My Family dropped after 11 years

Robert Lindsay (l) said recently he was "amazed by the public's love for the series"

Long-running BBC One sitcom My Family, starring Robert Lindsay and Zoe Wanamaker, has been axed.

The 11th series of the show - which depicts the comic trials of a modern family - will be aired on BBC One later this year and will be its last.

"Now that all the Harper children have fled the nest we feel it's time to make room for new comedies," said BBC One controller Danny Cohen.

Its two stars would remain "part of our BBC One comedy family", he added.

"In Robert Lindsay and Zoe Wanamaker we are proud to have had two of Britain's finest comic actors," said Cheryl Taylor, the BBC's comedy commissioning controller.

She said "almost a generation of British children has grown up with the Harper brood", who have been played by actors including Kris Marshall and former EastEnder Daniela Denby-Ashe.

The 10th series of the programme, shown last summer, attracted an average audience of 4.6 million viewers.

In a recent interview Lindsay said he was "amazed by the public's love for the series".

"When Kris Marshall left in 2005 I was convinced that was it. But somehow Zoe and I have kept the essence of it together," he told the Daily Telegraph.

The sitcom, which first went out on BBC One on September 2000, was created by Fred Barron.

The US producer and writer had previously worked on Seinfeld and The Larry Sanders Show and imported such American production methods as salaried writers and exclusive use of the studio during the production period.

Barron said Lindsay's character - grumpy dentist Ben Harper - had been inspired by his own father.

According to the BBC, the programme addressed issues such as single parenthood, sexuality, drugs and race and was "less fluffy than is often thought".