Again video.
The reality TV star laid into drunken students at Lincoln University’s student union on Wednesday night before pulling the gig after just three songs.
Kerry and bandmate NATASHA HAMILTON had a bottle thrown at them while they were performing.
And after identifying the culprit, Kerry hit back in typical style.
She said: “The guy hasn’t hit f***ing puberty yet. His girlfriend thought his d*** was his belly button, it was that small.”
Natasha added: “He’s trying to prove how big his d*** is by seeing how far he can throw things.”
The band have just come back from playing gigs in Australia, where LIBERTY X star MICHELLE HEATON filled in for
LIZ McCLARNON, who was also absent from the rowdy Lincoln gig.
Though Liz may have missed out on the sun Down Under, this time she’ll have no regrets about not joining the others on stage.
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CORONATION STREET might not have a local florist for much longer thanks to Pete Barlow’s antics.
His stepsister Tracy’s charmed life as the owner of Preston’s Petals looks set to fall to pieces when an estate agent turns up and explains Pete has put it on the market.
She flies into a rage while confronting him in the presence of dad Ken – and he doesn’t make it any better when he reveals his plans for the cash later on.
Over on EMMERDALE, meanwhile, Jai blabs to a reporter about Holly’s battle with drugs – despite his own history of substance abuse.
He confesses his issues to Moira as they meet at Holly’s grave. I’m not sure if she will forgive him.
Jewels have a sheen
ANT and DEC are joined this week by MICHAEL SHEEN in their Saturday Night Takeaway sketch hunt for the Crown Jewels.
The Hollywood star heads up a “Munitions Ordinance Operations Backup Squad” – or M.O.O.B.S.
Meanwhile, the boys promised my colleague LORRAINE KELLY and I could star in the whodunnit if I could out-trick them in an appropriately themed quiz.
So I asked during an interview with them on ITV’s Lorraine what was Britain’s most popular takeaway dish – fish and chips, curry, burgers or Chinese.
They both failed to guess the answer is burgers, so I will be making my acting debut this weekend. I can’t wait.