Is ending a television series when it's still pulling in the viewers a smart move or downright silly?

THE TV ratings victory of the return of thirtysomething comedy-drama Cold Feet must have been viewed with mixed feelings by its creator and writer Mike Bullen.

ITV1 bosses will have been cockahoop that the audience of more than eight million - one in three viewers - made the series more popular than the Bafta awards ceremony on BBC1 and US import 24 on BBC2.

Bullen's heart must have sunk at the news which means the pressure will be on him to write yet more episodes. He gave in and wrote this fifth, and he maintains final, series under pressure from a network unwilling to let a surefire ratings winner end.

He'd wanted to axe Cold Feet because he felt "it had taken over my life", eventually agreeing four 90-minute episodes instead of a longer series of hour-long episodes.

But he was adamant this was the right time for the series to end. "I don't want to outstay our welcome with the audience," he says. "But I'm aware of the affection for the show, so there was partly a sense of, 'if you can still do it and people enjoy it, why not?'.

"We still have enough to say to maintain the standard we have set in the past. At the end of the last series, I was telling everyone, 'this is it, this is the end'. But this really is it this time."

He knows that audiences might be upset that this is the final series but better to go, he feels, before people say it's not as good as it was.

"It's important to end on a high, and I believe this series does. I'd really like the audience to want more but also to accept why this is the best time to stop," adds Bullen.

The same sentiment was expressed by Amanda Redman at the launch of At Home With The Braithwaites, which returns to ITV1 for a final series on Wednesday. "It's come to a natural end, and it's better to go out on a high and not flog it to death," she says.

That opinion is the exception more than the rule. Greed, for both big ratings and big pay cheques, usually persuades actors and writers to squeeze the very last drop out of an idea. That's cheaper and easier than looking for a new winning formula for a series.

Comedy is more difficult than drama to maintain over an extended run.

The longer they run, the harder it becomes to get laughs. The current series of US comedy Frasier has lost the sparkle that made it one of the best imports. It comes as no surprise that the makers have announced the end of the Seattle shrink show is nigh.

Friends, on the other hand, seems to have found a fresh lease of life. The ninth series, currently on Channel 4, was expected to be the last as the stars wanted to pursue their film careers.

The deal for a tenth series sees their fee of $1m a show each staying the same, but for 18 instead of 24 half-hour episodes. Negotiations were unusual because the cast adopted a one-for-all approach, saying they'd only return if the whole team reunited.

Usually, if one actor wants to leave, producers just replace him or her and carry on regardless. Yorkshire TV's top-rated Heartbeat, for instance, is about to lose leading man Jason Durr. He replaced original bobby on the Moors beat Nick Berry without any downturn in ratings. There's no reason to believe that arrival of James Carlton, who played Jason Kirk in Emmerdale, as Durr's replacement will lead to a mass desertion by audiences.

Sometimes restricting the life of a series boosts its cult status. Only 12 episodes of Fawlty Towers were ever made, four years apart. John Cleese has steadfastly refused to revive manic hotel owner Basil Fawlty. But the episodes are still being shown, and drawing big audiences, some 25 years after first being broadcast.

Episodes of another BBC comedy, One Foot In The Grave, were rationed by writer David Renwick to short series and one-off specials. His method of ensuring the series ended was extreme - he killed off leading character Victor Meldrew.

Fans of Del Boy cheered when writer John Sullivan agreed to revive BBC1's Only Fools And Horses for three specials after several years absence from screens. The first, shown at Christmas 2001, drew a big audience but poor critical response. Many doubted the wisdom of the revival.

The future of The Office, BBC2's award-winning comedy, hangs in the balance. There were stories that Ricky Gervais, alias David Brent, didn't want to play him any more after only two series. Now he's said that The Office could return for a third series or as a special.

One reason the makers of Friends want to keep the series alive is the money to be made from US TV syndication rights, estimated to be worth £700m over ten years.

Occasionally, performers put art before cash. Despite allegedly being offered $5m a show to continue in Seinfeld, comedian Jerry Seinfeld pulled the plug on the award-winning TV show after eight seasons while it was still at the top.

Now we have to wait to see when Mike Bullen will be able to leave well alone, or get cold feet about killing the series.

* Cold Feet continues on ITV1 on Sunday at 9pm and At Home With The Braithwaites returns to ITV1 on Wednesday at 9pm.

Published: 01/03/2003