The Paul O'Grady Show - axed

Digital Spy has a different take on this: it's not due to a pay cut for Paul specifically, but a budget cut apparently.

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/a174926/ogrady-threatens-to-leave-channel-4.html


So much for personal greed.

As much as I understand Paul's decision, the fact that Sky1 isn't on Freeview will signify the death of the show.

It's not that simple. A-list guests are seldom paid significant amounts, if anything, for chat show appearances, with a few exceptions. They usually surface when they have a new album/single/movie/play/tv series to plug, and agree to appear for promotional purposes.

However, most A-listers usually only appear on shows with good reputations, and these are usually those with decent production values, and presenters. They don't HAVE to be expensive, but are seldom the cheapest either.

The One Show gets a pretty high standard of guest - but then it is the highest-rated daily or weekly show that celebs can appear on on TV in the UK at the moment. (Ratings count in a promotional context...)

I don't think it is that simple. If you have regularly earned £300k p.a. you will live to those means. If you have a mortgage and other outgoings based on that income, taking a paycut to £210k p.a. could mean selling your house to downsize, changing your investment portfolio etc. Sure those kind of figures are huge, and you can obviously cover your basic living expenses with a tiny percentage of that kind of income, however that doesn't mean you can simply accept such a pay cut. If you think moving elsewhere will allow you to continue earning at the same level, then you will.

If - as appears to be the case on the reports so far - it isn't about personal earnings but about the fees paid to the production company then that is more complicated.

Paul will have two income streams - his performance fees and also as he owns the production company he will have an income from any profit made by it. This is where talent-run independents become more complex...

O'Grady has a large-ish production budget at the moment - it uses a large studio with an audience, and has a pretty solid daily budget for studio production. That's great - it gives it the look the audience is used to. You could massively reduce the budget - but it would change the programme significantly - and at that point Paul may not want to make that different kind of show.

This isn't good news for Channel 4 as it is yet another one of their flagship shows being axed, as Paul says all they will be left with is "four people eating a lousy dinner" at this rate!

Moving to Sky One isn't good for Paul though as he will get low ratings and won't be able to attract decent guests. He'd be better moving back to ITV or moving to Five, but would either of those broadcasters be able to match his current budget?

Maybe it isn't that simple, I wouldn't know, because I've not come close to earning £300k/year However I believe if you are truly "living within in your means", you take such things in to account (the proverbial "[saving for a] rainy day") and not take things for granted. Credit to Paul he doesn't take things for granted, and today he emphasised in the Daily Mirror that he'd be happy to take a personal pay-cut. I think it's a shame other high-earners aren't as sensible or down-to-earth, and appear to have more money then sense-- but so it goes.

However I do accept the argument that if you think moving elsewhere keeps you at same level of living, then you do would do so-- that's reasonable enough. Somebody of Paul O'Grady's stature and popularity can afford to call the shots, but is everyone that fortunate?

In any event (according the Daily Mirror article), Paul has rightly thought more about the effect on the show's quality and jobs for its staff, if a 50% budget cut were to be implemented: I think they are the real losers of such of cuts, not so much highly-paid stars who can bank up tidy cash-reserves for themselves.

And here is said link!
http://www.mirror.co.uk/celebs/news/2009/09/01/paul-o-grady-threatens-to-quit-channel-4-after-bosses-attempt-to-halve-his-show-s-budget-115875-21638761/

IF he does go back to ITV, People in scotland will never seen him!

That does seem to be the real story, and was reported earlier in the year by either The Mirror or The Sun. £2m budget doesn't sound right though - back then I'm sure they said it was £14m a year, which works out around £115,000 per show, which seems more likely. I guess the £2m was Paul's own salary.

"Imagine it – there’d be no guests. Certainly, we wouldn’t be able to send our mums to Dallas to do a marathon, or take the little lad who has never been out of Peckham to Tibet" says the out-spoken scouser

Those features are throw-away rubbish anyway and wouldn't be missed. Nobody tunes in for the recorded VTs

They'd do better just bringing back the organ game, which they'd be able to do if they weren't on Channel 4 (Nobody else has a blanket competitions ban do they?)

I don't think so, and it's high time C4 scrapped theirs. Yes, ensure everything is above board but scrapping them completely benefits nobody, and indeed with some shows they do actually add to it, certainly Deal or No Deal and Paul O'Grady, though preferbly not The Organ Game, which should have been dropped with the move to C4 IMO in favour of a new competition.

it was about tyme C4 scrapped Paul O'Grady, the format was getting old and tireless, and you could always predict guests appearing.........lyk Cilla Black must appear in every series. Now, I have nothing against Cilla, but, Paul couldn't reali be at his best at teatime.

I think C4 should just bring back Des & Mel or go with their idea of a teatime show with Fiona Phillips

No. C4 doesn't need to go down the cheesy ITV route...although becoming evident in the last few series' of Paul's show.