Blackadder was almost cancelled after its first season because the BBC failed to realise its potential, it was claimed yesterday.
The show’s producer John Lloyd has urged TV bosses to give more series a second chance, arguing that creative programmes rarely “achieve what they set out to do first time”.
Mr Lloyd, who also worked on Spitting Image and Not The Nine O’Clock News, said broadcasters were too afraid to say “try again” and instead scrapped programmes that were not an immediate hit.
Mr Lloyd, 72, revealed Blackadder’s budget was cut “to the bone” to avoid being axed.
The first series won an International Emmy, but the second was briefly cancelled by Michael Grade (then controller of BBC One) who said it had not attracted enough domestic viewers.
Blackadder was almost cancelled after its first season because the BBC failed to realise its potential, a study reveals
The show’s producer, John Lloyd, has urged TV bosses to give more series a second chance.
But the BBC boss was convinced to give the show a second chance after costs were cut. Lloyd said more TV directors should allow creators the chance to make such adjustments.
He said: “Michael Grade was looking at the numbers and said, ‘I’ve seen it, I know it won an Emmy and all that, but I didn’t think it was very funny. ‘ We went way over budget. So he cancelled it.”
The team then set about stripping out expensive elements of the show – “horses, guards, dogs, a huge castle – so everything was stripped back to the essentials,” Lloyd told Rob Brydon’s podcast.
‘I wish I could persuade broadcasters to do what they used to do and give them another chance.
The first series won an International Emmy Award, but the second was briefly cancelled by the then BBC Controller Michael Grade.
‘That’s the thing about creativity: you’re very unlikely to get it right the first time. But[executives]would look at you and say, ‘You know what? The casting is wrong or you need more music’ or whatever, and they’d say, ‘Go ahead and try again’ and you’d learn from your mistakes.
“The second series of Blackadder is better than the first, the same goes for Spitting Image, but certainly not The Nine O’Clock News,” Lloyd said.
Blackadder, widely regarded as one of the best British television shows, ran for four seasons between 1983 and 1989. It was revitalised in the second series when Ben Elton joined as a scriptwriter and made household names of its stars, including Rowan Atkinson, Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry.
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