Vanessa Feltz’s Channel 5 Show Axed After Just Over A Year

Channel 5 has officially pulled the plug on Vanessa Feltz’s daytime chat show after just over a year on air. According to Digital Spy, the network cited “afternoon scheduling changes” and will “rest” the program from July 17th. But let’s not pretend we don’t know what really happened here. The Daily Mail is reporting that the decision was driven by “dire ratings” and a string of embarrassing prank calls that made the whole operation look like a community access nightmare.

Vanessa Feltz’s daytime chat show has been axed after just one year on air.

The seasoned presenter, 64, was brought into a meeting this week and told the news by Channel 5 bosses, the Daily Mail can reveal.

Sources close to the show say she was left furious and stormed out of the studios in tears following the tense discussion.

An insider said: ‘She had no idea what the meeting was about and certainly didn’t expect to be told it was not being renewed. She feels so blindsided but also let down by bosses.’

The Daily Mail understands extremely low ratings for the programme are to blame for the cancellation, but also not being able to get a grip on nuisance calls.

The programme attracts an average 50,000 viewers per 70 minute show – significantly lower than competitor Jeremy Vine.

Since its launch in March 2025, it has had three refreshes to its set and logo in a bid by bosses to attract viewers.

A 5 spokesperson said: ‘Due to afternoon scheduling changes, ‘Vanessa’ will be rested from July 17th. We thank Vanessa and her team at ITN for 18 months of warm, witty, wise and searingly honest shows. Vanessa remains a valued member of the 5 family and we are discussing future projects together.’

Daily Mail

The Obsession That Backfired

Let’s rewind. When Meghan’s Netflix lifestyle series With Love, Meghan dropped, Vanessa decided she needed to be the chief critic-in-residence. She didn’t just offer a few mild takes, she went all in. She created a whole parody series called With Love, Vanessa, filmed on what looked like a budget of £12.50, complete with Hula Hoops poured into a bag, flower petals scattered about, and the most condescending tone this side of a PTA meeting.

Vanessa mocked Meghan’s vocabulary, “joyful,” “elevating”, as if using positive words was a crime. She joked about borrowing a bigger garden and introducing a “lifelong friend” she’d known for “about six months.” She called Meghan’s pretzels-in-a-bag segment “basic” and said, and I quote: “You don’t need to do a show in which you put pretzels in a bag and tie a bow on it. That’s the sort of thing you do when you’re not married to a prince of the realm.”

Oh, but she wasn’t done. Vanessa also accused Meghan of “downgrading herself” from royal status to “an ordinary jobbing celebrity getting a mark-up on a pair of trousers.” She questioned why someone in Meghan’s position would sell jam to people with “much less money than she has.” She claimed Meghan never truly wanted privacy, just “on her terms.” And she repeatedly suggested the duchess didn’t appreciate her “exalted position” despite having George and Amal Clooney at her wedding.

All of this, mind you, while insisting she wasn’t part of the “let’s give Meghan a good bashing bandwagon.” Right. And I’m the Queen of England.

The Ironic Twist

Now here’s where it gets deliciously poetic. Vanessa’s show got canceled, and not because of some grand conspiracy or cancel culture, but because too few people were watchin. The ratings were in the gutter. The prank calls were relentless. And Channel 5 decided to “rest” her faster than you can say “elevated tray of love.” Meanwhile, Meghan’s Netflix projects sits inside a major reported Sussex deal, while Vanessa admitted her parody got “paid nil.”