Channel 4 axes The Andrew Neil Show amid content cuts
Ellie Iorizzo, PA Senior Entertainment Reporter
Veteran broadcaster Andrew Neil has confirmed his Sunday night politics programme has been axed from Channel 4’s schedule amid content cuts.
The Andrew Neil Show launched as a live 10-part series in May 2022 and saw the journalist interview “decision-takers and news-makers from across the political spectrum” and examine the “biggest events of the moment”.
The third series of the half-hour weekly programme ended in April and will not return this year while plans for 2024 are still uncertain, Neil confirmed on Twitter.
Fair, accurate and authoritative report in the Guardian:
Andrew Neil show is latest victim of Channel 4 cuts https://t.co/jPrvuoQQ6i— Andrew Neil (@afneil) June 30, 2023
Sharing a Guardian article reporting the axing, Neil tweeted: “Fair, accurate and authoritative report in the Guardian: Andrew Neil show is latest victim of Channel 4 cuts.”
The 74-year-old later retweeted messages of condolence from fans after the “shocking news”, describing their love for the programme and their inability to understand Channel 4’s decision.
It comes as the broadcaster reshuffles its schedule after a “downturn in the ad-market” which it relies on to generate money to commission shows.
When The Andrew Neil Show was commissioned last year, the veteran broadcaster described himself as “honoured and delighted”.
He said: “Sunday night is a pivotal point in the political week — we can sweep up what’s happened in the previous week, mop up what’s been in the Sunday papers and talk shows and throw forward to the upcoming week.
“We’ll aim to do all of that and more.”
Neil’s career as a political presenter and interviewer has spanned three decades and he is the chairman and editor-in-chief of Press Holdings Media Group, publishers of The Spectator and other related titles.
He stepped down as the chairman and host of a prime-time show on GB News last year, before joining Channel 4.
Neil is a former Sunday Times editor and was one of the BBC’s top political broadcasters for many years, presenting This Week, Daily Politics and BBC One’s Sunday Politics.
He has interviewed world leaders including Kofi Annan, Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, Sir Tony Blair, Margaret Thatcher and Boris Johnson.
Neil presented the Channel 4 programme Boris Johnson: Has He Run Out of Road? in January.
Channel 4 has been contacted for comment.
