Lenny Henry launches scathing rant at ITV as they axe his show after just one series
Three Little Birds was created by Sir Lenny Henry and took inspiration from his family's early days living in the UK.
Watch the trailer for Three Little Birds
Sir Lenny Henry has slammed ITV after it cancelled his drama Three Little Birds after just one season. The six part drama was based on his parents’ generation's experience of immigration in the 1950s.
“These days, it seems that many black dramas only get one series, there are numerous examples of this – and sadly, Three Little Birds is just one more in that same category,” he fumed. “But the reality is these days, the TV market is very tricky to navigate unless there are big names attached to a project.
"A show will often get just one shot and if it doesn’t meet broadcaster expectations – that’s it – it’s likely cancelled after one series. We sadly don’t give shows the opportunity to grow with the audience.
“I would really like to see some longer-term investment in lesser-known and diverse talent, in order to make them the stars of tomorrow. These things take time,” he told The Guardian.
For their part ITV reportedly said: “It was a very difficult decision as we really wanted to commission another series of Three Little Birds, but unfortunately the audience didn’t come to the drama in the numbers that we’d hoped for. Everyone who watched the series really loved it, and for that reason we’re really disappointed we can’t make another series happen.”
They didn't rule out working with Lenny again adding they had “loved working” with the team behind the show and said they “hope to work with them on another commission soon”.
Meanwhile Lenny has intimated that he will now continue the character's adventures in a book.
Express.co.uk has contact Lenny Henry and ITV for comment.
The cancellation came despite the fact the show was the only diverse drama in the top 50 most-watched shows when it premiered in October 2023.
According to television ratings agency Barb it had almost 3 million viewers and was just 192,000 viewers behind the Line of Duty writer Jed Mercurio’s crime thriller Payback which has also failed to get arecommissioned.
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Prior to the launch of the drama, Lenny told Express.co.uk he didn't pull any punches on how the new arrivals were treated: “These are tales about migrants arriving on boats, becoming embroiled in this supposed motherland where work is meant to be better.
“My brothers would tell stories about how they’d have to walk around in pairs because you’d get attacked in the streets.
“A lady told me about people touching her hair on the bus and asking her what part of Africa she was from. But at the same time there were acts of kindness from unexpected quarters.
"There was immense joy, a bustling, multi-cultural life, of a community doing its best to unite,” he said.
