‘Survival of the Fittest’ has been axed after just one series.
The ITV battle of the sexes programme – which was hosted by Laura Whitmore – launched last year with the hopes of making it the "winter ‘Love Island’", but it has been revealed that due to huge expenses stemming from filming in South Africa, the show has been cancelled.
A TV source told The Sun newspaper’s Bizarre TV column: "It was a good show but naturally expensive and ambitious in its scale. Shooting it in South Africa inevitably comes with a cost and unfortunately execs at ITV couldn’t justify a second series. But ITV have got some brilliant things lined up on ITV2 for next year."
The show faced disappointing ratings, with the first series only raking in 600,000 viewers, and an ITV spokesperson confirmed there are "no current plans" for a second series.
They said: "There are no current plans for a further series of ‘Survival Of The Fittest’. It was an ambitious and brilliantly produced show and we’d like to thank Laura, Brennan and all the team who worked on it."
Despite only airing for one series, the show wasn’t short of drama, as Danny Dyer’s daughter Dani – who went on to win ‘Love Island’ this year – was forced to exit after just one episode, when she dislocated her shoulder during a challenge.
A spokesperson said at the time: "Dani injured her shoulder during the recording of a challenge. She was attended to by on-site medics and taken to hospital as a precautionary measure. As ‘Survival Of The Fittest’ involves physical challenges which she wouldn’t be able to take part in, Dani isn’t in a position to be able to return to The Lodge and will therefore leave the show."
But the programme – which was voiced by comedian Brennan Reece – didn’t spell disaster for everybody, as contestants Warren Phillips and Mariam Musa are still together, after found love when the show aired in March.
Survival of the Fittest axed
