BBC axes Emma Willis and Reggie Yates gameshow Prized Apart after one series
The new jet-setting entertainment offering failed to pull in enough viewers
BBC1 will have to go back to the drawing board in its bid to find a new homegrown Saturday night entertainment hit.
Prized Apart, the Emma Willis and Reggie Yates-fronted gameshow will not be returning to the channel after just one series, RadioTimes.com can reveal.
The six-part entertainment had the interesting idea of “prising apart” couples – one performing tasks in hot and sweaty Morocco, the other answering questions in a studio in a bid to keep them in the competition with the chance to win £100,000.
At the end of the series in July make up artist Kennedy Taylor and her Mum Julia took home the cash in a nail-biting finale.
But unfortunately the show didn’t quite ignite in the ratings, pulling in an average audience of 2.7m (a 17.8% share of all viewing) across its six episodes.
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It launched in June with 3.1m (18.8%), falling to a series low of 2.5m (17.6%) after just three episodes, according to the overnight ratings.
Among the brickbats, some environmentally-minded viewers criticised the air miles involved. Contestants were flown back for a dramatic elimination round and the winners were then jetted to Africa again.
“We are proud of Prized Apart and would like to thank everyone involved for their ambition and hard work, but it will not be returning for a second series," said a BBC spokeswoman.
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