THE BBC has announced “case closed” for Crimewatch after more than 30 years.
First broadcast in 1984, the series allowed police and relatives to appeal for help in solving serious crimes.
This year detectives in Scotland used the evening programme to seek new information on the 2005 murder of Emma Caldwell, after previously highlighting the unsolved murders of dog walker Jean Campbell and schoolgirl Caroline Glachan.
A 2010 appeal relating to serial killer Peter Tobin prompted a “massive response” from the public, while the programme was also used to probe robberies, fraud cases and disappearances.
Just three episodes have aired this year, running in February and March, and were watched by an average of almost three million viewers, down from 14m at its peak.
While the evening series will now end, daytime alternative Crimewatch Roadshow will continue to run.
The BBC said: “We are incredibly proud of Crimewatch and the great work it has done over the years.
“This move will also allow us to create room for new innovative programmes in peak time on BBC One. We believe the successful Crimewatch Roadshow format in daytime is the best fit for the brand going forward and we will increase the number of episodes to make two series a year.”
Speaking on BBC Radio 4, former Crimewatch presenter Nick Ross said: “I’m amazed that it’s gone on for so long.
“When it started, it was revolutionary. Up to that point, television and radio basically talked at the audience. There was no internet, very few phone-ins, this was a programme where the audience could talk back and could actually influence the end of the programme.”
He added that falling ratings had given the show a “remote” chance of aiding police.
Other Crimewatch hosts over the years include Kirsty Young, Fiona Bruce and Jill Dando, whose own murder was featured on the show. It is currently hosted by Jeremy Vine and Tina Daheley.
The broadcaster was shot dead on her west London doorstep and the crime remains unsolved. Barry George, who was convicted of her murder in 2001, was acquitted in a 2008 retrial over the reliability of gunshot residue evidence.
Crimewatch did help solve the murder of toddler James Bulger, the killings of mother-and-daughter Lin and Megan Russell and the case of serial rapist Antoni Imiela.
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