End of an Era

Bliar resigning? No, something far more important. BBC has lost the rights to broadcast Neighbours. Fair dinkum. After 22 years on the Beeb the Australian soap will move to Five in 2008.

I been watching Neighbours, on and off, since I was knee-high to a grasshopper. Of course, in the early days I could only watch it during the school holidays. Thankfully they brought in the evening installment in 1988.

A lot has happened in Ramsay Street since them - some good, some bad. But I have stuck with Neighbours, as have some five million others who regularly watch the show.

Sure, the BBC may have treated Neighbours fans badly. They would never publicise the show. It would be the first programme they remove from the schedule every time there were showing a sporting event. They would not show it on bank holidays using the excuse that if they didn't do that they would overtake Australia. This was a laughable excuse as Neighbours is shown for all but three weeks a year in Australia. Two weeks off for Wimbledon, at least one week off over Christmas, another five bank holidays, football world cup, European championships, Olympics and the odd horse racing meant there was never any chance of the UK catching up with Australia. However, at least the Beeb stuck with Neighbours despite audience figures falling from 18 million to 5 million.

Will Five stick with Neighbours if audience figures fall? Probably not. And if Five drops Neighbours it will surely mean the end of Neighbours. So much rests on the all-singing all-dancing Neighbours that Five's money will pay for.

5.35pm will never be the same again. What will the BBC schedule in Neighbours place? How about bringing back what they used to show at 5.35pm: the Flintstones...