Why was Heartbeat cancelled? Find out real reason here
It might not have been on our screens since 2010, but many are loving a second dose of Heartbeat thanks to ITV reshowing classic episodes each weeknight.
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While the nostalgia was no doubt welcomed by many who enjoyed watching the show the first time around, we couldn't help but wonder why the police drama was cancelled in the first place? We did some investigating and here's what we know...
Heartbeat ended in 2010
In June 2010, a month before series 18 was released, it was announced that the upcoming season was to be the last. A spokesperson at ITV explained that the channel was looking to "refresh" the programmes shown.
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The show was hugely popular back in the day
The statement read: "We are overhauling our schedule to reflect the changing demands of our audience [and] refreshing the mix of programming we commission and broadcast.
"We will continue to maintain our significant investment in the genre, the biggest of any commercial broadcaster, but ITV1's future focus will be on new and varied drama commissions."
The police drama made household names out of its cast
The statement went on: "Heartbeat has been an important part of the television landscape over the last 18 years and we are incredibly proud of what it achieved in its heyday as one of ITV1's top rated dramas."
When the show first aired in 1992, the early series managed to pull in a staggering ten million viewers per episode and often competed with other highly popular primetime shows at the time.
In the later series, although the numbers decreased, the popularity remained, with each episode getting a peak of eight million viewers by 2008. The police drama starred a number of actors that soon became household names such as Nick Berry, Mark Jordon, Jason Durr, Tricia Penrose and plenty more. The popular show even sparked a spin-off series, The Royal, The Royal Today and a one-off spin-off episode, Heartbeat: Changing Places.
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