Plans for an upcoming festive special of The Piano have been ‘cancelled’ after the Huntingdon train attack.
Last Saturday night, 11 passengers on the 6.25pm Doncaster to London King’s Cross LNER service were attacked after the train left Peterborough and made an emergency stop at Huntingdon.
Two British men in their 30s were initially arrested while police said there was ‘nothing to suggest’ it was a terror incident.
While one of the men has since been released the other – Anthony Williams, 32, from Peterborough – was charged on Monday with 10 counts of attempted murder. Nine of the victims were left in life-threatening conditions.
A few days on, its now been reported that the incident has led to the cancellation of the filming of Claudia Winkleman’s show.
First airing in 2023, the Channel 4 series follows amateur pianists as they give it their all on public pianos in train stations across Britain and are then given the chance to mentored by Mika and Jon Batiste ahead of a live concert performance.
It aired a third season earlier this year, but no new episode will now be aired at Christmas.
Claudia was set to set to film alongside co-stars Jon Baptiste and Mika on the train station concourse this week.
But, as a result of the attack, services in and out of Kings Cross were disrupted and cancelled, while a ‘do not travel’ notice was also issued by London North Eastern Railway.
After heightened security were rolled out at the station, it also caused issues for the production of the show.
The Sun has reported it was then decided to ‘shelve it for this year’ after ‘bosses felt making the cosy show in Kings Cross was considered inappropriate’.
However, a fourth season is set to return next year, which will start filming in the spring and air later in 2026.
Its renewal was announced just a few weeks ago. ‘The new series will see the trio travel to iconic UK railway stations to give gifted amateur pianists the chance to showcase their prowess on public pianos up and down the country,’ it was teased.
‘From nonagenarians who have been playing for eighty years to twelve-year-olds who have never played in pubic before, those who taught themselves to play the classics in lockdown to players who feel the music, composing pieces about their life experiences and someone with no sight who against all the odds has mastered Chopin, commuters in train stations across the country will be stopped in their tracks as heartfelt, emotional and uplifting performances take place.’
Following the stabbings on Saturday, the British Transport Police said that seven patients had been discharged from hospital, while three were still in hospital and were stable.
However, they said rail worker Samir Zitouni was still ‘critically unwell’ after he undertook ‘heroic’ actions to reportedly protected a girl from being stabbed.
Cambridgeshire Police Chief Constable Simon Megicks has since announced the commission of an internal review of events leading up to the train stabbing.
Metro has contacted Channel 4 for comment.
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