IT was supposed to be a new breed of dating show where singletons found love through the power of singing – but Romeo & Duet has hit all the wrong notes.
I can reveal that the programme, hosted by former Strictly dancer Oti Mabuse, is to be axed by ITV after just one series because it has failed to find an audience.
It hit rock bottom last Saturday. The show started at 7pm with just 890,000 viewers tuning in — the same number who were watching highlights of the Chelsea Flower Show on BBC2 at the same time.
A TV insider said: “This will be gut-wrenching for Oti as it was her first solo presenting gig since quitting Strictly to pursue new opportunities.
“Expectations were high for the programme as she is immensely popular with the public and Romeo & Duet was given a prime-time slot.
“Rubbing salt in the wound is the fact that the series hasn’t even finished — the final episode airs this Saturday.”
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Oti’s gig was part of a series of shows that she signed up for with ITV after leaving the BBC1 dance contest this year.
She proved a hit as a judge on Dancing On Ice and on the panel of The Masked Dancer, which is set to return this autumn with her again guessing who is who.
But Romeo & Duet was roundly panned by critics after it launched in April. Its poor viewing figures appear- ed even worse as it aired close to other more successful shows.
They include Saturday night favourite Britain’s Got Talent and LEE MACK’s new quiz show The 1% Club. Each programme was getting between three and four million people watching.
Officially, ITV maintains that “no decision has been made” regarding the singing show’s future. But it’s safe to say there will be no encore from Romeo & Duet.
SHE was Queen Vic barmaid Tiffany Mitchell – so who’d have thought Martine McCutcheon would ban her her husband from drinking spirits.
She reckons singer Jack McManus is “a danger to himself” when he has a drop of the hard stuff.
She says on The Chris And Rosie Ramsey Show, tonight on BBC2 at 9pm: “When he first met my mum, he got his a** out. My mum, being a true cockney, was like, ‘Nice a**!’ Then he was found in a skip. The man who owned a restaurant nearby said to me, ‘Jack’s in that skip – with a bollard on his head’.
“The worst one . . . he went to the toilet, didn’t realise he still had his trousers round his knees and walked out. A lady came running over going, ‘Oh my God, don’t go in there – there’s a man flashing’.
“So that’s just three reasons why he can’t drink spirits.”
I think the first one would do it, Martine.
THERE were rumours from the start that Boris Johnson’s missus Carrie was curious about how she would be portrayed on Sky’s upcoming drama This England.
The show looks at the PM’s handling of the Covid crisis, with Sir Kenneth Branagh playing him and Ophelia Lovibond as his wife.
And the whispers about Carrie’s interest really gained traction after Ophelia noticed she had started following her on Instagram.
Which means that if she wants to scrutinise the woman who will be playing her – for overall looks, dress sense and style – she has plenty to feast her eyes on.
Ophelia, who appeared in BBC1 mockumentary series W1A and hit 2014 movie Guardians Of The Galaxy, lives a full life as the wife of fellow actor Henry Pettigrew, who played Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong in the third series of The Crown.
At least both women have high-flying husbands.
HOLLYOAKS actress Stephanie Waring cried for six days after filming Gary Lucy’s heartbreaking show exit.
He has played Luke Morgan on and off for 23 years, since he was 17, but made the decision to kill off his popular character in a tragic dementia storyline.
Stephanie – Cindy Cunningham in the C4 soap – broke down in tears and even shouted at Gary after filming her emotional goodbye to Luke.
She said: “We filmed the aftermath and I cried for six days straight, even on my day off. I couldn’t shake it.
“My emotions were just so heightened and your body believes you are grieving.
“It has felt like grief because it’s Gary, it’s Luke, I’ve known him since I was 17 years old, we were kids.
“So working on this storyline, being his anchor almost, and saying goodbye, I can’t even think about it without getting upset.”
FORMER Towie star Lucy Mecklenburgh has opened up to fans about having her second child with Corrie actor fiance Ryan Thomas.
She described the birth as “so special” and admitted they have yet to choose a name for their daughter.
The couple, who got engaged in 2019, already have a two-year-old son, Roman.
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Lucy was answering questions from fans on Instagram about welcoming her little girl into the world last week.
Asked how her birth was this time round, she said: “Really positive and calm. It was quite quick and so special. I was in for five days after Roman so to get out in six hours felt sooo surreal!”
