Viewers of Holby City and Silent Witness were left disappointed and angry last night, when they tuned into two of their favourite shows and found they’d been cancelled.
On Tuesday (February 4), the BBC medical drama and the popular crime series were both removed from their usual weekly slots in favour of football.
Read more: Silent Witness: Fans demand BBC bosses give Liz Carr’s Clarissa her own spin-off series
Holby fans who tuned in at 8pm to catch up with the likes of Jac Naylor and Sasha Levy got a shock when they discovered football was on instead.
In my opinion the football should have been rescheduled not Silent Witness. Disappointed in the extreme.
And Silent Witness fans were, in turn, livid to miss out on the second half of the double bill which started on Monday.
The first instalment ended on a tense cliffhanger, as Jack’s life hung in the balance and Clarissa had a very difficult decision to make…
Read more: Holby City SPOILERS: Tragedy for Sacha Levy as his aunt is brought into hospital
Instead, the BBC chose to air Live Match of the Day: The FA Cup, where Oxford United took on Newcastle United.
Coverage of the fourth-round replay from Kassam Stadium meant that Holby and Silent Witness will now air on Wednesday (February 5) instead.
One Holby fan expressed their discontentment on Twitter, writing: “Holby City cancelled again because of the football grrr. Not every [bleep] likes football! #holbycity #football.”
Get a sport channel. I don't like football. I like holby https://t.co/ukbIix6g0A
— ✨christina✨ (@criiisiii) February 5, 2020
https://twitter.com/kilmowskicat/status/1224832259733233665
@Holby_Hospital once again moved in the schedule for 22 overpaid grunts kicking a ball not good enough auntie beeb
— John Clarke (@captchaos82) February 4, 2020
Give me Holby any day – damned football 😩
— Susan Bates (@suzymbates) February 4, 2020
It really annoys me that they move Holby for rubbish football 😡
— Susan Bates (@suzymbates) February 4, 2020
Another said: “Get a sport channel. I don’t like football. I like Holby.”
A third added: “Why don’t they put the footie on BBC2 instead of moving our fave Holby and Silent Witness? Less people must watch BBC2 surely? Not a happy bunny. We miss our dose of Holby!”
“Once again Holby is moved in the schedule for 22 overpaid grunts kicking a ball. Not good enough Auntie Beeb,” said one more, while another added: “@BBCOne once again you have [bleep] off the millions of Holby fans waiting for their Tuesday fix by replacing it with football. Surely there are enough other channels such as BBC2? Surely best programmes should be shown on BBC1. Please explain why established programmes are so readily moved?”
Silent Witness fans were just as vocal, with one dripping sarcasm in their message: “Thank you @BBCOne for putting football on last night instead of Silent Witness. It’s not like any of us need to know if Jack is dead or not…”
Blooming Football, how dare they. In my opinion the football should have been rescheduled not #SilentWitness. Disappointed in the extreme. 😪😪
— Liz Burr (@jellybelly47) February 5, 2020
https://twitter.com/jason281086/status/1224987104498810880
https://twitter.com/kew5711/status/1224971576950558720
Yeah silent witness isn't on because of football. Not happy 😡😀
— SHARON.Tom Hardy fan (@sharonjones84) February 5, 2020
I’ve never been in favour of scrapping FA Cup replays, until what seems like the 100th time this season it’s caused Silent Witness to move to a different night on the BBC.
— Nick Shaw (@SicknoteWFC) February 4, 2020
Another added: “Blooming football, how dare they? In my opinion the football should have been rescheduled not Silent Witness. Disappointed in the extreme.”
A third said: “@BBC1 take off Silent Witness last night and put football on instead. They do realise that we don’t watch the footie instead? We turn over and find something else. Why isn’t sports on its own channel?”
“Silent Witness isn’t on because of football. Not happy,” fumed one more, while another said: “I can’t believe the BBC has moved Silent Witness to Wednesday because of the [bleep] football. I’m fuming.”
Holby fans can tune in to the BBC at 8pm tonight to see Sacha prepare for a groundbreaking transplant operation, while Max fears he is the wrong man for the job given his recent bereavement and past struggles with mental health.
Silent Witness airs at 9pm, concluding the two-part story. Jack is rushed to hospital after collapsing at the scene of a car crash, which Thomas suspects could be the result of exposure to a nerve agent.
Do you think football should stay on sports channels? Leave us a comment on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix and let us know what you think!