Jonathan Ross signs up for 3 more series of ITV chat show
Jonathan Ross has signed up for three more series of The Jonathan Ross Show, the Saturday night entertainment-based chat show made for ITV.
The deal, said to be worth £2 million, will see Ross host three more 10-part series of the show on ITV1 over the next two years. Each year will also see a Christmas special.
He told The Sun: "I am thrilled to be signing again for ITV. It's like that stage in a relationship when you've been leaving a few clothes over every time you stay, and they finally give you a door key. I mean to carry on delivering the very best guests and coolest music on British TV. And I have promised Ant & Dec to squeeze the ITV toothpaste from the end of the tube from now on. They are very fussy."
The first series of The Jonathan Ross Show, which aired in September and October this year, attracted modest viewing figures for a Saturday night ITV show, despite a prime slot alongside X Factor and big name guest bookings including Stephen Fry, Helen Mirren, Lady Gaga and Noel Gallagher. The show launched with 3.92 million, and ended eight weeks later with 3.48 million viewers.
However, the newspaper reports that ITV was happy with the series, quoting an 'insider' who said: "It was always a gamble for him to reprise his chat show on another channel. He had been synonymous with Friday nights on the BBC but was replaced by Graham Norton in that slot. But he has brought in great guests for ITV and his ratings have been good so it was a no-brainer that he should sign up again."
Ross is set to host a Christmas special of The Jonathan Ross Show next month. He will also host The British Comedy Awards 2011 live on Channel 4 on Friday 16th December.