Out of the Blue on the BBC

Out of the Blue was first commissioned by the BBC at the end of 2007 as a replacement for Neighbours following news of its move to Five in the UK. The first episode premiered on April 28, 2008 at 2.15pm (airing after Doctors) and attracted 1.2 million viewers. Reports stated that the soap would have to stay above the 1 million viewers mark if it was to have a long-term future.

Just days later, on May 7, the BBC announced that the show would be moving to BBC Two at the earlier time of 1.00pm, putting it in competition with the BBC News at One. The decision occurred after viewing figures had dropped to 700,000. The BBC stated that it hoped the new slot would prove to be a "stronger home" for the show - a strange statement given the competition from one of its own channels.

Following the move, the BBC stopped sending out promotional material for the show, meaning that it received no coverage in the press. In the disappointing new slot and now with no backing from the BBC just one month into the show, viewing figures dropped to 100,000, prompting the BBC to confirm that it would end after the first series.

Viewing figures have increased from that level over the show's run - with the last information we have heard showing that Out of the Blue is now attracting around 142,000 viewers daily. Sadly, we will never know whether this increase could have been on a larger scale in its original slot and with backing from the BBC.

With no new episodes set to be commissioned by the BBC and the show now set to air on Fiver, the BBC is pretty much done with Out of the Blue. However, many fans remain disappointed that the show was never given a proper chance to build its audience - an opportunity that all soaps need in their early days. Who knows what long-running shows would be off our screens now if faith had been lost in them after just one week.