Celebrity Big Brother is to be scrapped following accusations of racist bullying during the last series.
Channel 4 will turn its back on the reality show - and four other successful programmes - as it aims to concentrate on new, high-quality material.
However, industry insiders believe the decision not to run the celebrity show in 2008 may herald the beginning of the end for Big Brother.
Ratings for the current non-celebrity series are down on last year. And Channel 4 admitted yesterday that the summer version could be moved from Channel 4 to the smaller digital channel E4 in future.
Critics have accused Channel 4 of going downmarket in recent months, saying it has become over-reliant on reality, lifestyle and factual entertainment shows.
The broadcaster described its planned changes as a "creative overhaul". But the revamp is likely to cost it ratings and money.
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