''Castles'' was a British

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio drama ...

following three generations of a large London family. It ran for 24 episodes on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

during the summer of 1995 and was a co-production by the BBC and

Granada Television ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire but only on weekdays as ABC Weekend Television was its ...

. Its writing team included Peter Whalley who was known for his work on ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford. Orig ...

'' and

Sally Wainwright Sally Anne Wainwright (born 1963) is an English television writer, producer, and director from Yorkshire. Early in her career, Wainwright worked as a playwright, and as a scriptwriter on the long-running radio serial drama ''The Archers''. In t ...

who would go on to create ''

Scott & Bailey ''Scott & Bailey'' is a British police procedural series that debuted on ITV on 29 May 2011 and concluded on 27 April 2016. The series stars Suranne Jones, Lesley Sharp, Amelia Bullmore, Nicholas Gleaves, Danny Miller and Pippa Haywood. The s ...

'' and '' Happy Valley''.

Scheduling

The first episode aired on 31 May 1995 at 7.30pm before settling into what was supposed to be its regular timeslot of Tuesday and Thursday at 8.30pm. Halfway through its run, with audiences averaging 3.2 million, BBC head of drama Charles Denton admitted that the show had not been a success, stating "A piece which sits in the middle of the schedule has obligations to deliver rather fuller levels of audience and enthusiasm than, I'm afraid, has happened with ''Castles''". It was at this point that the series was moved to Monday and Sunday at 7.00pm, where a BBC spokesperson stated "it might better fulfil its potential". Throughout its run, repeats and omnibus editions were aired on weekday afternoons on both BBC One and

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream a ...

. As the series drew to a close, ''

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'' reported that no final decision had been taken about the future of the show, but that writer Whalley was working on a second series. Ultimately, it was not picked up for a second run.

Cast

Episode guide

References

* * * *

External links

* {{Soap operas in the United Kingdom 1995 British television series debuts 1995 British television series endings British television soap operas 1990s British television soap operas BBC television dramas English-language television shows Television shows set in London