ITV have reportedly axed Ninja Warrior after five series.
Bosses are said to have pulled the plug on the fan favourite show, which first aired in 2015, due to the success of the BBC rebooting 90s hit programme Gladiators.
Ninja Warrior followed contestants face a gruelling obstacle course with hair-raising jumps, near impossible climbs and the final challenge of running up an almost-vertical ramp.
Producers believe they will be unable to compete with viewing figures of Gladiators, which pulled in 6 million viewers, according to reports.
‘For years Ninja Warrior was one of ITV’s biggest shows and scooped up all those families who missed Gladiators,’ a source told The Sun.
‘Ben Shephard, Rochelle Humes, and Kammy made the series a big success.
ITV bosses have reportedly axed Ninja Warrior. The obstacle course saw contestants take on hair-raising jumps, near impossible climbs and running up an almost-vertical ramp
But the success of BBC’s Gladiators has reportedly been the cause of its demise
‘But when the BBC revived Gladiators last year, it sounded the death knell for ITV’s ninjas. It was an absolute ratings champion, pulling in over six million viewers versus 1.6 million for Ninja Warrior’s last series in 2022.’
They then confirmed the decision to axe it ‘for good’ was made concrete.
The decision to axe the show comes after furious parents have blasted Chris Kamara after travelling to the grand final of Ninja Warrior UK – only to be left queuing for hours in 30C heat and seeing 40 seconds of action from a TV screen.
The ITV series, hosted by Ben Shephard, Chris Kamara and Rochelle Humes has just come back after a three year hiatus.
But hundreds of people branded the event in Manchester a ‘shambles’ and a ‘s*** show of a day’ during a final in 2022.
The backlash began after Chris Kamara posted on Twitter to encourage more people to buy tickets to the show.
He told his 1.8 million followers: ‘Still a few spaces left for the Grand Final of Ninja Warrior UK… come up to Manchester and join the brilliant fun’.
The decision to axe the show comes after furious parents have blasted Chris Kamara after travelling to the grand final of Ninja Warrior UK – only to be left queuing for hours in 30C heat
One parent tweeted: ‘Kammy we have just come out. We queued for 4 hours to watch a rope climb- two very upset kids! No one even went around the course. We watched the rope climb from a tv screen’.
Another user pleaded: ‘I know it’s not your fault but can you get involved please? They were so looking forward to this and it ended up being an awful experience.’
The show’s sixth season, based on 25-year-old Japanese programme Sasuke, has returned with an updated format – in which ordinary contestants face off against ‘Ninjas’.
On the show’s return, Katie Rawcliffe, ITV’s Head of Entertainment Commissioning, said the show will be ‘all new, enhanced and reinvigorated, containing all the electricity, excitement and entertainment needed to make compulsive Saturday night viewing.’
The newly-returned ITV series, hosted by Ben Shephard, Chris Kamara and Rochelle Humes has just come back after a three year hiatus
Hundreds of people branded Wednesday’s event in Manchester a ‘shambles’ and a ‘s*** show of a day’
After the event had ended, Kamara was met online by furious parents – all sharing their disappointing experience of the day.
However, excitement quickly turned to disappointment.
One user tweeted: ‘Honestly it was an utter disgrace and my kids were heartbroken.
‘Waited in line for four hours for a 40 second rope climb we couldn’t even see. They are gutted, I am out of pocket and the entire day was wasted and so disappointing.’
Another, who had travelled over 130 miles from Newcastle said: ‘It wasn’t brilliant today, it was awful.
‘Travelled 130 miles from Newcastle with my 3 kids, stood and queued for four hours in 29 degree sunshine, all to see 10 seconds of rope climbing. Huge waste of our time. Shame on you.’
A spokesperson from Potato, producers of Ninja Warrior UK said: ‘The Ninja Warrior UK team are sincerely disappointed that a small number of audience members at yesterday’s final did not enjoy their experience.
‘The audience is an integral part of Ninja Warrior UK, with more than 800 people attending each filming session each day.
‘The Production Team, the presenters and the staff of Manchester Central work incredibly hard to ensure the audience experience is exciting, enjoyable and entertaining.
‘Throughout the filming of this series, it has been evident that the audiences have thoroughly enjoyed their time watching the show.
‘But we absolutely take on board the comments and this is something we will factor in for the future.
‘The producers offer their unreserved apology and assurance that they will work closely with their partners on Ninja Warrior UK to address audience complaints as quickly as possible.’
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