ITV refutes 'Millionaire' axe claims

ITV has denied reports that long-running quiz show Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? is to be axed.

Speaking to The Sun today, host Chris Tarrant suggested that the broadcaster may "play about" with the show as it prepares to enter its tenth year on the air.

"We might move it off Saturday nights," he speculated, "or it might be a good place to stop."

When the programme launched in 1998, it was stripped for periods of up to two weeks at a time, where it drew as many as 13 million viewers. In recent years it settled into a regular slot on Saturday evenings, averaging less than half of that audience. One episode last month registered just 3.1 million viewers.

Elsewhere, Tarrant has signed up to present a new daytime quiz for ITV alongside his Millionaire duties.