Amid emotional scenes at the London studios of the show, management revealed that filming would be halted in June, with a complete withdrawal from all airtime as of autumn. The announcement was described as a complete shock and a hammer blow to the 18 primary cast members and 90 staff that are currently working on the series, with most now facing redundancy.

The decision followed the continued fall in ratings for the one-time UK favourite, with the viewer slump impacting significantly of the financial viability of the show which costs £30 million per annum to film.

The main cast members, including Sarah Manners (PC Kirsty Knight), Rhea Bailey (PC Mel Ryder), Bruce Byron (DC Terry Perkins) and Dominic Power (PC Leon Taylor) all were due on set yesterday unawares of the impending decision. However, surprise phone calls in the early morning broke the news and advised them to take the day off. A source close to the cast said that the mood was emotional, with many tears shed. Some staff found out from backing crew members but all were stunned to learn that after almost three decades they would be out of work in just six weeks.

Britain’s longest-running police drama has screened in 55 countries and in its heyday drew 10 million viewers to its thrice-weekly broadcast – which has fallen to be now 3.5 million.

People have complained that BBC Alba, the Gaelic language channel, is glorifying child murders by turning it into entertainment, while the parent of a Moors victim claimed the drama would bring back chilling memories.

Ian Brady – The Right to Die is BBC Alba’s first of a series of five docudramas looking into the worst 20th century murderers in Scotland.

The programme features actors to play out the horrible incidents of four of the five children abducted and murdered by Brady and Myra Hindley. The series of crimes happened in Manchester in the 1960s.

Brady is also portrayed as a teenager living in the Gorbals area of Glasgow, killing a rat with a knife.

The 75-year-old mother of murder victim Keith Bennett, the only Moors casualty whose remains have yet to be found, said she hopes they will depict Brady as the horrible monster he truly is. Winnie Johnson added that she would be very upset to see a youngster portraying her son Keith and seeing his last moments before being kidnapped by the two monsters.

She said that whenever a programme features her son and the murders, it churns up awful memories and she cannot sleep.

The director of watchdog group Mediawatch UK, Vivienne Pattison, complained that Mrs Johnson should have been informed beforehand and that not doing so was crazy.

Pattison added that it’s strange that this sort of crime can become a form of entertainment.

She said that this show cannot contribute to the debate concerning child killers since everything is known about these people.

Mothers Against Murders and Aggression spokeswoman Lynn Costello said making parents relive the events could prove to be dangerous.

BBC Alba Producer Patsi McKenzie insisted she had attempted to contact Mrs Johnson although she didn’t want to doggedly pursue her.