Noel Edmonds’ game show Deal Or No Deal has been axed after more than a decade.

Channel 4 announced the studio version of the game show will finish after a final series in the autumn, but the presenter is to take it on atour of the UK’s famous landmarks later this year.

Edmonds denied that the show was ending and said the tour was “the beginning of an exciting new era for Deal”.



He told Press Association: “Jay Hunt [Channel 4’s chief creative officer] and I have been working on this for the last six months and now the logistics are virtually finalised we can start recording the shows in some extraordinary locations.”



The show has been filmed since 2005 in Bristol and Edmonds said he was excited about now “taking the show to the fans”.



He said: “We can go anywhere and this is something I’ve wanted to do for years. Twenty-two boxes, a phone and me. Where will we pop up next?”

Beginning in 2005, Edmonds has presented almost 3,000 episodes of the show and handed out £40m in prize money, although just eight people have walked away with the £250,000 jackpot.

Ratings for the show have declined in recent years, with it attracting an audience of about 300,000 viewers compared with more than 4 million at its peak a decade ago.

Last year, the show was moved from its previous slot of 3.30pm or 4pm to 1.10pm or 2pm.



Deal or No Deal was based on a Dutch format by Big Brother producer Endemol, which has been sold to more than 100 countries since its launch in 2000.

Edmonds will remain on Channel 4 screens with a new big-money studio game show in the pipeline and two pilots.

Cheap Cheap Cheap will see Edmonds challenge contestants to guess the lowest price of three items in his eclectic general store to win a huge pot of money.

The pilot for Noel Edmonds’ Sell Or Swap sees the presenter become auctioneer as contestants bid on items ranging from expensive antiques to a second-hand speed boat or a never-used wedding dress.

Edmonds will also host a pilot for a second studio-based Channel 4 game show.



Asked how he thinks viewers will react to his new ventures, he said: “Let’s wait and see. It’s early days and a lot of work has to take place before we go to air.



“Needless to say I’m hugely grateful to Jay Hunt and Channel 4 for this massive vote of confidence in my ability to create popular TV shows.”

Edmonds has had a TV career spanning more than four decades, originally beginning at the BBC. His hits at the corporation included Multi-Coloured Swap Shop and Telly Addicts, and he became most famous for Noel’s House Party, which ran for eight years and spawned the character Mr Blobby.



His outspoken views have sometimes landed him in controversy. In June, he became embroiled in a Twitter row over his claim that a small electronic box “tackles cancer”.

Edmonds tweeted that the “simple box” slowed ageing, reduced pain, lifted depression and stress, and even tackled cancer. “Yep tackles cancer!” he claimed.

A simple box that slows ageing, reduces pain, lifts depression and stress and tackles cancer . Yep tackles cancer! pic.twitter.com/krL9sXlpby — Noel Ernest Edmonds (@NoelEdmonds) June 7, 2016

After a Twitter user who said he has kidney cancer accused Edmonds of “quackery”, the presenter fired back that the man’s cancer might have been caused by his “negative attitude”.