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Show that saved historic buildings axed by BBC

It was the reality contest that pitted crumbling palaces and decaying bathhouses against dilapidated factories and abandoned mines.

BBC2's Restoration was an unlikely TV hit: a prime-time show focusing on architecture and conservation, which regularly drew massive audiences, and raised millions of pounds to rescue historic buildings at risk of demolition or collapse. But now, after just three series, the programme is to be axed, presenter Griff Rhys Jones said...

Initially derided as "Fame Academy with dry rot", the programme attracted an average audience of 2.5 million and won praise for raising the profile of Britain's threatened architectural heritage. Each series presented a shortlist of vulnerable buildings from which viewers selected an overall winner through a telephone vote.
Read entire article at Independent