Series 11
In July 2008, it was announced Minder was to resume on Channel 5 after a 15-year break. The first episode of the six-part series was broadcast on 4 February 2009. The makers emphasised that it was a revival rather than a remake.
The show focused on Arthur's nephew Archie, played by Shane Richie, and a new 'minder' character, Jamie Cartwright, played by Lex Shrapnel. Channel 5 stated in July 2008, that there were no plans for Cole, Waterman or Webster to reprise their roles in the relaunched series. The series was produced by Talkback Thames.
In the weeks leading up to the new series, Channel 5 launched a national advertising campaign to promote the show's return. These featured a series of contemporary adverts on television, as well as billboards. Other promotions included advertisements on taxi receipts, a social networking campaign and branded beer mats, all designed to attract the young male audience Channel 5 was targeting. The Sun reported that Richie banned Waterman from appearing in the series remake, but Richie told fans to ignore this story, saying it would be an honour to be in the company of Waterman and Cole, let alone work with them on television.
The final viewing figures for Minder on Channel 5 in the UK, as supplied by BARB, were:
- Episode 1: 2.90 million - 4 February 2009
- Episode 2: 2.08 million - 11 February 2009
- Episode 3: 1.59 million - 18 February 2009
- Episode 4: 1.81 million - 25 February 2009
- Episode 5: 1.36 million - 4 March 2009
- Episode 6: 1.34 million - 11 March 2009
On 31 May 2009, UK newspaper The Mirror reported that, due to alleged poor ratings, Channel 5 would not be commissioning a new series of Minder.
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“As Cuvier could correctly describe a whole animal by the contemplation of a single bone, so the observer who has thoroughly understood one link in a series of incidents should be able to accurately state all the other ones, both before and after.”
—Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859–1930)