Kermode and Mayo’s Film Review to finish at the BBC

They have been broadcasting on 5 Live since 2001

(KELDA HOLE)

Simon Mayo and Mark Kermode have confirmed the end of their Film Review show at the BBC.

In a message posted on the show’s Twitter account, Mayo confirmed that their last show on BBC Radio 5 Live would be taking place on 1 April.

With his trademark humour, he said: “21 years is a long time to be clogging up the schedules. We – and no one else – have decided to step away, to withdraw, to spread our wings, to exit, pursued by a bear.”

Film critic Kermode also wrote a post of his own, likening the end of the show to the film This is Spinal Tap: “After 21 years (and as many drummers) the Flagship Film Show Wittertainment will make its final 5 Live voyage on April 1st. But like Tap, we’ll be back … Stay tuned. Long live Wittertainment!”

Since premiering in 2001, the radio show and its partnering podcast have been incredibly popular with viewers. In 2014, the podcast was the BBC’s fourth most downloaded show of the last decade with over 50 million listens.

Kermode and Mayo drew praise for their on-air chemistry, which has been likened to a “married couple”, and for their accessible but still rigorous approach to film criticism.

Kermode was also popular for his extended rants about films he disliked such as Sex and the City 2, Pirates of the Caribbean and the work of Michael Bay.