'The Family Pile' has been axed after just one series.
The ITV comedy starred Coronation Street actress Alexandra Mardell
The star-studded ITV1 sitcom featured 'Mr. Selfridge' actress Amanda Abbington and former 'Coronation Street' star Alexandra Mardell alongside Claire Keelan and Clare Calbraith as a group of sisters navigating life following the death of their parents but will not return to screens for a second outing because of low ratings, an insider has claimed.
A TV source told The Sun newspaper's TVBiz column: "Unfortunately the ratings were lower than expected and ITV decided to concentrate on fresh comedies, rather than pin hopes on 'The Family Pile'."
The Liverpool-based comedy - which was written by 'The Smoking Room' creator Brian Dooley - failed to achieve what was hoped in the ratings and cast and crew are said to be "gutted" over the decision to axe it, but the insider went on to add that TV can be a "brutal industry".
The insider added: "The cast and crew are gutted as they felt it was a good sitcom and the best ones always take time to grow. But TV is a brutal industry and shows that are not instant successes rarely get a second chance. Comedy chiefs appreciate the cast are talented and liked the series, but they couldn’t ignore the poor audience figures."
Meanwhile, an ITV1 spokesperson explained while there are "no plans" for the show to return at present, the broadcaster is still thankful to the cast and crew for bringing the show to life over the course of six episodes.
They said: "There are currently no plans for a second series of The Family Pile. We would like to thank all the cast and crew for their hard work in bringing the show alive on screen.”
Tagged in Amanda Abbington