Bosses of Vanessa Feltz's Channel 5 show reportedly had to step in and offer an apology to a caller when the TV star wrongly assumed it was just one in a long line of pranksters09:20, 23 Jun 2026Updated 09:25, 23 Jun 2026Vanessa Feltz was reportedly told off by bosses of her Channel 5 show before she was told her show was being axed. The broadcaster, 64, had been heading up her eponymous programme since March 2025 when its cancellation was announced towards the end of last week.‌Despite the turbulent nature of daytime TV in recent times, Vanessa, who has made a career out of presenting programmes like The Big Breakfast, This Morning, as well as a host of radio shows, had not long signed a new contracted so presumed her job was safe.‌It all came after months of pranksters calling into the live segment of the show, infamously pretending to be EastEnders characters and attempting to unironically quote pop song lyrics, but it caused so much confusion in the end after Vanessa wrongly assumed that one genuine caller was fake. It's now been claimed that bosses of the programme had to step in amid the incident.‌A source said: "Vanessa had become so paranoid by prank calls that she kept cutting off real viewers thinking they were hoax callers. Channel 5 had to send flowers to one caller in particular who was telling a sad story and Vanessa insisted it wasn’t true and cut her off.Speaking to The Sun, the source added: "After signing a new one-year contract, Vanessa would have felt secure in her position at Channel 5. So news that the programme was to be axed completely blindsided her. She would love the opportunity to work on different shows with Channel 5 going forward."‌On her LBC radio show, the former Strictly Come Dancing contestant admitted that she had been left "shocked" by the decision. She said: "It was a bit of a shock. It was meant to be a delightful year’s contract, the show was going really well… I was shocked to the core and very upset and I still am. It was only Wednesday at 3 o’clock that I found out.”‌She added that she thought the decision came from Paramount, the parent company that owns Channel 5. She claimed: "They want to show Paramount movies every afternoon at two. It doesn't cost them any money because they already own them. I don't think I really came into the equation at all."At the time of the cancellation, a Channel 5 spokesperson told The Mirror : "Due to afternoon scheduling changes, ‘Vanessa’ will be rested from July 17th."We thank Vanessa and her team at ITN for 18 months of warm, witty, wise and searingly honest shows. Vanessa remains a valued member of the Channel 5 family and we are discussing future projects together.”‌Throughout its 18 month run, the chat show was plagued by prank calls and low viewer numbers. The nuisance calls included impersonations of Kim Woodburn and one that was full of references to the crimes of convicted killer Virginia McCullough.The fake calls became a regular on the show, reaching two a week, and often went viral on social media. Additionally, the show was said to attract an average of 500,000 viewers per show, which was much less than one of its key competitors, Loose Women. The ITV show is estimated to be bringing in 800,000 to 1 million viewers per episode.The Mirror has contacted representatives for comment.Article continues belowLike this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .