Shooting Stars cancelled by BBC
Shooting Stars, the surreal BBC Two quiz show hosted by double-act Vic & Bob, appears to have been cancelled by the BBC for a second time.
Bob Mortimer posted on Twitter tonight a simple short statement saying: "BBC have just cancelled shooting stars".
Series producer and Pett Productions boss Lisa Clark told Broadcast magazine: "We've been told it is all part of DQF. There isn't enough money - not a lot you can say to that."
DQF - aka Delivering Quality First - is the BBC's broad financial prioritisation and spending strategy review, under which BBC Two is cutting down on its panel and chat show formats.
A BBC spokesperson confirmed: "In future there will be less space on BBC Two for comedy/entertainment panel shows so sadly Shooting Stars won't be returning. We'd like to thank Vic and Bob for everything they've brought to the channel over the years."
Shooting Stars, which has notched up 73 episodes, started life in 1993 as one of the features of At Home With Vic And Bob, a special night of programming on BBC Two dedicated to the comedy duo. The programme was noted for its surreal style of humour, including unintelligible questions, weird sketches and oddball studio set-pieces.
The first full series began in September 1995, with Ulrika Jonsson and Mark Lamarr joining Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer as team captains. The show also introduced Matt Lucas to viewers, the future Little Britain star playing babygrow-clad scorekeeper George Dawes in the show.
The comic quiz ran for three series up to 1997, and then returned for two further extended-length series in 2002. Moving to BBC Choice, the series saw Lamarr replaced by Will Self, and Johnny Vegas installed as a regular panellist.
After a six year break, BBC Two resurrected the format in 2008 for a one-off 15th anniversary Christmas special, with Jack Dee taking over from Will Self as team captain. Now produced by Vic and Bob's own company, Pett Productions, the episode proved to be a big success. Bringing over 3 million viewers to the channel, the BBC soon ordered a full sixth series of the show.
Series 6 debuted in August 2009, with Dan Skinner - in character as burger van owner Angelos Epithemiou - joining Reeves, Mortimer, Lucas, Jonsson and Dee as a new regular. Series 7 followed in 2010 with Angelos becoming the new scorer, following the news that Matt Lucas could no longer do the show due to filming commitments.
The most recent series - Series 8 - was broadcast this summer, reaching an average audience of 1.22m across the six-part run.
There has already been much reaction on Twitter to the news of the show's demise, with most comments ranging between outrage, confusion and disappointment. League Of Gentlemen star Mark Gatiss described the decision as "Unbelievable", whilst calls for channels such as Dave or Sky1 to pick up the format have already begun to surface. However, other fans were less upset, saying that the show has "had its day", and was "stale with nothing new".
It remains to be seen whether the popular format will be picked up by another broadcaster. Such moves are rare on British television, however digital channel Dave has managed to resurrect cult BBC sci-fi sitcom Red Dwarf, and Sky commissioned a series of surreal sitcom This Is Jinsy after a BBC Three pilot.
Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer recently made Vic & Bob's Afternoon Delights, a 20-part online sketch show sponsored by Foster's lager. Meanwhile Jack Dee continues to work regularly on panel shows, and is now the host of Radio 4 favourite I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue. Dan Skinner has seen his profile significantly boosted thanks to his appearances on Shooting Stars as Angelos Epithemiou, and will next month star in The Angelos Neil Epithemiou Show, a Channel 4 Comedy Showcase pilot, produced by Vic & Bob's production company Pett Productions.
Here's an example of one of the studio set-pieces:
One of the challenges to end the show:
And one of the sketches inserted into Shooting Stars: