BBC set to axe Davina after further ratings fall

by Alex Donohue, Brand Republic 05-Apr-06, 11:00

LONDON - The BBC is ready to axe Davina McCall's ill-fated chatshow 'Davina' from BBC One, according to reports, after the show recorded the corporation's lowest ever mid-week viewing figure of less than 3m last Wednesday night.

The BBC denied that 'Davina' is about to be pulled from the schedules and said a decision was yet to be made.

A BBC spokeswoman said: "No decision has been made about the programme's future, and that was always going to be case until the series finished. There are two more shows left to run and then it will be discussed."

However, reports in today's the Daily Mail and The Sun say the decision has already been made, following McCall's 8pm slot losing a further 1m viewers on last Wednesday's show. If the reports are correct, fewer than 3m people tuned in to watch.

McCall, who is up against ITV's 'The Bill', was lauded by the BBC as "the new Parkinson", but her show has so far failed to attract the calibre of guests needed to match the audience figures of either Jonathan Ross or Michael Parkinson, or replicate the success of her career as the host of Channel 4's 'Big Brother'.

Tonight's show, which features '60s singer Lulu and Welsh MOR singer/songwriter David Gray, will need to drastically to improve its ratings if it is to avoid the fate of McCall's previous BBC One show, 'He's Having a Baby', which was also pulled after just one season.

McCall recently announced she is four months' pregnant. She will be back on Channel 4 shortly hosting the seventh outing for 'Big Brother', which is set to be longest-running series to date.

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