‘The bosses decided the appetite for the show was over’: Huge Channel 4 series is AXED despite being a huge hit with fans
The Channel 4 show Flirty Dancing will reportedly not return to our TV screens in Britain.
The hit series, hosted by Ashely Banjo, first aired in 2019 and ran for two seasons, plus a celebrity special.
The show saw the Diversity star teaching two singles a dance routine, which they would then perform together when they first met.
The idea was for people to fall in love through dancing through these blind dates.
Speaking to The Sun, a TV insider said: “Flirty Dancing was a brilliant show, but when Covid hit it became too difficult to film.”
Removed: Channel 4’s Flirty Dancing show will reportedly not return to our TV screens in Britain
Popular: The hit series, hosted by Ashely Banjo, first aired in 2019 and ran for two seasons, plus a celebrity special.
“Once it was safe to return, the bosses decided the appetite for the show was over and Ashley was too busy working on other projects.
“Ashley ended up making a ton of money from the show when she sold it to America.”
The US version of the show aired on Fox and was hosted by dancer and actress Jenna Dewan.
Speaking about the series in the past, Ashley said: “I think dating is a throwaway these days.”
‘It’s like swipe left, swipe right, your social media profile is almost more important than your actual person.
“With Flirty Dancing we are completely going back to the old ways of dating when people met on the dance floor, felt a connection and then hit it off.
“Obviously we’re updating the dance, it’s much more modern, but I want to see our boys and girls mixing different styles of dance to see if we can spark a spark for them.”
To help blind dance dates, Ashley and her team came up with a series of romantic spots for couples to meet and perform together.
From dancing at the Tate Modern at midnight and on the roof of Bristol’s Clifton Observatory to a bandstand in Battersea Park on a balmy summer afternoon, the series sizzled like a Hollywood rom-com.
Matchmaking: The show saw the Diversity star teaching two singles a dance routine, which they would then perform together when they first met.
Love Match: The idea was for people to fall in love through dancing through these blind dates.
“We really like to set the tone and create these lovely settings for them to come together and hopefully feel a spark,” Ashley said.
“In my opinion, it’s like a short film, like a little romantic comedy in its own right. All of them are set in what could be scenes from a Hollywood movie. Let’s hope sparks fly!
After the couples finished their routine, they were led away without a word.
Then, if they felt a connection during their dance, they were offered a second date where they could finally meet their partner.