Doomed daytime TV that sank without a trace – from EastEnders Barry’s quiz flop to game show that lasted FOUR episodes
HERE’s proof that there’s life after a TV flop. Gordon Ramsay is trying to bounce back from his lacklustre game show effort Bank Balance with a new competition, Future Food Stars. The quiz show – where contestants stacked gold bars on a wobbly table – was canned by BBC One after just one series last […]
HERE’s proof that there’s life after a TV flop.
Gordon Ramsay is trying to bounce back from his lacklustre game show effort Bank Balance with a new competition, Future Food Stars.
The quiz show – where contestants stacked gold bars on a wobbly table – was canned by BBC One after just one series last year.
Fans laughed as the complicated series was compared to nonsensical quiz show Bamboozle in Friends.
But he’s not the only star to have failed to get a pre-watershed show off the ground.
From short lived chat shows to painfully laboured quiz shows, we bring you the flops of British telly.
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The Antony Cotton Show
Going from knickers factory worker on Corrie to getting his own chat show seemed like a bit of a leap for the soap actor.
But in 2007, ITV handed Antony Cotton his own teatime chat show with his co-stars coming on as guests.
But it wasn’t enough to draw people from Channel 4, where Deal or No Deal was airing at the same time.
The show was axed and Antony is still a Corrie favourite, playing Sean Tully.
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The Vanessa Show
After making the leap from newspapers to broadcast, presenter Vanessa Feltz had her successful ITV show Vanessa from 1994.
But in 1998 she moved over to The Vanessa Show on the BBC, presenting a Ricky Lake style programme.
But in 1999, news broke that the producers on the show had been casting actors as guests who made up elaborate real-life stories.
Although Vanessa didn’t have a hand in casting. it pushed the show over the edge and was cancelled.
She now has her own shows on BBC Radio 2 and BBC Radio London – and is one of the Beeb’s highest paid presenters.
The Girlie Show
When ladette culture was all the rage, Channel 4 tried to cash in with a late-night magazine style programme The Girlie Show.
It was Sara Cox’s first on-air gig after working as a model and she was cast alongside Sarah Cawood and model Rachel Williams.
Known for its cheeky slots – like w****r of the week – the show was panned for being too rude.
Luckily for Sara she’s now presenting BBC Radio 2’s drivetime slot.
Davina
Hot on the tails of her Big Brother gig, Davina McCall was offered her very own show on BBC One in 2006.
The teatime chat show attracted guests like Katie Price and Girls Aloud, but earned the BBC their worst peak-time ratings at that time.
Davina later told Women Magazine: “It was my chat show and it was a kind of public revolt.
“But I was pregnant, very emotional – and convinced it was the end of my career.
“People were sympathetically hugging me in Sainsbury’s. I thought, ‘It must be bad!”
The show was put out of its misery, but Davina’s career escaped unscathed.
Shafted
Although Robert Kilroy-Silk’s television career lasted across decades, the ill-judged 2001 quiz show Shafted did not.
The programme – hosted by Kilroy-Silk – asked contenders to either share their winnings with their competitors or shaft them to take it all.
But if both contestants chose to shaft each other, both leave with nothing.
The series was given the boot after just four episodes and Kilroy went into politics, first joining UKIP then setting up now defunct party Veritas.
Don’t Scare The Hare
Narrated by Sue Perkins and hosted by Jason Bradbury, Don’t Scare The Hare was a trippy game show on BBC One in 2011.
Players had to complete forest-themed games without rousing a giant animatronic rabbit for £15,000.
After ratings remained low, BBC’s entertainment controller Mark Linsey said: “Obviously Hare is not going well.
“It was a huge risk we took – it’s co-hosted by an animatronic hare – and while it’s proved successful with children, we were hoping there would be enough knowingness within the show to draw in the adults.
“There wasn’t enough of that, which is where it fell down.”
24 Hour Quiz
A quiz show hosted by Barry from EastEnders? What could go wrong?
Well ratings for starters. ITV’s first ever reality meets quiz show had three broadcasts throughout weekdays.
The show’s creator – Pointless’s Richard Osman – admitted: “It didn’t really work.”
Shaun Williamson resurrected his gameshow career by running weekly pub quizzes throughout lockdown.
Petrolheads
The team behind Top Gear thought they’d give motors the game show treatment in 2006.
Presented by Neil Morrissey, it featured Richard Hammond and Chris Barrie as team captains.
But car trivia didn’t appear to have as much mileage as producers had hoped.
The show came to an abrupt halt just six episodes in.
Richard Hammond’s 5 O’Clock Show
When The Paul O’Grady Show moved to C4, ITV replaced the slot with Richard Hammond and Mel Giedroyc.
But the show’s run in 2006 did not win the affections of many fans.
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One viewer wrote on Imdb: “Come join us as we dance over the corpse of weekday afternoon television!”
Thankfully Hammond had Top Gear and later The Grand Tour to fall back on.