Children's ITV under threat

TV is today expected to tell staff it is closing its inhouse children's production units with the loss of around 30 jobs, in what could be the first step in an eventual withdrawal from children's programming.

All employees who work in the units in London, Manchester and Leeds have been called to a meeting at lunchtime at ITV offices on the South Bank in London.

It is expected they will be told the division will close, with staff being made redundant at the end of their contracts.

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Update: ITV has confirmed it will close its inhouse children's programme-making department, saying it hopes to sell it as a going concern.