BBC has axed newspaper drama ‘Press’ after just one series.
Bosses at the broadcaster have made the decision to cut the show – which was penned by ‘Doctor Foster’ writer Mike Bartlett and starred the likes of David Suchet, Charlotte Riley and Ben Chaplin – but insisted they remain "proud" of the programme.
A BBC spokesman said: "To make room for new shows, we sometimes have to make difficult decisions about which dramas to recommission.
"Unfortunately ‘Press’ won’t be returning … we’re proud of the show and look forward to Mike’s new drama ‘Life’ coming soon to BBC One."
According to The Sun newspaper’s Bizarre TV column, Beeb bosses had "high" hopes for the drama due to the talent involved.
An insider told the publication: "Expectations were high as Mike is now considered to be among the premier league of television drama writers.
"Bosses were hoping that Mike might bring some of the magic that made ‘Doctor Foster’ such a huge success with viewers."
It’s said the programme pulled in just over two million viewers in its prime-time Thursday night slot.
The programme followed two fictional newspapers in competition with each other.
Charlotte previously said a number of fictional newsworthy events in the plot had to be dropped because they were too similar to things actually occurring in British society, such as a bomb attack on the London Underground.
The actress – who played the Deputy News Editor of fictional broadsheet The Herald – explained: "There were one or two storylines that we filmed that then actually happened in real life, so they didn’t make the cut. We couldn’t then use them because they were too close to reality.
"One of them was a bomb on the District line of the Tube at Parsons Green. We ended up cutting that out because it had literally just happened. There were others too."
BBC axes newsroom drama Press after one series
