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Channel 4 axe Big Brother

No more BB on Channel 4 from 2011

Day 84:

Update: Channel 4 has confirmed that Big Brother will be axed after its eleventh summer series next year.

Channel 4 announced in a press conference this morning that they have decided now to renew their deal with makers Endemol beyond 2010.

Head of Channel 4 Julian Bellamy said: "Big Brother will leave a huge hole and filling it will involve the most fundamental creative overhaul in our history. We've 18 months to transform the schedule; today's announcement is our biggest-ever creative call-to-arms to producers to come forward with their very best ideas.

"Big Brother has been our most influential and popular programme over the last decade. It's been hugely innovative in its own right, has provoked a really astonishing level of public debate and has been an underappreciated showcase for social diversity and youth culture. Its success has also helped support an extraordinary range of creativity across Channel 4; inevitably we're both excited and ever-so-slightly terrified by the prospect of getting by without it.

"We're very grateful to everyone at Endemol who has worked so hard to keep the show fresh and engaging for so long and to the viewers who have remained loyal to the programme and who will be disappointed by our decision. The final series will be an opportunity to give Big Brother an appropriate send-off and celebrate one of the most extraordinary programmes not just in the history of Channel 4 but of TV in general."

Channel 4 Director of Television Kevin Lygo said: "Big Brother is still profitable for Channel 4 despite its reduced popularity and there could have been the option to renew it on more favourable terms. That's what a purely commercial broadcaster would have done, but Channel 4 has a public remit to champion new forms of creativity. That remit to push the boundaries has been an essential part of the weird chemistry behind Big Brother's success, but it's now what is telling us that the programme has reached a natural end point on Channel 4 and it's time to move on.

"The significant sums that have been committed to Big Brother in the past should now be available to boost budgets in genres, such as drama, that have had to be cut back sharply during the downturn."

Phil Edgar-Jones, Big Brother's creative director, said: "On behalf of the whole Big Brother team who work so hard I would like to say a big thank you to all the show's fans and housemates for helping us ensure it remains the biggest show on Channel 4 even after all these years. Big thanks also to Channel 4 for all their support in what continues to be a great partnership. We'll be back next year and it's going to be a blast… and after that, well, Big Brother will get back to you, you can count on it."

The news comes after declining ratings, with the current series averaging just over 2 million. This is in stark contrast to the 5.8 million who watched Big Brother at its peak.

Another two series will be shown next year as part of a £180 million deal that Channel 4 signed a few years ago. But Channel have decided not to renew their contract with makers Endemol beyond 2010.

Another broadcaster could pick up the rights for future series beyond 2010, with Sky being the favourites to do so.

Keep an eye out!

ted kennedy and bbuk on the same day = worst day ever