The Andrew Neil Show has been pulled by the BBC as the TV network confirmed more than 500 jobs are to be cut.
520 jobs are said to be axed from the 6,000 strong workforce.
That includes 450 job cuts that were announced as part of an £80m savings drive in January, and then put on hold.
The Andrew Neil Show had been off air due to the global pandemic, however, the broadcaster has said it has spoken with veteran journalist Andrew, 71, about the possibility of filling another BBC One interview programme.
The Andrew Neil Show won’t return to the BBC following fresh cuts by the broadcaster (Image: BBC)
The BBC said: “We remain committed to Andrew Neil’s in-depth (as well as Budget, US Election and other Specials).
“The Andrew Neil Show will not be returning but we’re in discussions about a new interview series on BBC One.”
The highly-watched Andrew Neil Show began in autumn 2019 prior to the general election and the UK’s departure from the European Union.
The TV presenter could front a new interview series on BBC One (Image: BBC)
The show returned for a second series on 8 January 2020.
Throughout the two series, a number of MPs have been interview by Neil including Rishi Sunk, Kier Starmer, and Sir Ed Davey.
However, a notable absence was from Prime Minister Boris Johnson, which lead to Neil challenging him to a BBC interview.
The BBC previously announced The Victoria Derbyshire Show, is coming off air (Image: BBC)
“We have been asking him for weeks now to give us a date, a time, a venue. As of now, none has been forthcoming,” he said. |It is not too late. We have an interview prepared, oven-ready as Mr Johnson likes to say.
“The theme running through our questions is trust, and why at so many times in his career in politics and journalism, critics and sometimes even those close to him have deemed him to be untrustworthy.”
The BBC announced in 2016 that it needed to save £800m, with around £80m of that figure coming from News.
In January 2020, the BBC announced plans to close 450 jobs, as well as programmes like BBC Two’s Victoria Derbyshire show.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
