ITV axes major Bradley Walsh show amid falling ratings as fans left devastated
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    Bradley Walsh’s fans have been left devastated as ITV axed one of his major shows – Darling Buds of May spin-off The Larkins.

    According to the Mail on Sunday, the ITV drama will not return for a third series after Sabrina Bartlett, who played main character Mariette Larkin, made the decision to quit.

    Sabrina left the show before the second series after allegedly complaining about her co-star, which reportedly caused a “massive problem” for telly bosses.

    READ MORE:Petrified dad Bradley Walsh suffers ‘heart palpitations’ in This Morning interview

    A source claimed there was a disagreement between Sabrina and her on-screen love interest Tok Stephen, telling The Sun: “The ratings for series two were disappointingly low and cast disagreements on set have been an ongoing problem for the production team.

    “Sabrina’s issue with Tok and her decision to leave, was a massive problem for the bosses. But there have also been other disagreements.”

    She was subsequently replaced by Joelle Rae, though sources also claimed Pop Larkin star Bradley Walsh was “upset” by the ongoing tensions.

    Another source told the Daily Mail: “What happened was really sad for everyone involved in the show. Sabrina was a much loved and popular member of the cast.

    “It left ITV with a massive quandary – they wanted both of their stars but that simply couldn’t be the case.”

    They further claimed: “There was a lot of talk around the television industry about this, and bosses at the station do not want to be tarnished in any way. It is not fair for the cast, particularly Bradley, to be caught up in any of it either.”

    That isn’t the only reason for the axe, however, as the comedy lost two million viewers when it returned for a second series in 2022, with only 2.9million tuning in compared to 4.8million in 2021.

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    This is despite the popularity of its myriad cast members, with Bradley – who is also known for hosting ITV quiz show The Chase – appearing alongside his son Barney, who played a police officer in the comedy.

    The series has a relatively low rating of just 6.3 out of 10 on IMDb, and didn’t prove to be quite as popular as its mother show The Darling Buds of May, which has an average rating of 7.8.

    Loyal fans of the series, however, have turned out in force after the news broke, with one Twitter user penning: "Just watched #TheLarkins @ITV please make another series!"

    Someone else posted: "If The Larkins has actually been axed I'll cry."

    Daily Star has contacted ITV for comment.

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