BBC cans Country, Puppet Game Show

The BBC has cancelled two Saturday primetime formats – Talpa Media entertainment series I Love My Country and The Jim Henson Company’s That Puppet Game Show.

The UK pubcaster commissioned an 8×50′ run of I Love My Country earlier this year, the final episode of which ended in September.

The show saw two teams of well-known British faces from the areas of sport, entertainment and music compete to see who knows the most about the UK.

It was the second Talpa format after The Voice to air on the BBC, which has a two-year development in place with the Dutch producer.

The format joins That Puppet Game Show as the latest Saturday night primetime series to be cancelled by the BBC, with the latter, coproduced with The Jim Henson Company, also axed due to poor ratings.

“Whilst we are proud of both shows and grateful to the teams involved, they didn’t find the audience we hoped for and so we have to make choices to bring new shows through,” a BBC spokeswoman said.

Meanwhile, BBC Worldwide (BBCWW) will continue to seek international buyers for the format.

Commissioned earlier this year, the format pits two celebrities against each other in a mix of mental and physical games overseen by puppet hosts.

“BBCWW launched the format to international buyers only two weeks ago at Mipcom and we continue to discuss with interested parties,” a BBC spokeswoman told C21.