The sun has truly set on Survival of the Fittest, with ITV2 axing the reality show after one series.
Hosted by Laura Whitmore and shot in South Africa, the “winter Love Island” saw teams of boys and girls battling against each other in a luxury lodge over three weeks for a cash prize.
The show failed to grab the viewing figures of its stablemate Love Island, debuting with overnight ratings of 0.59 million, which had dipped to 0.30 million by its penultimate week. Overall, the show just didn't capture the zeitgeist of the nation in quite the same way Love Island did this summer.
However, viewing figures may not have influenced the decision to cancel the show too heavily, with a source telling RadioTimes.com: “Some have suggested it is down to low ratings which absolutely isn’t the case."
It’s worth noting that Love Island didn’t hit its stride until 2017 and its third season. There’s a chance – however small – that Survival of the Fittest could have grown into a reality behemoth.
In a statement to RadioTimes.com, ITV said: “There are no current plans for a further series of Survival of The Fittest. It was an ambitious and brilliantly produced show and we'd like to thank Laura, Brennan [Reece, narrator] and all the team who worked on it.”
Fortunately, Love Island will be back for another series, with applications already open for the show's fifth run. So what are you waiting for? Get grafting!
Love Island will return summer 2019
