BBC cancel television comedy series 'My Family'

Friday, March 25, 2011 

	Now that all the Harper children have fled the nest we feel it's time to make room for new comedies
—Danny Cohen, BBC One Controller

The BBC have made the decision to cancel My Family, a televised situation comedy series which airs on BBC One in the United Kingdom. Danny Cohen, who is the Controller of the television channel, stated: "Now that all the Harper children have fled the nest we feel it's time to make room for new comedies".

The programme, which was created by Fred Barron, launched in September 2000. It was the first BBC Television series of this genre to make use of production methods originating from the United States, including a group of employed writers and the studio being used solely for the purposes of the sitcom during the process of production. Over one hundred episodes of the show have been created since that time.

Series ten of My Family, which was broadcast in the summer of 2010, received approximately 4.6 million viewers on average. The eleventh and final series of the show is expected to be broadcast on BBC One later in 2011. Cohen has stated that Robert Lindsay and Zoë Wanamaker, who both feature in the TV show, will continue to be "part of our BBC One comedy family."

Meanwhile, Cheryl Taylor, commissioning controller for comedy at the BBC, explained: "Now that almost a generation of British children have grown up with the Harper brood, played over the years by Kris Marshall, Daniela Denby-Ashe and Gabriel Thompson, we're looking to the future with new families and new comedies that we hope will prove equally popular." Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, actor Robert Lindsay explained how he was "amazed by the public's love for the series." "When Kris Marshall left in 2005 I was convinced that was it. But somehow Zoe and I have kept the essence of it together," he said.

In response to the announcement of the cancellation of My Family, English actress Miranda Hart made comments about the story in an audio clip available on BBC News Online. "After 10-11 years, it's not a slight to be taken off-air. It's an amazing achievement and I think it's done a lot for studio audience sitcoms," she said. "It became a bit 'uncool', for one to address a word, but I always stood by it. [...] Having that many viewers says it all, really. [...] I think it's amazing what they achieved." Hart thought that the show will be remembered "[p]robably with Robert and Zoë. You know, they put a lot of work in and they did fantastic performances, you know, that really endeared the nation to them," describing Lindsay and Wanamaker as "great comedy actors."

Sources

• "My Family dropped after 11 years" — BBC News Online, March 25, 2011
• "BBC axes My Family after 11 years" — Press Association, March 25, 2011