VANESSA Feltz has spoken out for the first time since her eponymous Channel 5 talk show was axed earlier this week.
The broadcaster, 64, has been left from the channel after just one year on air – and a string of prank call incidents.
Vanessa Feltz has broken her silence after it was revealed earlier this week that her Channel 5 show has been axed after one year on air Credit: Channel 5
The presenter admitted on her LBC radio show that she was ‘shocked’ after being told the news on Wednesday Credit: Youtube/LBC
Speaking on her LBC show – which is on from 3pm until 6pm each weekend – on Saturday, Vanessa candidly admitted: “It was a bit of a shock.
“It was meant to be a delightful year’s contract, the show was going really well…
“I was shocked to the core and very upset and I still am. It was only Wednesday at 3 o’clock that I found out.”
Continuing that she didn’t think the decision was personal, Vanessa told her fans: “It apparently comes from Paramount, who bought Channel 5.
The star admitted that she didn’t think the decision was personal, but a business move Credit: Getty
Vanessa’s show had been hit by a wave of hoax callers during its one-year run Credit: Channel 5
“They want to show Paramount movies every afternoon at two. It doesn’t cost them any money because they already own them.
“I don’t think I really came into the equation at all.”
Earlier this week, A spokesperson told The Sun: “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 Channel 5 family and we are discussing future projects together.”
The programme – some of which impersonated murderers and dead celebrities.
In March of this year, The Sun revealed how seven prank calls had made it onto the air in a short space of time.
At the time, callers had impersonated the late as well as making a call littered with references to the case of convicted killer,
Virginia killed her parents in June 2019 by poisoning them. Her concoctions which led Virginia to batter and stab her to death.
She managed to keep their bodies hidden for four years until she was arrested in 2023.
The caller told Vanessa in a segment about following your dreams how his friend Virginia had been in an “abysmal” place financially – with the killer having had £60,000 in debt at the time of being captured.
They said this had forced her to move back in with her parents, Lois and John, before outlining that her ‘dream’ was to be a barista and she had been trying out her recipes on those closest to her.
Moreover, the caller made a chilling reference to ‘Virginia’ studying carpentry to build her own wardrobes – a direct connection to the real-life case in which Virginia stored her mother’s corpse in a wardrobe.
The caller later confirmed to The Sun that Virgina’s case was indeed the ‘inspiration’ for their ludicrous phone call.
Since our expose, the callers continued to manage to get on the air despite bosses’ best attempts to stop them.
Close to two fake calls a week have still made it to air – despite them becoming widespread knowledge and going viral on social media.
Bosses attempted to curb them by requiring that all calls came from landlines – but the dodgy callers were still able to slip through the net.
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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