CELEBRITY MASTERMIND AXED BY BBC, MAIN SERIES TO CONTINUE

The BBC has confirmed Blankety Blank, Celebrity Mastermind and Live at the Apollo will not be returning. Mastermind presented by Clive Myrie will continue and both Celebrity Mastermind and Live at the Apollo have one more series still to broadcast.

The BBC say: "We are incredibly proud of all three of these much-loved shows and would like to thank everyone involved, both in front of and behind the camera, for bringing them to screen and making them such a success over many years...

"Unfortunately, we have to make some really tough choices in light of our funding challenges, and these savings have been identified from the Entertainment genre...

"We will still continue to commission ambitious Entertainment shows and invest in distinctive UK content from a wide range of independent production companies of all sizes, as well as prioritising digital innovation that can serve fans of these shows and beyond - for example, we will shortly be announcing digital plans focused on stand-up and emerging comedy talent, ensuring we continue to support the stand-up community in a rapidly changing and increasingly competitive media landscape...

"These difficult decisions form part of the BBC’s previously announced first phase of its proposals to make £500m of savings over the next three years. BBC Content has a target of delivering a minimum of £100 million of recurring annual savings which will result in a reduction of around 100-150 hours of originated TV programmes across genres by the end of 2027/28."

Live At The Apollo is available on BBC iPlayer.