“Keep the Home Fires Burning, While your hearts are yearning…”
Never in the field of broadcasting has there ever been such a response to the cancellation of a TV programme. Fans of ITV’s ‘Home Fires’ were dealt a double blow after the broadcaster announced its decision to axe the drama after the last episode of Series 2 ended on a shocking cliffhanger in which a plane crashed into the village of Great Paxford, leaving viewers guessing as to the fate of their favourite characters.
This was then followed by an announcement from Bryn Brindsley actor, Daniel Ryan when he told fans on Twitter:
“So, it is with huge sadness I must tell you that #HomeFires has been cancelled. Awful to leave stories untold and lives incomplete. Sorry.”
Actor Mark Umbers who plays Wing Commander Nick Lucas in the ITV series also expressed his disappointment in an open letter, saying that whilst he acknowledged the broadcaster’s decision, he felt that there was a “point to be made in the wake of our audience’s anger — and the relevance of it stretches beyond Sunday night television or actors’ livelihoods.”
The cancellation prompted fans of the show to take to social media, encouraging a huge Twitter campaign #keephomefiresburning and #savehomefires supported by series creator and writer Simon Block and many of the cast and crew. One determined fan, Kerryn Groves even created an e-petition signed by over 20,000 people which she hand delivered to ITV’s London offices on the Southbank.
ITV defended its decision to axe the programme with a statement that:
“We are incredibly proud of what Home Fires has achieved, but the ITV commissioning team continues to refresh the channel’s drama portfolio, hence the decision not to commission a further new series.”
However this has not deterred fans from protest, with some angry viewers calling for fans to send pots of jam to the ITV offices in demonstration (Home Fires is based on the book Jambusters by Julie Summers, who has also added her support to the campaign). A ‘twitterstorm’ also took place on Sunday 22nd May and a public protest is planned for 11th June where fans are invited to dress in their 1940s attire and make a stand on the Southbank.
This was no consolation however, as viewers demanded to know why such a successful show would be cut off in its prime whilst other less popular dramas were treated to further series commissions. ITV’s main rival, BBC One, lost 1.1 million viewers to the final episode of ‘Home Fires’, broadcast on 8th May, who tuned in to ITV instead.
For the fans of the drama this isn’t a case of Keep Calm and Carry On, the Blitz spirit is driving the determination to reverse the decision and with a 20,000 strong petition, who knows, it just might work. However the question remains, will there be a silver lining for ITV’s most loved drama, or will Home Fires be consigned to the history books?
