Big Brother Axed - End of era as show killed off after 18 years

Big Brother AXED: End of era as show killed off after 18 years Bosses at the network are said to be seriously considering ditching the reality show over falling ratings. The programme has been a fixture on TV for 18 years and pulled in 10million viewers at its peak. But in recent months some episodes have been watched by just 800,000 fans. Producers fear it cannot compete with ITV2 hit Love Island. Channel 5s contract with Big Brother production company Endemol runs out later this year. “It would be the end of an era, but they feel the time is right for it to end” Show insider It means there will definitely be a summer series for civilian contestants followed by a celebrity version. But it is thought that will mark the end of both shows on the channel. A show insider said: There have been conversations between the execs about not renewing the contract for both Big Brother and Celebrity Big Brother. It would be the end of an era, but they feel the time is right for it to end.. Ratings for Big Brother hit an all-time low last summer. It was thrashed by Love Island which had three times as many watching. Celebrity Big Brother has also taken a hit in recent years. Friday nights double eviction was split across two episodes - with 1.5million watching the first but fewer than a million staying to see the second. And last weekend an episode shifted to a later slot got just 800,000 viewers. Last summer, Channel 5 boss Ben Frow admitted he would like to see the show scrapped. He said: I would be much happier if the channel did not have Big Brother on it. Our source said: Theres a feeling that Big Brother can no longer compete with other reality shows like Love Island. Big Brother is a very expensive format for Channel 5 and its getting to the point where it just isnt worth the hefty price tag. BB first aired in 2000 on Channel 4 and featured scheming Nick Bateman, who became known as Nasty Nick. It turned housemates including Alison Hammond, Brian Dowling and Jade Goody into household names, as well as making host Davina McCall one of TVs biggest stars. The show moved to Channel 5 in 2011 and soon became its most popular show ever. Our source added: There is still time for the bosses at Channel 5 to change their mind, but it is not looking likely. Even if they drop it, another channel or a streaming service may decide to pick it up for a future series..