BBC axes Total Wipeout

Richard Hammond's Saturday night TV series Total Wipeout is being axed.

The BBC1 show, which balances athletic ability and slapstick comedy, will be dropped after one last series.

Contestants are flown to Buenos Aires in Argentina to take part in a series of challenges including the "big red balls" during the qualifier round. The fastest round the final "wipeout zone" collects a £10,000 prize.

The most recent version of the show - which has been a hit around the world - saw it reinvented as Winter Wipeout.

It is understood the show has been dropped to free up cash for other programmes.

Viewers saw Eddie "The Eagle" Edwards triumph last weekend in a celebrity version of the contest, which is co-hosted by Amanda Byram.

The BBC said today: "After four very successful series of Total Wipeout and one series of Winter Wipeout, the BBC has taken the decision that the next series, due to transmit later this year, will be the last."

PA