Legendary BBC series with national treasure host ‘facing the axe’ as broadcaster battles to save £500million
A LEGENDARY BBC series featuring a national treasure could ‘face the axe’ amid cost cuts.
The cash-strapped broadcaster could be forced to axe even more shows, according to an expert.
Sir David Attenborough‘s Planet Earth and Wild Isles could be directly impacted by the measures.
A media consultant has revealed the 97-year-old’s programmes are expensive to produce.
Alice Enders told the i newspaper: “If the licence fee continues to wither, you are looking at the BBC’s big-ticket items to make savings so nothing can be immune.
“There could be less high-end drama, it’s a big expense and streamers are forcing prices up. The costume budget alone for The Crown is huge.”
She added: “David Attenborough’s natural history series sell well globally but they are expensive too.
“There would need to be more co-productions with international broadcasters.”
It comes after the Beeb announced they had slashed the running time of Newsnight to just 30 minutes as well as slimming down its production to save cash.
The Sun previously revealed how bosses decided to axe Doctors after 23 years on air.
With falling ratings the show is no longer affordable for the BBC’s daytime schedule.
Show runner Kate Oates confirmed that the latest batch of episodes to be filmed are the last as the show is no longer affordable within the broadcaster’s daytime budget.
Filming will continue through to March 2024, with the final episode set to air in December.