It is one of the greatest dilemmas in popular telly – when to persist with a popular franchise, give it a lick of paint and some new talent, and when to mothball it, only to drag it out of the store cupboard, to enchant a whole new generation of TV viewers.
In recent years, we have seen such enduring favourites as Blind Date, Top Gear, Dancing on Ice and Robot Wars revamped and returned, with the aim of recapturing loyal audiences and attracting new ones.
We have seen The Great British Bake-Off switch channels and talent and receive just as much love and adoration on Channel 4 as it did on BBC. The key question is: when do you stick and when do you twist? In the company of four experienced TV executives intimately acquainted with one of TV’s great gambles, we find out….
