EXCLUSIVE Controversial reality show inspired by Wife Swap AXED after disastrous ratings and failed rebrand
Channel 5 has cancelled one of its latest fly-on-the-wall reality programmes after just one series following disastrous ratings.
Bosses at the broadcaster - which rebranded itself as simply '5' earlier this year - have axed its Wife Swap-inspired show.
Originally called Wife On Strike, the format saw the spouse who carried out the most housework pack their bags and temporarily leave the family home.
While they were away, their remaining family members were tasked with picking up the slack to highlight the sheer amount of work the absent household member did for the clan.
Originally airing in November 2023, the show drew unfavourable ratings, dipping below the 9pm slot's average of 1million viewers.
Station bosses then pulled the programme after two episodes, with fans left in the dark about its future on air.
Originally called Wife On Strike, the format saw the spouse who carried out the most housework pack their bags and temporarily leave the family home
Last July the show made a comeback in a U-turn, though it was rebranded as 'Mums On Strike' in a bid to reinvent the format.
An insider told MailOnline: 'Wife On Strike was reminiscent of the Wife Swap days when millions of nosey viewers would tune in for their reality fix.
'But it just failed to catch on with the audience and was underperforming in the highly competitive prime time slot where original dramas could easily pull in double the numbers.
'While the rest of the series eventually aired under a new name, a decision was made to quietly rest the show with no further episodes planned.'
MailOnline has contacted Channel 5 for comment.
Bosses previously backed the programme when it was yanked from screens, with a spokesperson telling The Sun: 'We are fully invested in the series and intend to relaunch with more new episodes in 2024.'
Laura Ben Salem, 39, from Greenwich, South East London, was one fed up wife who was cast for the series.
During her episode, the mother-of-five explained how she's left doing most, if not all, the chores when she wakes up at 4:30am each day. She then drops her children at school before picking up her husband Wassim, who has just worked in the city.
During her episode, the mother-of-five explained how she's left doing most, if not all, the chores when she wakes up at 4.30am each day. She then drops her children at school before picking up her husband Wassim (pictured), who has just worked in the city
She described how her partner likes to sleep after his day of work, while Wassim admitted in his family growing up, the mother was left to look after the household while the husband provided for the family via his job.
'Enough is enough,' Laura told the cameras. 'I'm not going to keep tidying up after them. It's not even just physically, it's mentally draining. I'm non stop.
'Mum this, Mum that, Laura this, Laura this, Laura here, Laura here. And I say it all the time, 'that's it I'm going, I've had enough'.
''Oh yeah, where you going to go' and before I'm even finished of having this little paddy, they're all standing at my car, waiting for me.'
The original Wife Swap format ran for 11 series on Channel 4, airing from 2003 until its cancellation in 2009.
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