BBC sitcom The Power of Parker, which featured a cast made up of Conleth Hill, Sian Gibson and Benidrom star Sheila Reid, has been axed after two series on air
The Power of Parker has been axed after two series on air(Image: CREDIT LINE:BBC/Boffola Pictures)
The Power of Parker has been axed after two series on air. The sitcom starred Conleth Hill, best known for his role as Varys in Game of Thrones, as wannabe business guru Martin Parker, whose seemingly successful life is in fact all built on lies.
All set in Stockport in 1990, the programme also stars creator Sian Gibson, best known for her role in Peter Kay’s Car Share, and Sheila Reid, known to fans of Benidorm as Madge Harvey, in the cast.
The final episode of series two saw Martin bracing himself for arrest on a charge of attempted murder, and along with his mistress and his wife pushed business rival Sandy (Steve Pemberton) into the back of a bin wagon. But Sandy then turned back up with video evideoce and threatened to go to the police if they did not pay up. However, viewers will never get to see just what happened now that the show has been pulled.
A source said: “Losing any series will feel like a crime for its fans. But for the two million who watched The Power Of Parker, its axe with so many loose ends is a major felony.
Speaking to The Sun, the source added: “The ratings just didn’t deliver enough bang for buck and it was decided the series would be chopped to make way for new formats.”
Over the years, the BBC has been responsible for comedies such as Only Fools and Horses, The Vicar of Dibley and Fawlty Towers amongst a whole host of other sitcom staples.
Diane Morgan, who is known for her roles in sitcoms Mandy and Motherland, has just launched Ann-Droid for the broadcaster, and Lucy Punch has enjoyed great success with Amandaland.
A spokesperson said: “There are no plans for a third series of The Power Of Parker. We’d like to thank Paul Coleman, Sian Gibson and the team at Boffola Pictures for bringing the show to our screens.”
Whilst promoting what turned out to be the last series, which focused what happened after Martin after losing his electrical goods store over an affair with Kath (Sian Gibson) – the sister of his wife Diane (Rosie Cavaliero), Conleth revealed to presenters Alex Jones and Roman Kemp on The One Show that his character had experienced a “huge fall from grace” with things being exacerbated by Kath.
However, his co-star then chimed in and told fans that there would be plenty of “twists and turns” coming up as she said: “Kath makes everything worse but there’s lots of twists and turns and there’s a huge twist in one of the episodes which means that Kath and Diane, her sister, played by lovely Rose Cavaliero, and Martin all have to work together.”
Conleth previously explained that his family weren’t too impressed with the character when the first series aired. He said: “My older relatives didn’t like him because he was an adulterer,” he shares.
“I based him on a mate of mine back home who wears cowboy boots and suits. When he doesn’t, he looks like a dumpy middle-aged man but transforms in the suit and cowboy boots,” he admits. “It’s just something about the choice of ‘I’m going to give myself a couple more inches’ in the boots that I liked immediately.”
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