Ant And Dec Face Their First TV Flop, As Simon Cowell's 'Red Or Black' Faces TV Axe After Ratings Plummet

Ant And Dec's First Flop? Red Or Black Faces Axe

Ant and Dec have had the Midas telly touch - until now.

The popular pair may be facing their first flop, with reports that their Saturday night quiz show Red or Black is facing the axe after its second series failed to pull in the viewers.

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Ant and Dec in front of the camera, Simon Cowell behind it - what could possibly go wrong?

Even with the winning combination of Ant and Dec out front, and producer Simon Cowell steering the ship, the Daily Mail reports that insufficient viewers are tuning in to watch contestants earn the million-pound prize money to justify the huge costs of putting on such a show. Read more here...

The Wonga sponsorship deal didn't do them any favours either, with critics pointing out the inappropriateness of a financial loan company criticised for its debt collection practices putting up the cash for this game of luck, fronted by a pair of young millionaires. Read more on the Twitter backlash and Ant and Dec's reaction here...

This will come as a shock for the jaunty duo, who have managed, over the last decade, to attach themselves without fail to the show du jour, the success of each has been in no small part to their cheeky, charming double act.

When Susan Boyle wowed judges and viewers on Britain's Got Talent, it was Ant and Dec holding her hand, and telling the amazed crowd, "You weren't expecting that, were you?"

And they've adapted their success to the demands of the jungle, helping shocked contestants through ten series of bushtucker trials, and sleeping with the animals on I'm A Celeb...

Their steady hand on the tiller of such primetime entertainment has brought the lads healthy bank balances and a clutch of National TV Awards, voted Best Entertainment Presenters a staggering eleven years in a row.

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Ant and Dec are used to the taste of success - here on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here

But in television, as in many walks of life, it seems nobody knows nothing - sometimes not even the entertainment alchemist Simon Cowell, and this shoo-in of a primetime success seems to be going the way of 3-2-1 and Celebrity Squares.

Cowell has got enough to keep him busy - rescuing X Factor, and launching his new food programme.

But it looks as though Ant and Dec will have to head back to the drawing board to find another way to get them back on their Saturday night primetime TV thrones.