Channel 4’s brutal ax bloodbath appears to be reverberating as production on fan-favourite show 24 Hours In A&E has reportedly halted.
The medical series has been a staple of the channel since 2011, but staff have reportedly been told that plans to film new episodes in the autumn have been shelved.
It follows daily activity at St George’s Accident and Emergency Department and more recently at Queen’s Medical Centre, Nottingham.
It’s just the latest in a series of shows the network dropped in a bid to save money, and some of the network’s staff were also laid off earlier this year.
According to an email obtained by Broadcast, The Garden, the production team behind the show, informed staff on Wednesday that filming would not continue as planned.
Channel 4’s brutal ax bloodbath appears to be reverberating as production on fan-favourite show 24 Hours In A&E has reportedly halted.
The medical series has been a staple of the channel since 2011, but staff have reportedly been told that plans to film new episodes in the autumn have been shelved.
The email reportedly said that tHey, “we offered the channel every measure we could to try to prevent it, but I’m afraid we couldn’t prevent it.”
They added that while they were “Extremely disappointed” by the move, they added that they were committed to keeping talks open with Channel 4 to “safeguard their future”.
It is believed that there is a large bank of episodes that have already been filmed and are expected to still air in the coming months.
A Channel 4 spokesperson said: “Although we will not be filming any further new episodes this autumn, we have a large number of episodes recently filmed but not yet aired, which means we will continue to offer full behind-the-scenes access to Queen’s Medical Center A&E. Nottingham.
‘Channel 4 always looks to offer a mix of new shows and returning family shows and 24 Hours on A&E remains an important part of that distinctive mix.
“We will make a decision to restart at the appropriate time, once we have aired more episodes than we have already filmed.”
MailOnline has contacted a Channel 4 representative for comment.
Channel 4 has been hit by a series of financial problems in recent months, leading to the axing of a number of fan-favourite shows.
Earlier this week it was also confirmed that Channel 4’s star-studded reality show Scared Of The Dark had been canceled after just one series.
It was reported in January that Channel 4 is undergoing a massive shake-up after they announced they would be cutting almost 250 roles, equivalent to just over 15% of their full-time workforce.
This is higher than the 200 expected by industry sources, as CEO Alex Mahon is expected to announce the largest number of redundancies in the company’s history.
The network has been forced to cancel several shows, including SAS: Who Dares Wins and Steph’s Packed Lunch, as part of its cost-cutting efforts.
Their headquarters on Horseferry Road in London will also be sold as they look to find smaller office spaces in the capital.
Earlier this week it was also confirmed that Channel 4’s star-studded reality show Scared Of The Dark had been canceled after just one series.
Hosted by Danny Dyer, the experimental TV show asked a host of famous faces to live in complete darkness for a week while they were given various challenges.
Former footballer Paul Gascoigne was crowned winner of the series after living eight days in complete darkness as he beat Love Island’s Chloe Burrows, former boxer Chris Eubank and comedian Chris McCausland in the competition.
Despite racking up more than a million viewers, Channel 4 decided not to return for a second series, according to Deadline.
Last year, the channel’s staff called the axes a “bloodbath” after controversial cult late-night show Naked Attraction and groundbreaking Scotland-based medical documentary Rescue: Extreme Medics were canned.
The much-hyped return of reality series Four Weddings was also scrapped, although a team from an independent production company had been commissioned to make it.
Staff on permanent contracts to work on the show were immediately made redundant, leaving some worried about how they would pay rent – in stark contrast to channel boss Alex Mahon, who earned £1.2m in 2022.
Friday night favorite The Last Leg, one of the channel’s most popular shows presented by Adam Hills, Josh Widdicombe and Alex Brooker, also saw the run of its 28th series cut to save money.
Channel 4 ordered its lawyers to negotiate deals with production company bosses to get out of show contracts worth millions of pounds, meaning it has been left with expensive legal bills and exit fees.
The crisis comes after Mahon and his colleague Ian Katz rejected a government plan to privatize it, with one argument being that it funds independent production companies across the country.
A source told The Mail on Sunday that the channel believes it is better to cut losses.
But staff blame Katz for wasting money on expensive but little-watched shows such as reality series Rise And Fall, which is believed to have cost the channel £14 million – money that could not be justified due to its low ratings.
Channel 4 has axed a number of shows in recent months, including Steph’s Packed Lunch, after being hit by money problems.
One insider said: “Everyone is calling it a Channel 4 bloodbath.” At first, everyone was in complete shock when Four Weddings was cancelled.
“It’s almost unheard of for a show that’s doing very well to be dropped, but when the news started to spread, other shows were dropped as well.
‘They were told that Ian Katz had been watching all the channel’s production and they were sorry, but it had to happen because there was no money.
‘The casting team was already ready to start Naked Attraction and they told everyone that they were no longer needed because they weren’t doing another series.
“They tried to soften the blow to the show’s independent team by saying they hope to do another series in December, but that’s not helping them now.”
Last year, both Alex and Ian announced they had deferred receiving bonuses worth hundreds of thousands of pounds and ruled out a planned pay rise amid the crisis.
However, a Channel 4 employee said: “It’s only because they had to.”