Daniel Finkelstein on the episodes that should have been dropped

The second episode of new hit drama Pushing Daisies is to be dropped by ITV, and viewers will jump straight forward to watching episode three, it has emerged.

ITV launched the quirky drama, about a pie maker who can bring the dead back to life, on Saturday night and enjoyed the highest consolidated premiere of a US series since Friends.

But the broadcaster was unhappy that the series, starring Britain's Anna Friel alongside American Lee Pace, was delivered as nine episodes when it wanted to allocate it an eight-week slot, so made the decision to lose the second instalment.

ITV spokesperson Ian Johnson said: “Episode two was the only self-contained episode that did not affect the storyline so the decision was taken not to screen it.”

He said the US writers’ strike had disrupted filming of the series, leading it to be delivered as an unusual nine-episode package, when the channel usually receives dramas in parts of six or eight.

“Because of the US writers’ strike, shows were delivered in random episodes,” he explained.

Johnson said the missing episode might be screened at a later date as a stand-alone show.

The ITV1 debut of Pushing Daisies at 9pm on Saturday night attracted an average of 5.7 million viewers, and a total of 7.3 million once Sunday’s repeat was accounted for.

The figures mean the show, which has made Anna Friel a star in America, can claim a more successful premiere than the high-rating launches of Ugly Betty, Desperate Housewives and Heroes.

The show, however, is yet to prove a critical hit. Reviewers have been divided between those giving cautious praise and those delivering scathing verdicts.

The Times’ critic Andrew Billen credited it as “wittily written” and “beautifully cast,” but said it wasn’t “the sort of thing I liked”.

The Guardian’s Sam Woolaston was less charitable, describing the show as “just really irritating”, while The Telegraph’s James Walton was hopeful, declaring it “worth persisting with”.

In the US, Pushing Daisies has been both a ratings and critical success, and has already won a clutch of awards.

The second 22-episode series is currently being filmed in the US.

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