Channel 5 quietly axe popular show after just one series – despite being branded the new Wife Swap

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CHANNEL 5 have quietly axed one of their reality TV shows after just one series.
The programme was launched to much fanfare and was tipped to be the modern-day equivalent of iconic hit Wife Swap but it has been revealed that it won't be back for a second series.
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Channel 5's Wife on Strike has been axed after just one series
Credit: Channel 5
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Wife on Strike featured plenty of fed-up wives quitting
Credit: Channel 5
Wife On Strike was first launched in November 2023 but as the series continued, ratings for the show began to dip and it soon fell below one million viewers.
Bosses decided to pull the series after just two episodes and instead re-launched the remaining episodes last July as Mums On Strike with a slightly re-tooled edit and premise.
However, insiders have now confirmed to the Mail Online that the show has been shelved despite the revamp.
A source told the publication: "Wife On Strike was reminiscent of the Wife Swap days when millions of nosey viewers would tune in for their reality fix.
"But it just failed to catch on with the audience and was underperforming in the highly competitive prime time slot where original dramas could easily pull in double the numbers.
"While the rest of the series eventually aired under a new name, a decision was made to quietly rest the show with no further episodes planned."
The Sun has reached out to Channel 5 for comment.
In the programme, it saw the wives of the household move out of the home and give up all household chores and jobs.
They left the family home leaving the rest of their family to pick up the pieces and undertake all the jobs normally left to them.
Wife On Strike bore striking similarities to popular Channel 4 show Wife Swap.
Axed Channel 5 show Mum On Strike returns to air in shock U-turn
The programme which featured two totally different wives swapping households to see how others approached family life was first launched in 2003 to huge appeal.
It produced many iconic moments and continued to run until 2009 when the format was axed.
It aired a total of eleven series across its six years on air.

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