The popular Bake Of duo decide against hosting ITV's flagging Nightly Show.
TV presenters Mel and Sue have pulled out of talks to take over the helm of ITV's flagging entertainment programme The Nightly Show blaming their busy schedules.
Former Great British Bake Off hosts Mel Giedroyc, 48, and Sue Perkins, 47, were approached about joining the ITV series, which has been panned by viewers.
The topical entertainment show floundered when it was launched with David Walliams as host last week, shedding more than half of its debut audience of almost three million in its second outing and being slated as “drivel” by viewers.
“We were approached to take part in the series, however due to our busy schedule, we were unable to make the dates work,” said the pair, currently hosting Let's Sing and Dance for Comic Relief on BBC1, in a statement.
“We do wish the team all the best with the remainder of the series.”
A show spokesman denied the pair had pulled out of the series.
“Mel and Sue were never signed to present The Nightly Show,” he said.
“The production team undertook discussions with them about the possibility of presenting a week, but due to their hectic schedule this wasn’t possible.”
The show appeared to rebound slightly this week when John Bishop took over as host, pulling in an average audience of 2.4 million, with a peak of 3.1 million.
But Tuesday’s offering only drew 1.5 million viewers
The show is still being savaged on social media by viewers who say they are switching off.
One viewer posted on Twitter:
The show is attempting to replicate the late-night programmes popular in the US and is due to run for eight weeks with a different celebrity hosting each week. Davina McCall, currently hosting Channel 4's The Jump, will present next week following John Bishop's stint in the hot seat, with X Factor host, Dermot O Leary following on from Davina. Gordon Ramsey and Bradley Walsh are also lined up to take over.
The Nightly Show is on ITV every week day at 10pm.
