Vanessa Feltz has reassured fans about the future of her Channel 5 chat show following reports of an “extended break” ahead of Christmas.
Speaking to GB News at the London Lifestyle Awards, the 63-year-old said: “My Channel 5 show has just been re-commissioned, that comes back on January 5 every weekday for the whole of next year.
“So incredibly excited and thoroughly looking forward to it.”
The broadcaster launched the programme in March this year, positioning it as competition to ITV’s Loose Women, which airs at the same time.
Vanessa Feltz said that her show has been recommissioned
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GETTY
Earlier reports suggested the show would take an “extended break,” with a source telling The Sun: “It’s been a real blow to everyone who has been working so hard to make the show a success.”
Figures show the 70-minute programme currently attracts around 50,000 viewers, while Loose Women, which features the likes of Janet Street-Porter, Denise Welch, Ruth Langsford and Coleen Nolan, pulls in roughly half a million.
A Channel 5 representative confirmed: “Vanessa is not being axed or put on an extended break due to ratings.
“Vanessa is continuing to air as scheduled. During November and December, Channel 5 is broadcasting its annual Christmas movies as it always does.”
In May, reports suggested the show’s future was “uncertain for the time being” just two months after its debut.
“Crisis talks” were said to be taking place behind the scenes and the project was described as a “total disaster”.
Vanessa Feltz told GB News that her show will be back in January
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GB NEWS
Vanessa is no stranger to hosting her own programme. She famously fronted The Vanessa Show for ITV in the 1990s before being replaced by Trisha Goddard.
She later moved to the BBC and returned with a short-lived revival of The Vanessa Show on Channel 5 in 2011, which was cancelled due to low viewership.
Despite these challenges, Vanessa collected the prestigious Talk Show award at the National Reality TV Awards in July, beating BBC’s The Graham Norton Show and ITV’s The Jonathan Ross Show.
Vanessa had been a regular face on ITV’s This Morning for more than 30 years before stepping down to focus on her own show.
She previously told The Daily Star: “I’ve been on This Morning since 1992.
“It’s been a long time. But I’m now doing my own show and I can’t do both.”
Fans can now look forward to Vanessa returning to Channel 5 on January 5.