BBC axes Blankety Blank, Celebrity Mastermind and Live At The Apollo in latest cost-saving measures

The BBC has cancelled Blankety Blank, Celebrity Mastermind and Live At The Apollo as the corporation continues to face 'funding challenges'. A BBC spokesman has said they are facing a 'really tough' time and are having to cut costs in the Entertainment industry. The main Mastermind series will continue, with Clive Myrie remaining as host, but the celebrity spin-off will end after the next series, which has already been filmed.Viewing figures for all three shows have fallen over recent years. Celebrity Mastermind dropped from an average of 4m viewers in 2017, to 1.7m for its most recent series.Blankety Blank, which Bradley Walsh recently quit as the host, has gone down from 5.5m viewers in 2021 to 2.3m for the most recent series.Meanwhile Live At The Apollo has gone down from 1.3m viewers in 2018 to around 660,000 on its most recent series. These figures include catch-up platforms such as iPlayer. The BBC have cancelled Blankety Blank (pictured host Bradley Walsh), Celebrity Mastermind and Live At The Apollo as the corporation continues to face 'funding challenges' A BBC spokesperson has said they are facing a 'really tough' time and are having to cut costs in the Entertainment industry; pictured Vogue Williams on Celebrity Mastermind in 2018In a statement, the BBC said: '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.'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 £100m 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.'The corporation added that further savings across its content division will be announced in the coming months.Live At The Apollo, which has been running for 22 years, has one series already filmed but the show will not continue after that has been broadcast. The show is normally anchored by a well-known comedian, who introduces two other comics to present their own stand-up routines at London's Hammersmith Apollo.The show has acted as a spring board for emerging comedy talent, and helped boost the early careers of Michael McIntyre, Kevin Bridges, Micky Flanagan and Sarah Millican.Meanwhile Blankety Blank presenter Bradley revealed earlier this week that he's quit his job as the host because he 'doesn't have the time' to spend two months in filming.The Chase frontman began hosting the revival of the hit game show back in 2020, but has confirmed in a new interview he's now too busy to return to the show.Speaking to The Radio Times, Bradley said: 'I just don't have the time, which is sad because I've loved Blankety Blank. 'It's been one of my favourite shows, and it's been brilliant... It's the most fun you can have in the studio, and I just cannot at the moment work on it. 'I just have not got the time. I would normally go to the studio in October, but I'm all taken up in October and November, so I just haven't time to do it. Maybe next year.'Bradley also shared that he is due to go on tour with The Prat Pack later this year, and also has several TV projects in the works which means he cannot film Blankety Blank. Viewing figures for all three shows have dropped with a BBC spokesperson saying: 'Unfortunately we have to make some really tough choices in light of our funding challenges'; pictured comedian Tom Davis on Live At The Apollo Blankety Blank launched in 1979 and initially ran for 11 years, presented by Terry Wogan and Les Dawson.It has since been revived several times, including a popular 1990s run hosted by Paul O'Grady's alter-ego Lily Savage.The reboot hosted by Bradley has been on air since 2020, when the success of a one-off Christmas special prompted the BBC to commission several more series.Meanwhile Celebrity Mastermind launched in 2002 and has also been presented by Magnus Magnusson and John Humphrys.It was a spin-off from the main Mastermind series that launched three decades earlier and saw members of the public answer questions on general knowledge as well as a specialist subject.The BBC added: '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.'The corporation also said it would 'prioritise digital innovation that can serve fans of these shows and beyond'. The move forms part of the broadcaster's bid to save £500million over the next two years, with around 700 corporate roles also expected to disappear as the corporation embarks on a major restructuring programme.The BBC reports that an email sent to staff by the interim chief executive officer of BBC News Jonathan Munro has outlined the jobs and programmes affected, with The World Tonight among the first victims of the planned cuts.The 45-minute weekday news programme will be axed after 56 years on air, while the presenters on BBC Radio 4’s Today show will be reduced from five to four.Mr Munro said the proposals include 200 job losses in the news division resulting in savings of £25million, according to the BBC.Other plans in the announcement include TV production at weekends being shared across the News Channel and BBC One bulletins.Broadcast TV channels and the radio network portfolio will also be reviewed as audiences move online.The corporation will also review its chief news presenter roles.Those roles include Clive Myrie, Ben Brown, Sally Bundock and Geeta Guru-Murthy.Victoria Derbyshire and Faisal Islam are also chief presenters on Newsnight, while Jon Kay and Sally Nugent are chief presenters on BBC Breakfast.Around 100 to 150 hours of originated programmes across all commissioning genres will be reduced by the end of the 2027 to 2028 financial year.The BBC also reported that it plans to reduce between 350 and 400 hours in audio across stations and genres whilst the News Channel will shift toward an international focus in hopes of broadening its audience outside the UK.