Live at the Apollo star gives fans good news as BBC axes show after 22 years
The BBC announced in July that it has cancelled Live at the Apollo after 22 years, as well as Celebrity Mastermind and Blankety Blank, due to budget cuts.
A Live at the Apollo star has given fans some good news just weeks after the BBC announced the show has been axed after 22 years due to budget cuts.
Lily Phillips - one of many entertainers who appeared on the programme, in which stand-up comics perform at the Hammersmith Apollo theatre in West London - is expecting her second child.
Taking to Instagram on Thursday (13.08.26), the entertainer - who has a three-year-old daughter named Gwen - posted a mirror selfie, and Lily wore a blue sports bra and low trousers so that she could show off her growing baby bump.
Referencing the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Lily made a joke in the caption, which read: "I haven’t written a show for Edinburgh this year but I have grown a tiny penis in my belly so…"
Lily's followers, including fellow comics, rushed to the post's comments section to congratulate her.
Matt Richardson, 35, quipped: "Congratulations! Enjoy male pay for the next few months as he appears with you (sic)."
Josh Jones, 33, typed: "Congratulations."
One supporter wrote: "Congratulations but also, you are mental!!! (sic)
And a second fan reacted: "Well this is exciting news!! Congrats you guys x (sic)."
Last month, the BBC confirmed that Live at the Apollo, Celebrity Mastermind, hosted by Clive Myrie, 61, and Blankety Blank, fronted by Bradley Walsh, 66, have been axed as part of its plan to save up to £500 million over the next three years.
Stand-up comedian Terry Christian, 66, said losing Live at the Apollo after 22 years is "the biggest tragedy" as it provided a vital platform for emerging talent to make their breakthrough.
On the July 30 episode of ITV's Good Morning Britain, he told hosts Kate Garraway, 59, and 52-year-old Adil Ray: "I think the big tragedy is Live at the Apollo because it's for young comedians and for them to be introduced to the general public.
"It's very sad."
The BBC said that more cost-cutting moves will be announced in due course, which has fuelled speculation that more of its TV shows will face the chop.
However, the civilian version of Mastermind, also presented by Clive, will continue.
Also last month, Bradley revealed his departure as host of Blankety Blank after six years because he simply "does not have the time".
The entertainer told Radio Times: "The thing is we're just doing Gladiators.
"I get a week off, and then I go to rehearsals for the live Prat Pack show.
"I take The Prat Pack back on the road for a month, and then I would normally go straight into Blankety Blank.
"But at the moment, what I'm going to do is I've got other stuff which I can't announce at the moment.
"We're working on a couple of dramas and scripting, and I actually physically do not have the time."
Bradley - who is in the Prat Pack variety supergroup with fellow comedians Brian Conley, 65, Shane Richie, 62, and 64-year-old Joe Pasquale - added: "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. Blankety Blank has been brilliant. It really makes me laugh. 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 studio October, but I'm all taken up in October and November, so I just haven't time to do it. Maybe next year."
However, Bradley can still be seen on the BBC as he presents Gladiators with his 28-year-old son, Barney Walsh.
The star also fronts ITV's The Chase, its spin-off Beat the Chasers, as well as his Barney's travelogue show, Breaking Dad.
