EVERYBODY Dance Now has been axed from Channel 10's schedule, crippled by dismal ratings and the network's desperation for a hit.

Despite efforts to rehabilitate the ailing show, hosted by Sarah Murdoch, the program will be replaced from this Sunday by a repeat of The Simpsons, two episodes of Modern Family and British chat show Graham Norton Express.

Ten's CEO James Warburton said: "As part of the renewal of Network Ten's creative content, we are trying new formats and creating more programming options. Unfortunately, we didn't get the Everybody Dance Now format right.

"Kelly, Jason and Sarah are fantastic presenters. Their professionalism and commitment to Everybody Dance Now was remarkable, and the many talented dancers on the show were amazing. Although we worked with FremantleMedia to reset the program, clearly it has not struck a chord with viewers.''

The decision was forced after Dance's terminal ratings decline - launching poorly to a national audience of 598,000 viewers, which fell by half to 304,000 the next episode.

Even after surgery - trimmed to a one-hour, one-night format on Sunday - it stumbled to just 385,000 viewers this weekend, beaten badly by strong competition from Nine and Seven.









Originally published as Everybody Dance Now gets the chop