The BBC has been criticised for spending £800,000 on an unused episode of 'Sherlock Holmes'.
The expensive pilot show of the network's new drama programme will never be watched by viewers after bosses decided it wasn't good enough - before commissioning a three-part series based on it.
A source told The Sun newspaper: "It must have been a real stinker.
"BBC One controller Jay Hunt and drama head Ben Stephenson felt the pilot didn't work so ordered the changes. The crew couldn't just re-use footage because the series is now totally different. The stories are now more intricate and detailed, so they basically had to start again.
The mini-series was created by 'Doctor Who' producer Steven Moffat and 'League of Gentleman' writer Mark Gatiss.
Benedict Cumberbatch will take the lead as the title character detective, with 'The Office' star Martin Freeman playing his sidekick Dr Watson.
A spokesperson for the BBC said: "As with the rest of the industry, we occasionally use pilots to experiment with the best ways of telling stories. As a result of this pilot we commissioned a series of three 90-minute episodes."