[mcginn]

Here the story from brookside.com

For the eighth time in BROOKSIDE's history, the rumour-mill is rumbling that the programme is apparently about to be axed. So what's the real story?

Quality
brookside.com went direct to BROOKSIDE Production to find out what was actually going on. They accept that for some time BROOKSIDE hasn't been working in its current slot on Channel Four. Whilst the team are confident of the quality of the programme, they feel that the scheduling of the show has affected its popularity.

Strong
The news that Channel Four will moving BROOKSIDE to a permanent 90-minute slot at 5pm on Saturday from November 30 has been greeted with some optimism from the programme-makers. The old Saturday omnibus time has traditionally been a strong slot for BROOKSIDE, and shouldn't be taken as an indication that the programme is set for cancellation.

Revamp
BROOKSIDE Production do admit, however, to being “spooked” by the timing of Channel Four's announcement which comes on the eve of the programme's 20th birthday and one of its biggest storylines in years. Recently £1.5 million was spent on revamping the programme, and a further £1 million on marketing. The decision has been taken by the channel before seeing one single frame of the “new” BROOKSIDE.

Cast and crew at BROOKSIDE have resolved to let the dust settle on this latest announcement from the channel and take a view on it in the New Year