Graham Norton's ITV show The Neighbourhood has been pulled from its regular primetime slot and moved to a later time after failing to attract viewers. The reality competition first aired on April 24 at 9pm, sandwiched between the two-part finale of I'm a Celebrity... South Africa. Since then, it has continued to air on Thursdays and Fridays at 9pm but managed to draw only half a million viewers. After the second week, all episodes were made available on ITVX.
This week, ITV confirmed a schedule change: starting now, The Neighbourhood will air at 10.45pm. The move out of primetime suggests the programme did not meet expectations in terms of audience numbers. On Thursday (May 7), ITV will instead broadcast a repeat of Davina McCall's Long Lost Family at 9pm, and on Friday (May 8), a 2021 episode of Beat The Chasers: Celebrity Special will occupy the 9pm slot.
An ITV spokesperson said: "The full box set of The Neighbourhood is now available to stream on ITVX. Additionally, the show will continue to air in an evening slot on ITV." Despite the low ratings, Norton praised the programme, highlighting heartwarming moments. "One of the loveliest things about the show is seeing households who would never meet in real life, not only meeting but forming proper bonds of friendship," he said. "There are a few moments in the show that really do bring a tear to my eye because it's just so genuine, so lovely and properly heartwarming."
