Bradley Walsh says there was ‘nothing wrong’ with The Larkins’ viewing stats as he denies cancellation reports
Actor said he simply didn’t have time for the 14-week shoot this year
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Bradley Walsh has denied reports that The Larkins has been cancelled by ITV.
The Chase host stars opposite Joanna Scanlan as Pop Larkin in the channel’s adaptation of H E Bates’ novel The Darling Buds of May.
The series, which follows a family in rural Kent in the 1950s, made its debut in 2021. At the time, it divided critics, with The Independent’s Sean O’Grady calling it “a Brexit television abomination”.
Last week, reports emerged in The Sun claiming that the show was being axed after losing two million viewers between series one and two and alleged “cast disagreements” on set.
However, appearing on This Morning on Tuesday (10 January), Walsh vehemently denied the claims.
Walsh said that he’d “had a few calls” about the rumours which he said were attributed to “some problem with the viewing figures”.
“The viewing figures were absolutely fine, there was nothing wrong with the viewing figures,” he told hosts Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield. “They were fantastic. They actually, in comparison to the first series, all went well.”
Walsh explained: “It’s a 14-week shoot and I haven’t got time to do that this year. I actually don’t have 14 weeks, so it’s down to me, not anything else, that we may not be able [to do it].”
He also said that he and writer Simon Nye were working to see if it would be possible to make a special in the near future instead.
“The Larkins is a fantastic show… I just loved it,” he concluded. “It was just fantastic and it’s purely down to the fact that I just don’t have time to do it right now.”
In his original one-star review, The Independent’s O’Grady wrote that The Larkins was “precisely the kind of opioid atavistic tosh Nadine Dorries churns out in her novels… set in a post-war green and pleasant England that never was and never will be”.
The Larkins returned for a second series in October 2022.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments