Channel 4 has axed or postponed some of its most popular shows after running out of money to fund them – despite boss Alex Mahon making £1.2 million last year.
And the latest to be canceled by the commercial broadcaster is the popular dating show Five Dates A Week.
TVZone has reported that the romance show will not be returning after two airings.
As part of the format, one singleton invites five potential partners of their choice to spend a week with them – all at the same time.
It aims to speed up the ‘getting to know’ phase of the relationship and gives the chooser the ability to compare and contrast five dates – in real time.
Struggling: Channel 4 has scrapped or postponed some of its most popular shows after running out of money to fund them – despite boss Alex Mahon making £1.2million last year
Fan Favorite: And the latest to be canceled by the commercial broadcaster is the hit dating show Five Dates A Week
A Channel 4 spokesman confirmed to The Sun that the show was only commissioned after a second series.
They said: ‘The series last aired in May last year and no subsequent series were commissioned at that time’.
Five Dates A Week was originally called Five Guys A Week, but the station changed its format to include people of all sexualities and genders.
The dating show is currently still available to stream on Channel 4.
The Mail on Sunday recently revealed that the channel’s staff are calling it a “carnage” as the controversial late-night cult show Naked Attraction, the big-money celebrity flop Scared Of The Dark and the groundbreaking medical documentary Rescue: Extreme Medics , based in Scotland, are all canned.
The highly publicized return of the reality series Four Weddings has also been scrapped, although a team from an independent production company was commissioned to make it.
Staff on permanent contracts to work on the program were immediately fired, and some are now worried about how they will pay their rent.
Friday night favorite The Last Leg, one of the channel’s most popular shows hosted by Adam Hills, Josh Widdicombe and Alex Brooker, will cut the length of the next series to save money.
The 28th series returns this month for a nine-week run, but production bosses have been told the channel can afford to have it on the air for just seven weeks.
Difficult: The Mail on Sunday may reveal that the channel’s staff are calling it a ‘carnage’ as shows including celebrity big-money flop Scared Of The Dark (pictured) have all been canceled
Channel 4 has instructed lawyers to make deals with heads of production companies to secure contracts for shows worth millions of pounds, meaning it has been left with expensive legal bills and exit fees.
The crisis comes after Ms Mahon and her colleague Ian Katz rejected a government plan to privatize the company, citing as one of their arguments that it finances independent manufacturing companies across the country.
A source told The Mail on Sunday that the channel believes it is better to cut losses. But staff blame Mr Katz for wasting money on expensive but little-watched shows like the reality series Rise And Fall, which reportedly cost the channel £14 million – money that couldn’t be justified due to low ratings.
An insider said: ‘Everyone is calling it a Channel 4 massacre.
‘At first everyone was in shock when Four Weddings was cancelled.
“It’s almost unheard of for a show that’s going really well to be shut down, but as word started to spread, other shows dropped out as well.
“They were told that Ian Katz had watched the channel’s entire output and they were sorry, but it had to be done because there was no money.
“The casting team was already there to start Naked Attraction and were all told they were no longer needed as they were not making another series.
“They tried to soften the blow to the show’s freelance crew by saying they hope to do another series in December, but that’s no use to them right now.”
Mahon and Katz announced last week that they have postponed receiving bonuses worth hundreds of thousands of pounds and scrapped a planned pay rise in the midst of the crisis.
Cancelled: Controversial late-night cult show Naked Attraction hosted by Anna Richardson is also canned
However, a Channel 4 staffer said, “Only because I had to.”
A spokesperson for the network said: “Channel 4 cares deeply about the Indie community and our wider supply chain of freelancers. They are the beating heart of our company.
“While we recognize that the actions we are asking of some will cause short-term pain, the plan we have underlines our continued commitment to our financial sustainability and our continued support for the UK’s independent manufacturing sector.
“The executives have already decided to postpone retention payments and declined a salary increase earlier this year as part of a broader response to a very difficult advertising market in the second quarter, which all commercial broadcasters are facing.”