Robert Lindsay has hit out at the BBC's decision to axe long-running sitcom My Family. The corporation has decided to drop the BBC One series, which stars Lindsay and Zoe Wanamaker as Ben and Susan Harper, after 11 years. Lindsay told TV Times magazine: "It's got so many fans and the BBC has treated it appallingly. "The ratings were great, but they ruined it by putting it out after the 9pm watershed. "It's a genuinely good family show - as my dad used to say, you can watch it quite safely with your grandchildren." He said that he was surprised that his role as long-suffering dentist Ben had prompted children to send him fan mail. He said: "Kids used to write to us saying 'I wish I was in your family', but can you imagine that - with my awful character? They also said 'I wish you were my dad', and I thought 'you poor people!'." The 11th series, which begins later this month, will be the final outing for the show, which has run for more than 100 episodes. The previous series, shown last summer, averaged 4.6 million viewers. BBC One controller Danny Cohen announced the decision to axe the show in March, saying it was 'time to make room for new comedies' now that 'all the Harper children have fled the nest'. He said that Lindsay and Wanamaker would remain 'part of our BBC One comedy family'.
