ITV has reportedly axed Ninja Warrior after five series.
The boss said he has pulled the plug on the fan favorite show, which was first broadcast in 2015, due to the success of the BBC rebooting the 90s hit program Gladiators.
Ninja Warrior follows contestants facing an exciting obstacle course with jumps, impossible stunts and the final challenge of walking up a nearly vertical ramp.
But the decision not to renew the show was made because producers believed it would not be able to compete with the figure of Gladiator, which attracted 6 million viewers.
“For years Ninja Warrior has been one of the biggest shows on ITV and it’s taken all the families in who missed out on Gladiator,” a source told The Sun.
‘Ben Shephard, Rochelle Humes, and Kammy made the series a huge success.
ITV bosses have reportedly axed Ninja Warrior. The obstacle course sees contestants take on hairpin jumps, near impossible climbs and run up nearly vertical ramps.
But the success of BBC’s Gladiator was rumored to be the cause of its demise
‘But when the BBC revived Gladiator last year, the sound was death toll for the ITV ninjas. It was an absolute ratings winner, attracting more than six million viewers versus 1.6 million for the final series of Ninja Warrior in 2022.’
He later confirmed that the decision was made ‘for good’.
The decision to ax the show came after furious parents had blasted Chris Kamara after traveling to the UK Ninja Warrior grand final – only to be left queuing for hours in 30C heat and watching 40 seconds of action from a TV screen.
The ITV series, hosted by Ben Shephard, Chris Kamara and Rochelle Humes has just returned after three years.
But hundreds of people called the show in Manchester a ‘shambles’ and a ‘s*** show of a day’ when the final is in 2022.
The attack started after Chris Kamara posted on Twitter to encourage more people to buy tickets to the show.
He told his 1.8 million followers: ‘Still a few spaces left for the Grand Final of Ninja Warrior UK… come to Manchester and join the great fun’.
The decision to scrap the event came after his furious parents broke up with Chris Kamara after traveling to the UK Ninja Warrior grand final – only to be left for hours in 30C temperatures.
The attack started after Chris posted on Twitter to encourage more people to buy tickets to the show
One parent tweeted: ‘Our Kammy just came out. We queued for 4 hours to watch rope climbing- two children were very upset! There is no going around the course. We watch rope climbing from the tv screen’.
Another user asked: ‘I know it’s not your fault, but can you join us? He was looking forward to this and it ended up being a horrible experience.’
The sixth season of the show, based on the 25-year-old Japanese program Sasuke, has returned with an updated format – where regular contestants face off against ‘Ninjas’.
In the return of his show, Katie Rawcliffe, Head of ITV’s Entertainment Commission, said the show will be ‘all new, enhanced and reinvigorated, containing all the electricity, excitement and entertainment needed to make it compulsive Friday night viewing.’
The newly restored ITV series, hosted by Ben Shephard, Chris Kamara and Rochelle Humes has just returned after a three-year hiatus.
Hundreds call Manchester event ‘shambles’ and ‘s*** show of a day’
After the event ended, Kamara was met online by angry parents – all sharing their disappointing experience that day.
However, the excitement quickly turned to disappointment.
One user tweeted: ‘Honestly this is a disgrace and my children are heartbroken.
‘Waiting in line for four hours for a 40-second rope climb, we couldn’t see it. They were gutted, I was out of pocket and the whole day was wasted and disappointed.’
Another, who had traveled more than 130 miles from Newcastle said: ‘It’s not brilliant today, it’s terrible.
‘Traveled 130 miles from Newcastle with my 3 kids, stood and queued for four hours in 29 degree sunshine, all to see 10 seconds of rope climbing. Waste of our time. Shame on you.’
A spokesperson for Potato, the producers of Ninja Warrior UK said: ‘The Ninja Warrior UK team is sincerely disappointed that some of the spectators at last night’s final did not enjoy their experience.
‘The audience is an integral part of Ninja Warrior UK, with over 800 people attending every filming session every day.
‘Manchester Central’s Production team, presenters and staff work hard to ensure a fun, exciting and engaging audience experience.
“During the filming of this series, it has been proven that the audience has really enjoyed watching the show.
“But we do take those comments on board and it’s something we’ll be working on in the future.
‘The producers have offered an apology and an unwavering assurance that they will work with their partners at Ninja Warrior UK to resolve viewer complaints as quickly as possible.’
