Writing is on the wall for Big Brother, TV boss concedes

THE end of Big Brother is nigh and the show could face the axe, the boss of Channel 5 suggested yesterday as it struggles to compete with rival reality TV programmes.

It has seen ratings slide in recent years despite the start of the 2018 summer celebrity version being delayed to avoid a clash with ITV2’S Love Island.

In the past week the show has courted controversy with viewers complaining about certain personalities taking part in the show, as well as some of its aired content.

It culminated with Ben Frow, director of programmes at Channel 5, telling the Edinburgh TV Festival yesterday: “I plan for a year without Big Brother.

“I never say never because the world is constantly changing, and I think it would be irresponsible to not keep all options open, but at the moment I’m planning for a year without Big Brother.”

Mr Frow also said he was “bloody furious” when porn star Stormy Daniels pulled out of the current series of Celebrity Big Brother.

Daniels, who claims she had an affair with Donald Trump, flew over to the UK to participate in the series but withdrew at the last minute.

Asked about the channel’s ratings, Mr Frow said it had been a “challenging year”. He added: “A lot of our very successful shows have started to decline, which is life, my job is to keep us up there, and the targets keep growing and growing and growing.”