Channel 5 boss cancels Faking It revival after just three episodes
Channel 5 chief Ben Frow has confirmed the broadcaster won't be continuing with its Faking It revival.
Channel 5 has cancelled Faking It after just three episodes.
The classic 00s reality show - which originally aired on Channel 4 from 2000 to 2006 - saw people trying to learn a totally new career over just four weeks, and the broadcaster has high hopes for the revival when it launched earlier this year.
Speaking at the Edinburgh TV Festival, C5 boss Ben Frow said: "I think it was a disaster [the show] didn't work, because it was brilliantly made."
Across the three new episodes, a fish fryer tried their hand at being a sushi chef, while an estate agent learned about being a market trader, and a painter-decorator was taught to be a makeup artist.
Unfortunately, the viewership wasn't there, and Channel 5 has now decided to scrap the show with no further episodes planned.
Also at the festival, Ben confirmed the broadcaster's Challenge Anneka has also been cancelled.
The show - which saw Anneka Rice attempt to help local communities with mammoth projects in just a few days - originally ran from 1989 to 1995, before returning in 2023.
However, the reboot was pulled after just two episodes due to poor ratings, with a third aired two months later, while the fourth installment was never shown.
Ben said: "We realised two weeks before we put it out, it's a make up show, and they did home renovation shows since then.
"The world changed so much, what Annika was doing – which was innovative 30 years ago – was [different to] now, and we won't go there again."
Channel 4 had scheduled Challenge Anneka in a primetime Saturday night slot, with 1.25 million viewers tuning into the first episode, but it proved no match for ITV's Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway or Starstruck on BBC One, and so it was dropped after two episodes.
At the time, a spokesperson said: “The public and critical reaction to Challenge Anneka’s return has been amazing and we have decided to preserve the remaining two shows and reschedule them soon.
"We want to preserve the series to ensure that each episode gets the best audience possible."
