Crimewatch axed after 33 years

Sad news, I think this programme helped solve many crimes, but No doubt there will be some who will say good to this news, those who were not happy with some of the Crimewatch re Madeleine reconstructions etc. 


Crimewatch axed by BBC after 33 years

Crimewatch, one of the BBC's longest-running shows, is being axed after 33 years.
The programme, which asks viewers for help to track down criminals, is hosted by Jeremy Vine and Tina Daheley.
The BBC said in a statement: "We are incredibly proud of Crimewatch and the great work it has done over the years.
"This move will also allow us to create room for new innovative programmes in peak time on BBC One." Daytime series Crimewatch Roadshow will continue.

We believe the successful Crimewatch Roadshow format in daytime is the best fit for the brand going forward and we will increase the number of episodes to make two series a year," the BBC said.

The Sun, which first broke the story, said ratings had suffered as it was scheduled against Cold Feet and Broadchurch.
Three episodes have aired this year - in February and March - watched by an average of almost three million viewers. That is down from 14 million who watched at its peak

Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, former Crimewatch presenter Nick Ross said: "I'm amazed that it's gone on for so long. And it's a tribute to the team they've kept it going.
"When it started, it was revolutionary. Up to that point, television and radio basically talked at the audience. There was no internet, very few phone-ins, this was a programme where the audience could talk back and could actually influence the end of the programme.
"This sort of revolutionary thing then had a huge impact on television generally and has kept going for 33 years despite all the changes in technology."
Ross said falling ratings had had an impact on crime-solving.
"If you get 15 million people watching a programme and you have an appeal, the chance of finding somebody, that one witness who saw something they had no idea was connected with the crime... they can ring in.
"Once your audience starts plummeting, you go back to two million, one million, your chances of finding that person are so remote."

Other previous Crimewatch presenters include Jill Dando, who was murdered in 1999 - with her own case being featured on the show.
Sue Cook, Kirsty Young, Fiona Bruce and Rav Wilding have also hosted the programme.
Famous cases the show has featured and helped solve include the James Bulger murder, the killings of Lin and Megan Russell and the murder of schoolgirl Sarah Payne.
BBC Today programme presenter Nick Robinson tweeted a tribute to the show, which gave him his first job 30 years ago.

Jeremy Vine and Tina Daheley - who also reads the news on the Radio 1 breakfast show - took over as hosts of Crimewatch in September 2016.
The Police Federation said it was a "shame" that the programme was ending, and that it had shown "the complex side of policing and solve crime".
Simon Kempton, the Police Federation's head of operational policing, said: "For those wider appeals which needed national coverage it was great and there has been nothing else that has been able to give cases such a wide reach, but if there aren't the audience figures and people aren't watching it then you have to move with the times."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-41648972

That is sad as they have helped solved many crimes over the year but I can see the point if the viewers are in decline.

If they were so successful, yet viewers are in decline, IMO they should continue to try and find a more attractive format. Times change, people change: you have to follow the current ... and accomplish your goals.

This used to be absolute must-see viewing for me but I lost interest in it around 2000; obviously that doesn't explain why so many others stopped watching too.

Requests for information can now be made on the Internet - people just don't watch TV as much as they used to.

I think there is more to it that the above.

The whole Madeleine McCann case was weird on so many levels. Not least the TV documentary/drama producer Jez Wilkins allegedly bumping into Gerry McCAnn at such a crucial time in such a crucial place on that fateful Thursday evening. And Jez's partner and mother of his children just happens to have worked on Crimewatch. And just happens to write a story in the Guardian entitled 'My months with Madeleine' (or something to that effect..).

And there just so happens to be a Crimewatch reconstruction in 2013 in which an e-fit of a man who does look quite like Gerry McCann is shown.

It all feels a bit like a chicken and egg scenario - which happened first.....