“The Claudia Winkleman Show” is officially being canceled after one season. Variety understands it was host Claudia Winkleman’s decision not to return.
Read more FrightFest Reveals Lineup, Sets Abner Pastoll’s ‘Nervous’ as Opening Film (EXCLUSIVE)
“I’m incredibly grateful to the BBC for giving me the opportunity, to the guests who agreed to come and chat to me, and the production team who were simply excellent,” Winkleman said in a statement.
“Sometimes you have to try something to see how it fits, and I realised I was just too nervous to enjoy it. Maybe one day I will give it another try, but for now I already have the best jobs in the world and absolutely love the shows I’m doing.”
Winkleman, who is best known for hosting “The Traitors U.K.” and “Strictly Come Dancing” (the British version of “Dancing With the Stars”), launched her eponymous talk show in February of this year. The show, a sit-down chat on a sofa with celebrities, was meant to serve as a complement to Graham Norton’s while he was on hiatus between seasons. Like “The Graham Norton Show,” Winkleman’s was also broadcast on Friday nights. Norton’s production company So Television was even a co-producer.
However, the reviews were lukewarm and ratings were inconsistent, mostly falling short of Norton’s 1.1 million+. And while she managed to get some impressive guests — the debut episode featured Jeff Goldblum, Jennifer Saunders, Vanessa Williams and Tom Allen — the remainder of the seven-episode series didn’t emit much star-wattage (the penultimate episode feature Mr Blobby while the last was a compilation show).
Still, a second season was rumored to be on the cards, with the ball said to be in Winkleman’s court. She has now confirmed she won’t return.
“Claudia’s warmth and quick wit made ‘The Claudia Winkleman Show’ an absolute joy,” said Ed Havard, the BBC’s director of entertainment. “Whilst we loved the show, we fully respect her decision and would like to thank Claudia and the brilliant team at So Television for bringing the series to screen on the BBC. As the host of the country’s most-watched show, Claudia will be back on the BBC very soon when ‘The Celebrity Traitors returns’ later this year, and we can’t wait to see what she has in store for the new band of celebs.”