The final UK edition of Top Of The Pops has been recorded and will be aired
this weekend. The BBC, of course, announced its intention to axe the weekly
pop show earlier this year, citing the growth of 24/7 music channels and
online music services as the reason for the 42 year old programme's demise
(inept producing from Andi Peters, the worst presenter in years and a
terrible time slot presumably had nothing to do with it) .

The last edition will be mainly nostalgic, featuring several former
presenters, including Janice Long, Tony Blackburn, Mike Read and the show's
original host Jimmy Savile, who will introduce archive footage of TOTP
performances from the likes of Spice Girls, Wham, Madonna, Beyonce Knowles,
Robbie Williams and the Rolling Stones - the latter the first band to ever
appear on the show.

As is traditional, the show will conclude with that chart countdown and a
performance of the UK's number one single. That bit has caused some problems
for the show's producers because, obviously, the chart isn't formally
released until the day the show airs and, unlike most weeks, there isn't any
one clear contender for the number one position in the UK charts this week.

Rhianna, Lily Allen, Shakira and McFly are all in the running, and HMV
spokesman Genarro Castaldo confirmed yesterday that sales figures this week
were too close to call: "At the moment Shakira looks like she's nudged back
up to number one but there could be a swing at the weekend". To that end
presenters have recorded six endings to the show, to fit in with whichever
artist gets the number one.

The last edition of TOTP featuring live performances of current chart music
aired last weekend. Though neither that nor this weekend's nostalgia fest
will really be the end of TOTP. The show's magazine and website will
continue (for the time being at least), as will the international versions
of the show screened abroad, plus the BBC are promising some occasional TOTP
specials for us here in the UK. And, of course, it'll probably be revived
and returned to our schedules in a few years time - because put up your hand
if you remember when Doctor Who was a has-been show "not relevant to the
viewers of today"?