...and Shopping With Keith Lemon returns too

ITV has renewed its commitment to Keith Lemon – ordering a 26th run of Celebrity Juice and a third series of his shopping show.

Rumours had swirled that his panel show might be facing the axe after ITV executive Paul Mortimer suggested the format gad become old-fashioned.

But the broadcaster has now ordered ten more episodes of the programme, which has been an ITV2 staple since 2008.

Laura Whitmore and Emily Atack will be returning as team captains, it has been confirmed – on the same day that it was also announced that Atack’s self-titled comedy show will be back for a third series.

In its heyday in the early 2010s,  Celebrity Juice was averaging 2.8million viewers an episode, but by last year this had slipped to 472,000. But ITV say the show was still ‘consistently ranked number one multichannel show in the slot for 16-34s’.

At the Edinburgh TV Festival, Mortimer said of all panel shows: ‘They are as old as television if you think about it, we reinvent them, from Shooting Stars through to Celebrity Juice, they're nothing like the panel show of old

’It's one of those where the host greets you, you know what you're going to get, you're introduced to this week's panel and at the end of the episode they wave goodbye and it's, "see you next week". That's old grammar, that's old language. It's not the way to talk to younger audiences.’

Meanwhile, Shopping With Keith Lemon, will be back with eight new half-hour episodes in which celebrities join the host as they hit the stores. ITV says the show offers a ‘fascinating insights into the lives of some of the most recognisable faces’. Previous guests have included Holly Willoughby. Gemma Collins and Jonathan Ross.

Announcing a raft of new commissions, which also includes the return of Celebrity Karaoke Club, Apocalypse Wow and Secret Crush,  ITV’s Mortimer  said: ‘Once again ITV2 viewers can look forward to an enticing line up of comedy and entertainment.

‘If it’s hilarity, absurdity and non-stop thrills and spills you’re looking for, our exciting schedule is the place to find it.’

Published: 2 Feb 2022