END OF AN ERA FOR REALITY TV SMASH
Final Celebrity BB series airs this summer
CELEBRITY Big Brother is being axed by Channel 5.
This summer’s series will be the last to air on the network.
Bosses have declared they won’t renew its contract with production company Endemol, which makes the show.
The move marks the end of CBB’s seven-year run on the channel. It is thought the decision was made because ratings have dropped in recent years.
We revealed in January that Channel 5 chiefs were looking at ditching the series.
Within weeks staff asked production firms to pitch ideas for replacement shows. The current contract between Channel 5 and Endemol includes one more series of CBB, which will air next month. To extend the contract would cost Channel 5 millions.
An insider said: “After months of discussions it has been decided to axe Celebrity Big Brother. Ratings have dropped for the past few series so it isn’t worth the hefty price tag.”
Viewing figures for CBB hit an all-time low this year.
The winter series ended with the least-watched final ever as just 1.6million fans tuned in.
Meanwhile, Channel 5 boss Ben Frow has admitted he would like to see CBB go. He said: “I want to create our own programmes. I don’t want other people’s programmes.”
CBB aired on Channel 4 for nine years before being picked up by Channel 5.
It quickly became its biggest show. Since 2011 viewers have been hooked by contestants including Kim Woodburn, Sarah Harding and Julie Goodyear.
Winners have included Jim Davidson, Gary Busey and Coleen Nolan.
Despite pulling in lower ratings than I’m A Celebrity and Strictly, CBB regularly becomes a national talking point.
Millions of viewers were hooked in 2004 when Lee Ryan got involved in a love triangle.
But in recent years new shows including Ex on the Beach and Celebs Go Dating have lured fans away. Channel 5’s contract with Endemol also includes one more series of Big Brother, which will air this autumn.
It is thought it will also be axed. But both CBB and BB could still have a future if they are picked up by another channel or a streaming service.
The Big Brother brand is one of the longest-running in telly history.