Following on from the death of John Spencer, who played key character Leo McGarry in the West Wing, fans have now had their fears confirmed. The programme is to be axed after seven seasons.

It's not really that big a surprise, however. Ratings had been steadily falling as the show changed. Earlier seasons had seen writer Aaron Sorkin mixing cutting edge politics, extremely witty and clever dialogue and great tension with a few attacks on figures he particularly disliked. The show had also been criticised (in some areas) for having an agenda that was a little too left-wing.

At the end of Series Four it was announced that original cast member Rob Lowe would be leaving the series, and Aaron Sorkin himself left before the start of filming for Season Five. However, the show continued to do well as it told the story of President Jeff Bartlett's (Martin Sheen) second term in office.

Seven series is a good run for a USA based TV programme. Although some shows, such as Friends and Frasier, go on for longer, it can't be ignored that the well loved Buffy The Vampire Slayer stopped after Season Seven (although rumours persist of various spin-off projects).

Nevertheless, the TV show that proved that politics could draw in several million viewers every week has now breathed it's last. It remains to be seen exactly what the final series will hold, but as in all great TV programmes, it's sure to go out with a bang of some description.