Ackley Bridge

The first three series of Ackley Bridge received praise from critics and viewers, who liked that the programme represented minority groups and tackled real-world issues. Main cast members Poppy Lee Friar, Amy-Leigh Hickman and Sunetra Sarker have received awards for their portrayals of their respective characters, as well as the series itself garnering awards and nominations at various ceremonies.

In the fourth series, Ackley Bridge saw a major overhaul, including a platform switch, different time slots, a shortened runtime, and several new characters to replace cast exits. It received poor reviews, claiming that the move to a 6pm time slot had led to the edgy storylines being softened and that the long-term characters did not receive enough screen-time. Following a fifth series that received a late night slot, Channel 4 confirmed that they had decided not to renew Ackley Bridge further.