BB9 Luke: 'Davina can't be replaced'

Big Brother 9's Luke Marsden has claimed that Davina McCall is an irreplaceable part of the show's format.

The reality TV contestant said that if another broadcaster picks up the Endemol show, it would be a worng move to get rid of the regular host.

"Davina is an integral part of the show and I don't think there would be Big Brother without her," he told DS. "I would be very interested to see how bad the ratings would be without her as the host. I think she's brilliant. God, if Davina left, I think they would have extreme difficulty in replacing her."

Yesterday, Channel 4 confirmed speculation that the 2010 run of Big Brother will be its final series with the broadcaster.

Speaking about the prospect of watching the show on another channel, Marsden said: "I just can't imagine Davina saying, 'Hi, Big Brother house, you're live on Sky1!' It would be a bit odd.

"I think if the show went on Sky1 or someone like that, they would reformat the whole show and probably get rid of Davina and not have Marcus Bentley as a narrator. I'd like to think that wouldn't happen, because I think then it would lose even more fans."

Marsden also argued that the show's demise was "inevitable" following a slip in ratings over recent years.

"I think everyone is going to say the same thing. That it's sad, that it's a travesty, but it was always inevitable," he said. "You can't keep putting money into it when the ratings are abysmal. But it is a shame and it's a sad day in British reality TV history."