ITV accused of ignoring female viewers after ‘disgusting’ axe of show about three women doctors
ITV accused of ignoring female viewers after show’s ‘disgusting’ ax over three female doctors returning to work after maternity leave
ITV has been accused of ignoring its female viewers by stopping a medical drama involving three female doctors returning to work after maternity leave.
Featuring the trio as central characters, Maternal has not been recommissioned for a second run and now the network’s bosses are in the middle of a row.
They cited poor ratings as being behind their decision, despite the series getting a decent audience share in a very difficult slot.
Maternal ended its final episode with an overnight figure of 1.9 million after taking on the BBC’s popular Silent Witness.
Meanwhile, The Jonathan Ross Show scores about 1.7 million on Saturday nights.
Parminder Nagra as Maryam Afridi, Lara Pulver as Catherine MacDiarmid and Lisa McGrillis as Helen Cavendish in ITV’s Maternal
Featuring the trio as central characters, Maternal has not been recommissioned for a second run and now the network’s bosses are in the middle of a line
The decision has led to the show’s stars Parminder Nagra, Lara Pulver and Lisa McGrillis sharing their disapproval on social media over the program’s end.
Fans have accused bosses of canning the series because the medics were portrayed as strong while the men were seen as weak.
Some female workers at ITV are ‘disgusted’ that a show that appeals so much to women and tells important stories about working mothers has been axed. They also wonder why the broadcaster didn’t promote it as heavily as some of their other dramas.
One told the Mail: ‘You have three women who work as doctors who are at the top of their game, juggling babies and family life. It’s so appealing to women and just what ITV should be giving its viewers as part of its drive to attract a diverse audience. Women should be more important to them.
ITV has been accused of ignoring its female viewers by axing a medical drama featuring three female doctors who had returned to work after maternity leave
Maternal ended its final episode with an overnight figure of 1.9 million after taking on the BBC’s popular Silent Witness. The Jonathan Ross Show grosses about 1.7 million on Saturday nights.
“We also wonder if it should have been called Maternal, maybe that kept men from looking at it.”
Ms McGrillis, 40, who played acute medicine doctor Helen Cavendish, wrote on Twitter: ‘We are all devastated, it feels like such a waste of wonderful and important stories’, while Ms Pulver, 42 – surgeon Catherine MacDiarmid – and former ER actress Ms Nagra, 47, who played a pediatric registrar, Dr Maryam Afridi has retweeted a number of messages from fans furious at ITV for dumping the show.
TV presenter Edith Bowman tweeted that she was upset about the cancellation of the show, writing on social media: ‘This is bad form @ITV’, while former Cosmopolitan editor Lorraine Candy also denounced the channel, writing on Twitter: ‘ I don’t know any women who didn’t love this provocative show. The men didn’t come out well – maybe that’s why?
Maternal starred as three female doctors returning to the ward after maternity leave.
At the show’s launch in January, ITV said: ‘Maternal explores working motherhood with humour, warmth and humour, offering a unique perspective on our beloved, overburdened NHS and the people who hold it together. Sometimes.’
An ITV source told the Daily Mail: ‘It was a very difficult decision as we really wanted to do another Maternal series but unfortunately audiences didn’t come to the drama in the numbers we had hoped. Everyone who has seen the series has loved it, so we are very disappointed that we can’t do another series.”