BBC cancels Silver Street after six-year run

[jfung79]

This happened last month, but I just found out Silver Street has been cancelled! I'd been listening since the beginning. The Akhtars, Bradys, Jilanis, and Chauhans, Sway and Kuls, Jodie, MP Shazia Malik, injured footballer Jaggy Singh with his wife Simran and their son Kesar, loads others -- all to be consigned to history after March 2010. So, too, the vibrant, memorable locations such as the Parkside community center, Jilani Fashions, the Pumpworks cafe, the Golden Crown pub, and restaurant Saffron Ray's.

The BBC Asian Network has faced criticism in Britain recently for low listener-ship considering the amount spent. Ending production of Silver Street is a cost-cutting move.

Notable actors to have played roles in the soap include Toyah Wilcox, Saeed Jaffrey, and former EastEnders stars galore such as Shobu Kapoor, Brian Croucher, Nicholas Bailey, Bindya Solanki, Babita Pohoomull, and Mark Monero. Numerous recording artists and stars have made guest apperances, including Apache Indian and Bollywood star John Abraham. Notable stories have included Afghan asylum-seeker Kamal being attacked by a racist footballer; Sway and Nadia's attempt at an interracial, interreligious relationship; and patriarch Mushtaq Jilani's death.

Far-too-brief press release announcing cancellation (they should have put something like what I wrote above!): http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2009/11_november/16/asian.shtml

Soap's official website, from which you can listen to episodes: http://www.bbc.co.uk/silverstreet

[DRW50]

That's a shame. It seemed like for a while all the soaps were trying to incorporate more Asian characters, but apparently they are scaling back.

I'm sorry you lost a soap you enjoy.

[Aaron]

Just found this thread... so glad to see there was someone else who loved Silver Street. I also have been listening since the start of the run and found this show to be terrific. In a lot of ways, it reminded me of the old-school American soaps, with the multiple families, connected through generations. Although the show suffered a bit after the episode lengths were cut back, I still enjoyed listening every day and am still missing it. :-(