ITV's 50 greatest shows

The fifty greatest shows ever broadcast on ITV were unveiled last night. I guess it was no surprise to anyone that Coronation Street was voted the number one show, but Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway at number two? Ok, it's a good piece of entertainment in an otherwise poor Saturday schedule, but it is not worthy of a position that high. There are better shows than that on the list that ended up much lower down the list than they should've been.

If there's one thing that the show proved last night, it was how much ITV has changed over the years and not always for the better. Programmes like Rising Damp, World in Action, Survival, etc- they really don't make them like that anymore. Nowadays, ITV would rather fill up its schedules with cheap reality TV shows than quality programmes of all genres, which is a shame. Furthermore, there is the obsession with ratings, not just with ITV but with the other TV channels as well. Shows that debut with low ratings are quickly taken off air and given no chance to develop. It is most likely that the axed programme will be replaced with, you guessed it- a reality tv show.

There is a lot the powers that be at ITV now could learn from the ITV of the past. One hopes they were watching ITV's 50 Greatest Shows closely.