It is sad news for British reality show fans as the makers of Big Brother have announced that the show is being axed at the end of the current series.
Big Brother’s Twitter account shared the news that the 19th series, launching tonight, would be the final series.
Channel 5 also confirmed that Celebrity Big Brother would end too.
The show was first broadcasted in 2000 and was extremely popular, but viewership figures have decreased in recent years.
A spokesperson informed the BBC: “The forthcoming series of Big Brother will be the last – of either celebrity or civilian versions – on Channel 5.
“We’d like to thank Endemol and all of the production team who have worked tirelessly to make the show a success.”
Endemol released a statement shortly after Channel 5’s announcement to say they were “disappointed not to reach an agreement with Channel 5” over the future of the show.
The production company did hint that it might not be the end of the show entirely as they added:
“The decision opens up a new chapter and we are excited about future possibilities for Big Brother in the UK”.
Rylan Clark-Neal, who won the 11th series of Celebrity Big Brother in 2013 and has been presenting the spin-off show since posted an emotional message about the programme’s axing on Twitter.
“After six years working on one of the most iconic shows on television I’m saddened to hear the news Big Brother won’t be returning,” the Essex-born star said.
“It has been the biggest privilege being a housemate, a winner and a host on my favourite show on television.”
Rylan then made reference to his co-stars, describing them as lifelong confidantes.
“To work with Emma, Marcus and the amazing team on BOTS every day and have made friends for life, I’m truly the luckiest guy in the industry,” he added.
“I hope one day Big Brother will return but my focus now, as with the rest of the team is to make our last series the best yet.
“I’d like to thank all of our guests, housemates and teams from over the years, Endemol and Channel 5 for having me and most of all the viewers for sharing this amazing journey.
I learned how to host a show on the job here and I’ll be forever grateful for the opportunity.”
The current host of Big Brother’s main programme, Emma Willis is yet to comment on the news.
During the launch of Celebrity Big Brother, Channel 5 controller Ben Frow hinted the franchise would be ending as “the contract runs out at Christmas”.
Big Brother was termed as a social experiment on Channel 4 18 years ago and involved putting ordinary people in a house over a series of weeks with no contact to the outside world.
Davina McCall presented the first initial seasons of the show, until 2010 when it moved to Channel 5.
It was then hosted by former winner Brian Dowling before Emma Willis took over in 2013 and has been narrated by Marcus Bentley ever since the show’s beginning.
Whether you loved or hated the show, you could not have ignored it.
The final series airs tonight at 9 pm on Channel 5.
IMAGES COURTESY OF CHANNEL 5.
