BBC to evict 'My Family' in favour of new comedies

The long-running sitcom My Family is to be axed by the BBC after 11 years. The series, which stars Robert Lindsay and Zoe Wanamaker as Ben and Susan Harper, has run for more than 100 episodes.

Danny Cohen, the BBC1 controller, said: "Now that all the Harper children have fled the nest we feel it's time to make room for new comedies on BBC1." The 11th series, to be screened later this year, will be the final outing.

The series, which launched the acting career of Kris Marshall, began in September 2000 and was the first BBC sitcom to use US production methods such as writing teams, under the stewardship of its American creator, Fred Barron.