Big names chopped for ITV revival plan

ITV is cancelling several big-name shows in an attempt to renew its schedule and revive performance.

Amongst those being axed are Today with Des and Mel, Celebrity Fit Club and Rosemary and Thyme.

Director of TV Simon Shaps made the announcement in a speech to the Royal Television Society, hailing the move as a dramatic change.

"We are undertaking a painful, but utterly necessary, process," he explained. "A kind of clause IV moment for ITV – which is to drop programmes which, by the criteria of most of our competitors are still performing incredibly well.

"Why? Because we know that that volume without value is no longer enough. Value in terms of viewer engagement, value in terms of audience profile, value in terms of word of mouth and the perception of the channel."

He wanted the network to spend its money on more adventurous shows, he said, commenting that ITV should be a place that "wants more than cop shows and period detectives".