Rachel_Sandford
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On Wednesday, both BBC and ITV made the announcements of their weekend schedules. It was discovered that BBC One's spy thriller, Spooks, is now set to go head-to-head with ITV's successful drama, Downton Abbey. Both shows are now to be aired on Sundays at 21:00BST, with the first shows set on September 18[SUP]th[/SUP].
BBC One controller, Danny Cohen, said just a month ago that he didn't want to get caught in scheduling wars, and while he was able to do so successfully for Saturday nights, making sure that Strictly Come Dancing did not clash with The X Factor (Strictly will be aired an hour earlier), it seems he didn't quite succeed for the Sunday night drama schedule.
Spooks, which has been on the channel since 2002 and has enjoyed great ratings, attracting around 6 million viewers on its former weekday time slot, may now have to fight for viewers for its final series. The last installment of the show is said to focus on character Harry Pearce and the guilty secret that might destroy his relationship with Ruth Evershed. It's contender, Downton Abbey, will be focusing on the events of World War I and how it will affect the Crawley family.
A BBC spokesman said in a statement: “Downton and Spooks are very different shows and offer a real alternative for audiences. This is the last ever series of Spooks and we wanted to celebrate this and make it a special event for viewers in the Sunday 9pm slot. It is not unusual for drama to go up against drama here, for example, David Tennant's Single Father did last year and ITV's Vera was up against BBC1's Exile earlier this year.”
During Wednesday's announcements, ITV also revealed that Doc Martin was to be moved to Monday, during Spooks' former time slot, further limiting the slots for dramas.
BBC One controller, Danny Cohen, said just a month ago that he didn't want to get caught in scheduling wars, and while he was able to do so successfully for Saturday nights, making sure that Strictly Come Dancing did not clash with The X Factor (Strictly will be aired an hour earlier), it seems he didn't quite succeed for the Sunday night drama schedule.
Spooks, which has been on the channel since 2002 and has enjoyed great ratings, attracting around 6 million viewers on its former weekday time slot, may now have to fight for viewers for its final series. The last installment of the show is said to focus on character Harry Pearce and the guilty secret that might destroy his relationship with Ruth Evershed. It's contender, Downton Abbey, will be focusing on the events of World War I and how it will affect the Crawley family.
A BBC spokesman said in a statement: “Downton and Spooks are very different shows and offer a real alternative for audiences. This is the last ever series of Spooks and we wanted to celebrate this and make it a special event for viewers in the Sunday 9pm slot. It is not unusual for drama to go up against drama here, for example, David Tennant's Single Father did last year and ITV's Vera was up against BBC1's Exile earlier this year.”
During Wednesday's announcements, ITV also revealed that Doc Martin was to be moved to Monday, during Spooks' former time slot, further limiting the slots for dramas.
