A Sky comedy show featuring two huge comedians – Nish Kumar and Josh Widdicombe – has reportedly been axed after two seasons following low ratings

Josh and Nish
Sky’s Hold the Front Page has reportedly been axed

A huge Sky comedy show, featuring stars Nish Kumar and Josh Widdicombe, has reportedly been axed following low ratings.

Hold the Front Page, which began in 2022 and has two series saw the comedic duo leap into the unique and often sensational world of local news.

The pair were seen travelling across the UK working for a different newspaper each week, fulfilling a mission to find local stories strong enough to make the front page.

However, it looks like the pair failed to create a story engaging enough for viewers, as the show has reportedly been shelved, and won’t be coming back for a third season, The Sun reports.

Josh and Nish
The show has reportedly been axed following low ratings(Image: 2024 © CPL Productions/Sky UK\\Photographer: Lee Brown)

“The irony of the scenario is not lost on the creative team behind the show, because as a comedian involved in satire Josh is often making swipes at the media,” a source told the publication.

“But he got a taste of what its like to have to report on what’s going on and realised just what a tough job it can be – particularly when you have to start out in the local press.”

The Mirror has contacted Sky for comment.

Josh and Nish
The show has been axed after two series(Image: Sky UK Ltd)

Throughout their time filming for the show, the pair visited a number of cities to get the latest scoop. During the first episode, they headed to the Isle of Wight to work for the County Press, where they met Princess Anne.

During the same series, they also took a trip to Benidorm to lead the region’s weekly British newspaper, the Euro Weekly News.

Despite their best journalistic efforts, the duo failed to impress audiences, reportedly receiving low ratings as well as poor reviews for the show.

It’s not the only stroke of bad luck Josh has had on TV recently. At the end of last year, the star appeared on Saturday Kitchen where he narrowly avoided a painful experience. During the episode in November, Matt Tebbutt was busy whipping up fondue for the comic when Josh decided to get adventurous with the equipment.

He cheekily tested the cheese-melting burner, even after host Matt had cautiously used garlic to anoint the pot before setting it beside the roaring blue flame.

The comedian and Strictly Come Dancing Christmas 2024 star couldn’t resist placing his hand directly above the flame and immediately recoiled, letting out a scream, to which Matt quickly warned, “Yeah, yeah, watch your hand!”