Dr Who's new enemy: Star Wars!

The Saturday night ratings battle went intergalactic yesterday after ITV announced it was axing Celebrity Wrestling.

The broadcaster said it was pulling the show, featuring D-list celebrities such as Kate Lawler and James Hewitt, and replacing it with the original Star Wars trilogy to counter BBC1's allconquering Doctor Who.

The decision to scrap Celebrity Wrestling less than halfway into its eight-week run comes after ratings fell to 2.6million last Saturday - a 14 per cent share of the audience.

The show, which ITV hoped would be the lynchpin of its Saturday evening line-up, got off to a bad start three weeks ago with 3.8million viewers and has not improved.

It will be shown in its 6.30pm slot for the last time this Saturday.

Star Wars, The Return of the Jedi and the Empire Strikes Back became an international phenomenon when released in the 1970s and early 1980s and their popularity is no less today.

Director George Lucas has since made three prequels - The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, which will have its world premiere this weekend. The original Star Wars film, which starred Sir Alec Guinness and Harrison Ford, won six Oscars - including best soundtrack, costumes, and special effects.

Critics will be keen to see whether the new stars of Doctor Who, Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper, can withstand an onslaught from Star Wars, which has an enormous fan base.

Eccleston's debut as the Time Lord, with Miss Piper as his assistant Rose, was watched by 10.5million seven weeks ago. But he has decided not to appear in the next series.

David Tennant, who starred in the three-part BBC series Casanova, is waiting in the wings as the new Doctor Who.

The axing of Celebrity Wrestling is a blow to Nigel Pickard, the ITV director of programmes, who had based the spring and summer schedule on celebrity-themed reality shows including Hit Me Baby One More Time, Celebrities Under Pressure and Celebrity Love Island.