Scarborough, the BBC One comedy starring Jason Manford and written and directed by Benidorm creator Derren Litten, has been dropped by the BBC.
The premiere of the six-part series was watched by more than 2.8 million people in September, but the number had declined to around 2.2 million by the time of the final episode.
In a statement, the BBC said: “Sometimes we have to make difficult decisions to make room for new comedy on BBC One. We are very proud of Scarborough and would like to thank Derren and the team for all their hard work on the series.”
The show starred Jason Manford and Catherine Tyldesley as a couple who get back together after a break of five years, forming the core of a group of Scarborough residents bonded by family, friendship and their love of karaoke.
Manford had said: “Each episode is a really lovely half an hour spent with a group of characters who I think the viewers will really like. It’s funny and warm and feels like just the sort of TV show we need in these current times.”
However, the series sparked controversy for its inclusion of a Jimmy Savile joke after ‘Bigsy’ (Steve Edge) told Manford’s character, Mike Manford, that Savile had “the right idea” about women – because “he used to call them all brain-damaged”.
All episodes of the first (and only) series of the comedy will be available to stream for the next 10 months on BBC iPlayer.
