CHANNEL 4 has halted production on one of its longest-running comedy series.
The broadcaster has sparked fears for the future of 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown by holding back on ordering new episodes.
Channel 4 bosses, who are grappling with money woes, have still not aired the most recent series which was recorded last year.
Deadline report the comedy’s production company Zeppotron has been told no new episodes will be filmed this year.
A spokesperson for Channel 4 said: “We have already shot episodes which are ready to air.
“To keep the show current we will shoot further episodes nearer transmission.”
However, sources told the publication the move was linked to money as bosses look to spread their shows across their schedules.
8 Out of 10 Cats has been on air since 2005 with comedian Jimmy Carr at the helm while Jon Richardson and the late Sean Locke were permanent team captains.
Since 2012 the show followed the format of Channel 4’s daytime words and numbers show Countdown, fittingly branded 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown.
Countdown regulars Rachel Riley and Susie Dent featured in the episodes.
In 2015 the show was demoted from the main channel and placed on More4 before moving to E4 in 2017.
Meanwhile, Channel 4 recently informed staff working on 24 Hours in A&E that it would not be proceeding with filming as planned for this autumn.
The broadcaster has axed a number of reality shows recently including Scared of the Dark as well as Rise and Fall.
However, Paddy McGuinness’ adventure series Tempting Fortune has been green lit for a second run.
Latest TV Show Axings
All of the shows we're saying goodbye to this year:
- The Masked Dancer, ITV
- Scarlett Moffatt’s Driving School, BBC
- The Lazarus Project, Sky
- Better, BBC
- Dance Monsters, Netflix
- Laura Whitmore & Oti Mabuse’s weekend shows, ITV
- Ross Kemp’s 72 Hours In…, Channel 5
- Rise and Fall, Channel 4