THEY don't want to make a drama out of a crisis - but new ITV boss Michael Grade has finally admitted what many viewers have thought for a while now - that ITV drama is actually in a bit of a crisis.

He told an audience of independent producers this week that drama will be the channel's top priority.

"Priority number one is for ITV to regain its ground in 9 o'clock drama," he said, promising to put the broadcaster back on the map.

He pre-empted critics by pledging: "And if you think we're only interested in detective dramas or psychological thrillers, think again."

Unfortunately, recent offerings appear to suggest exactly that and industry insiders believe Grade's intervention can't come too soon.

With the glittering exception of Prime Suspect, which has now come to an end, the channel has had few dramatic hits over the past few years despite producing nine out of the top 10 rated dramas as recently as 2001.

Just 18 months ago, in March 2006, the respected writer of Cracker, Jimmy McGovern, slammed ITV's drama.

Contrast ITV's current position to the golden days of the 1980s and early 1990s when millions tuned into Brideshead Revisited, The Jewel in the Crown and Inspector Morse, which were showered with accolades and were must-see TV. The Darling Buds of May, which starred David Jason, even launched Hollywood A-lister Catherine Zeta-Jones' career.

So how has this happened? Why has ITV drama fallen by the wayside while the BBC is still having smash hits with Life on Mars, Hustle, Doctor Who and classic adaptations like Jane Eyre?

According to John Foster, Bournemouth University's screenwriter in residence, who has written for Z-Cars and The Bill, there are several behind-the-scenes factors which affect TV drama which audiences may not be aware of.

"Firstly, I think the demise of the one-off play hasn't helped," he says. "You used to get Play for Today, Thirty Minute Theatre and these were great places for writers to cut their teeth." ITV excelled at these, he says, with a one-off police drama called Regan turning into The Sweeney and a Jack Rosenthal play about a fire station becoming the hit series London's Burning.

Even The Bill started this way, as a drama called Woodentops.

Foster also believes that more established playwrights worked for TV in the past, with productions written by Tom Stoppard and Harold Pinter reaching the screen.

"This allowed for innovation and invention and, of course, quality," he says.

"Nowadays most writers have to slot into a soap, such as The Bill or Coronation Street, which are challenging to write for but fairly formulaic."

The BBC, he says, still uses playwrights such as Stephen Poliakoff, who wrote The Lost Prince, about the epileptic son of King George V and Queen Mary, and the popularity of that drama proves the value of having this type of one-off production.

Foster believes good screenplays are absolutely crucial to the success of any drama and that ITV should be prepared to spend the money and allow writers to have a freer rein to be creative and to innovate. "Look at Life on Mars - that was a big hit and a good example of what can happen when writers are given a chance to do something different."

He also thinks that Britain's commissioners and producers of television dramas could take a look at the US, traditionally seen as more low-brow, where the advance of the writer-producer and a more nurturing system is bringing forth TV dramas to give our home-grown programmes a run for their money.

In short, create the British equivalent of The Sopranos and the ITV world at least is your oyster.