Trinny and Susannah face ITV axe

LONDON - TV fashion experts Trinny and Susannah are expected to be dropped by ITV after ratings for their show 'Undress the Nation' plummeted to an all-time low last week, according to a report.

The Daily Mail quotes an ITV source as saying the show has been a "huge disappointment" and the broadcaster won't be renewing their current deal.

ITV refused to comment on the story except to say there is a third series of 'Undress the Nation' planned for the autumn.

A spokesperson for ITV said: "Trinny and Susannah are an important part of the ITV family. As well as the series which is currently on air, they return in the autumn with a third series of 'Undress the Nation'.

Trinny and Susannah left the BBC and their successful 'What Not to Wear' series in 2005 to sign an exclusive deal with ITV for £1.2m.

At its peak 'What Not to Wear' pulled in over 7m viewers on BBC One but their ITV show only managed to attract 2.2m viewers last week and a 9.5% share of the 9pm-10pm audience.

It is thought that Trinny and Susannah could be moved from their exclusive deal to a cheaper programme-by-programme deal which would allow them to work for other channels.

A number of highly paid presenters face taking significant pay cuts or losing their exclusive deals due to the current economic climate.

Last month Carol Vorderman, who once described Trinny and Susannah as "an anorexic transvestite" and a "carthorse in a bin bag", quit 'Countdown' after the producers Granada, part of ITV, asked her to take a 90% pay cut.

Market Reports

Get unprecedented new-business intelligence with access to ±±¾©Èü³µpk10’s new Market Reports.

Find out more

Enjoying ±±¾©Èü³µpk10’s content?

 Get unlimited access to ±±¾©Èü³µpk10’s premium content for your whole company with a corporate licence.

Upgrade access

Looking for a new job?

Get the latest creative jobs in advertising, media, marketing and digital delivered directly to your inbox each day.

Create an alert now

Partner content