Five's Terry and Gaby axed as viewers turn off in droves

by Jules Grant,, Brand Republic 05-Feb-04, 09:10

LONDON - Five has axed 'The Terry and Gaby Show', the chat show starring Terry Wogan and Gaby Roslin, after just nine months following disappointing ratings.

The news comes as a blow to its producer Chris Evans, who claimed he would become a market trader if the daytime chat show was not a hit.

Five has released a statement saying: "Five can confirm that it will not be recommissioning 'The Terry and Gaby Show'. The series will finish at the end of its run of 200 episodes on March 26 2004."

It has been reported that Five offered Evans the chance to continue the show with Terry Wogan, but without his friend Gaby Roslin. Evans refused.

The show was launched last June to go head to head with ITV's flagship daytime show 'This Morning', presented by Fern Britton and Philip Schofield. It was reported to have secured just 3.5% share of the audience compared with 'This Morning''s 32%. The show attracts just 200,000 viewers compared with ITV's recent high of 2.2m.

Evans has recently suffered the humiliation of having his 'Live With…Chris Moyles' and 'Live With… Christian O'Connell' shows axed by Five. Prior to that Channel 4 also ended 'Boys & Girls' because of poor ratings.

In the mid-90s the likes of 'Don't Forget Your Toothbrush', which Evans devised and hosted, was sold around the world, followed by similar success with 'TFI Friday'. Following his sacking from Virgin Radio in 2001, Evans spent months in the wilderness before he re-emerged as a producer, aiming to shake up British TV.

Five is reported to have spent £2m securing Wogan for the show, who also hosts Radio 2's breakfast show, and Roslin, who currently presents BBC Children in Need telethon.

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