Reality shows are finished, says Five boss

The boss of Channel Five today declared "the death of reality shows" .

Controller Dan Chambers said he would commission no more programmes like The Farm or Back To Reality.

He pledged to fill the schedules with "home-grown drama, original comedy and polemical current affairs". He also hit out at Channel 4 bosses, whom he said are flogging the dead horse of Big Brother and ignoring their public-service obligations.

"I am not going to do another reality show," he said. "For me, the reality genre has been and gone."

Chambers, who helped launch Big Brother while at Channel 4, added: "I think Big Brother has peaked and it's on its way down. The more Channel 4 try to crank it up the more they erode their public service remit ... and I think it's getting exploitative of the people on it."

His dismissal of reality shows forms part of an effort to make Five more highbrow.

At a Broadcasting Press Guild lunch he unveiled plans for a "landmark" series about how the evolution of thought created civilisation. "It's going to be much brainier than anything Five has ever done," said Chambers.

He also has plans for Bermuda Triangle Live, a week of shows seeking the truth behind the legend.

And he hinted that Trisha will become a prime-time Saturday night series.