UKTV has announced that it will axe its Richard and Judy show.

The programme will come to an end on 3 July, six months earlier than planned.

The show has been dubbed as a failure by UKTV as it did not produce the ratings figures expected, averaging just 47,000 viewers in its first fortnight on air.

The programme had been part of the launch lineup for UKTV's Watch channel but the poor viewing figures have resulted in bosses choosing to reposition the channel to family-skewed entertainment with chatshows being sidelined.

In a statement, Richard & Judy said "Some you win, some you lose. It's a shame we couldn't get this one to fly because both we and our brilliant young production team were genuinely proud of the show and the guests it attracted. But it became obvious that it wasn't the right fit with a brand new pay-for-view digital channel. Many of our former viewers have told us they simply couldn't find us there. When we started we said we wanted to get ahead of the curve, as British television inevitably goes digital. Looks like we were a bit too far ahead of the curve. We don't regret it at all."

UKTV controller Matthew Littleford said "I'd like to personally thank Richard and Judy for all their hard work, professionalism and that indefinable R&J magic that they consistently brought to UKTV. We've been incredibly lucky to have the King and Queen of British telly on UKTV and together with Amanda and Simon Ross at Cactus TV, they created a show I remain incredibly proud of.

"The calibre of the guests that have sat on the sofa has been as strong as ever and it is testament to the professionalism of the entire team at Cactus TV that the quality of the show has never waned. We wish them the best of luck in the future, and look forward to giving them a fitting send off."

Comments

Add New Search

Write comment
Name:
Email:	do not notifynotify
Title:
	Please input the anti-spam code that you can read in the image.

Powered by !JoomlaComment 3.26

3.26 Copyright (C) 2008 Compojoom.com / Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved."