Baby show's teething troubles

Davina McCall's new show, in which first-time dads undergo parenting challenges, could be pulled from its Saturday night prime time slot because of po

11:15 29 August 2005

Davina McCalls new show, in which first-time dads undergo parenting challenges, could be pulled from its Saturday night prime time slot because of poor ratings, reports claim.

The Sun newspaper says BBC bosses are considering the move after ITV1s talent show the X Factor pulled in four times as many viewers as Hes Having A Baby.

The baby show has faltered during its first steps into a ten-week run, attracting 1.8 million viewers in its second week. In contrast, rival prime time show X Factor boasted an average 7.2million viewers.

A BBC1 insider told The Sun that Davina, 37, who enjoyed massive ratings when hosting the Channel 4 reality show Big Brother, could now see her project ousted from the "prestigious" Saturday night slot.

But despite a difficult birth, BBC bosses are insisting they will give Davinas baby show time to grow.

"Its only the second week. Ill give it a few more weeks before making any decision," said BBC1 controller Peter Fincham.

Reporting from the Edinburgh TV Festival, the Daily Mirror also reports the BBC chief as defending Davina despite the poor ratings.

"It would be nice if we could liberate ourselves from the tyranny of ratings. It's heroin, we're all hooked on it," he said.

"Davina is a great talent. It's brilliant to have her on BBC1."