ITV accused of ignoring female viewers after ‘disgusting’ axe of show about three women doctors who return to work after maternity leave
ITV has been accused of ignoring its female viewers by axing a medical drama featuring three female doctors who had returned to work following maternity leave.
Maternal, which featured the trio as its central characters, has not been recommissioned for a second run and now bosses at the network are at the centre of a row.
They cited poor viewing figures being behind their decision despite the series gaining a decent audience share in a very difficult slot.
Maternal finished its final episode with an overnight figure of 1.9million after going up against the BBC’s popular Silent Witness.
Meanwhile, The Jonathan Ross Show rates at around 1.7million on Saturday nights.
Parminder Nagra as Maryam Afridi,Lara Pulver as Catherine MacDiarmid and Lisa McGrillis as Helen Cavendish in ITV’s Maternal
Maternal, which featured the trio as its central characters, has not been recommissioned for a second run and now bosses at the network are at the centre of a row
The decision has prompted the show’s stars Parminder Nagra, Lara Pulver and Lisa McGrillis to share their disapproval on social media at the programme coming to an end.
Fans have accused bosses of canning the series because the medics were depicted as strong while the men were seen as weak.
Some female employees at ITV are ‘disgusted’ that a show which is so appealing to women and tells important stories of working mothers has been axed. They also question why the broadcaster didn’t promote it as heavily as some of their other dramas.
One told the Mail: ‘You have three women working as doctors who are at the top of their game, while juggling babies and home lives. It is so appealing to women and exactly what ITV should be giving its viewers as part of its drive to attract a diverse audience. Women should matter more 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 following maternity leave
Maternal finished its final episode with an overnight figure of 1.9million after going up against the BBC’s popular Silent Witness. The Jonathan Ross Show rates at around 1.7million on Saturday nights.
‘We are also questioning whether it should have been called Maternal, maybe that put men off watching 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 paediatric registrar, Dr Maryam Afridi retweeted a number of posts from fans who were furious with ITV for ditching the show.
Television presenter Edith Bowman tweeted her upset at the show being axed, writing on social media: ‘This is bad form @ITV,’ while former Cosmopolitan editor Lorraine Candy lambasted the channel too, writing on Twitter: ‘I don’t know any women who didn’t love this provocative show. The men did not come out of it well – maybe that’s why?
Maternal starred as three female doctors returning to the ward after maternity leave.
When launching the show in January, ITV said: ‘Maternal explores working motherhood with wit, warmth and humour and offers a unique perspective on our beloved, overstretched 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 commission another series of Maternal, but unfortunately the audience didn’t come to the drama in the numbers that we’d hoped for. Everyone who watched the series really loved it, and for that reason we’re really disappointed we can’t make another series happen.’
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