The Stage

South Bank Show to return on Sky Arts

Published Wednesday 30 November 2011 at 16:09 by Matthew Hemley

Sky Arts is to resurrect The South Bank Show three years after it was axed by ITV, with Melvyn Bragg once again on board to host the series.

The satellite channel said the arts series, which ran on ITV for more than 30 years before being cancelled in 2009, will return in 2012, and that the six-part run will “once again focus on the works of the greatest living practitioners across the spectrum of arts and culture”.

News of the show’s revival follows Sky Arts’ decision last January to resurrect The South Bank Show Awards, which, following the end of the series in 2009, were last broadcast on ITV in 2010.

The awards, which were renamed The South Bank Sky Arts Awards, will also return next year on the channel.

Bragg said: “I very much wanted to continue to make The South Bank Show and I’m delighted that Sky Arts has given me the chance to do that. I worked with them earlier this year for The South Bank Sky Arts Awards and the winners’ films, and it was a very enjoyable partnership. I greatly look forward to working with [Sky Arts director] James Hunt again, and his team.”

When ITV announced that it was axing the arts show, many high-profile industry figures attacked the decision, including actor, presenter and broadcaster Stephen Fry. Fry labelled the move a “terrible pity”, and claimed the decision had come at a time when there is a “great curiosity, passion and enthusiasm for the arts”.

Meanwhile, Victoria Wood accused broadcasters of turning their back on the arts, while choreographer Arlene Phillips called for a show to replace the series.

The South Bank Show first launched in 1978, running until 2009 on ITV. During that time, its subjects included Ian McKellen, Andrew Lloyd Webber and the Royal Shakespeare Company.

In 2010, ITV launched a series in which Bragg revisited some of the subjects from the original series.

Sky Arts director James Hunt said: “The arrival of The South Bank Show on Sky Arts is truly thrilling. The South Bank Show is synonymous with top-quality, engaging and entertaining arts programming, and we’re delighted to be working with Melvyn to bring it back to screens, for both loyal former viewers and a brand new audience.”

The show will be broadcast following The South Bank Sky Arts Awards, which will be held on May 1 at the Dorchester Hotel in London, hosted by Bragg.