ITV's popular reality game show, The Fortune Hotel, is reportedly at risk of being cancelled after just two series, with its substantial production costs cited as the primary reason.
A Costly Caribbean Venture
Hosted by comedian Stephen Mangan, the programme first aired last year, captivating audiences with its unique format. Ten pairs of contestants stayed on the stunning Caribbean island of Grenada, each given a briefcase. The twist was that only one contained a massive £250,000 jackpot, while eight were empty and one held an early check-out card.
Throughout the series, contestants participated in various challenges, swapping briefcases in a bid to locate the prize money. The inaugural series was won by the duo Jo-Anne and Will, while the second series, which aired in August this year, was claimed by Nell and Tope.
The Financial Reality Behind the Fun
Despite its appeal, the show's future is now in doubt. A TV insider revealed to The Sun that the huge sum of money involved in production makes a third series unlikely without inventive new funding.
"When you're paying millions to launch a programme, it really needs to get the viewing figures to get any kind of return on the investment," the source said. "Though it got a decent following, they just couldn't justify shelling out so much moving forward. The jackpot alone was eye-watering."
An ITV spokeswoman confirmed that another series has not been confirmed, stating that "talks are still underway regarding the show's future."
Popularity vs. Price Tag
The show's potential cancellation comes despite solid performance on ITV's streaming platform. Both previous series are available on ITVX, where the show regularly ranked among the top ten shows. The second series alone garnered an impressive 4.4 million streams as part of ITV's biggest-ever August.
Host Stephen Mangan also previously hinted at the challenges of the role, telling Metro: "It's a really difficult game... It's really difficult to brutally pull the plug on another pair and send them home, but you have to do it."
For now, fans can still catch both series of the addictive gameshow on ITVX, but its long-term fate remains uncertain.
