BBC sets up Spooks v Downton Abbey battle

A Sunday night "bonnets versus bugs" battle is brewing after the BBC scheduled the final series of spy drama Spooks against ITV1's hit Downton Abbey.

It could be a high-risk move for the BBC1 controller, Danny Cohen, who has said he does not want to get drawn into competitive scheduling wars.

Spooks, which is being killed off after a decade on BBC1, has previously run on a weekday, typically on a Monday, where it pulled in around 6 million viewers.

However the BBC said it wanted to make the final series of Spooks a "special event" for viewers by airing it in the prestigious Sunday night 9pm slot on 18 September.

ITV1 had already declared that was the night the second series of Downton Abbey would be airing.

The news comes despite Cohen saying he will once again ensure that the new series of Strictly Come Dancing does not clash with The X Factor, explaining recently: "I'm not massively interested whether we beat it or not."

But slots for dramas have become more limited after successful ITV1 drama Doc Martin was moved recently to Monday nights – the night Spooks would usually have aired.

A BBC spokesman said: "Downton and Spooks are very different shows and offer a real alternative for audiences. This is the last ever series of Spooks and we wanted to celebrate this and make it a special event for viewers in the Sunday 9pm slot.

"It is not unusual for drama to go up against drama here, for example, David Tennant's Single Father did last year and ITV's Vera was up against BBC1's Exile earlier this year."

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