BBC Controller Takes Axe to Davina McCall

Gilps · April 24, 2006

BBC drops Davina's flop chat show

Davina McCall's BBC One chat show has been axed by channel controller Peter Fincham, the corporation has confirmed.

The Wednesday night programme's audience dropped to as low as 2.3 million during its eight-week run, and it was panned by critics.

But Mr Fincham defended his decision to run the show. "It's right for BBC One to take risks and I'm glad we did it," he said.

McCall will next appear on BBC One in its Sports Relief charity show in July.

Mr Fincham said the show - which usually aired at 2000, against ITV1's The Bill and Champions League football on Sky - went out in "a very challenging slot".

Controller of entertainment commissioning Jon Beazley added: "Taking on a chat show was always a tough challenge and I want to thank Davina and the production team for their hard work on the series.

"I've enjoyed working with Davina and look forward to Sport Relief."

As well as low ratings and poor reviews, the show also attracted criticism from fellow chat show host Jonathan Ross, who said producers had not played on the Big Brother presenter's strengths.

McCall herself had defended the programme.

"When you get that much negative press, people just don't bother switching on to have a look, and if you'd actually tried it out it was actually a great alternative to the football or The Bill," she said last week.

Bailo · April 24, 2006

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