Channel 4 has axed Wife Swap and How Clean Is Your House? in a bid to shake up the channel.

Head of Channel 4 Julian Bellamy told The Guardian: “The decommission of Big Brother earlier this year has been the catalyst for a process of creative renewal right across Channel 4.

“When Wife Swap launched, it was a truly groundbreaking programme which heralded an era of new factual formats right across television.

“It was challenging, impactful and connected with a large mainstream audience. I am now looking to find new ways to challenge the mainstream through entertaining and provocative programmes.”

Bellamy added that the axing was a “creative decision on our part to make space for new ideas”.

I suppose that explains why ‘How Clean Is Your House’ star Kim Woodburn is appearing on I’m A Celebrity this month. She’s got to make her money somehow!

Big Ron Atkinson had a glittering 50 years in football from player to manager to commentator. But a racist remark five years ago cost him his job. Maggie, his wife of 27 years, tends to Ron’s every need. But romantic Ron showers her with gifts. Romance is something Olympic legend Tessa Sanderson yearns for. Tessa lives with former judo champ Densign White in East London. The first British black woman to bring gold home prides herself on being a black role model. What happens when Tessa and Maggie swap lives? How does Ron fare under new management?

Sunday 16 August 2009
8:00pm, Channel 4

Whilst filming for an upcoming episode of celebrity Wife Swap for Channel 4, 80’s pop star Sinitta gained ten pounds in weight due to the diet and lifestyle of Coronation Street actor, Bruce Jones.

As part of the show Sinitta had tro live with Bruce for a week, and he had her eating fish and chips and regularly hitting the pub.

“They are very different people and it wasn’t easy for her,” a source told the Sunday Mirror. “She told him to get a grip on his drinking. He is just like Les Battersby. He took her down the pub and had her eating fish and chips and drinking Guinness. Now she is on a strict detox diet.”

When Sinitta’s turn came to run the house though, the situation quickly changed….

“When it came to her turn, out came the juicer and the steamed veg,” the insider added.

The episode airs on March 23 at 8pm on Channel 4.

Reports have emerged today, suggesting that former Coronation Street actor, Bruce Jones and 80’s pop sensation Sinitta have become the latest celebs to sign up for Channel 4’s Wife Swap.

“Les Battersby and Sinitta may seem like a match made in hell but we reckon it will be telly heaven,” a source told The Daily Star.

“Bruce is keen to do this. He feels people need to see the real him. He is aware that plenty of people think of him as Les Battersby.”

Former page three girl Sam Fox has admitted to feeling broody after taking part in Channel 4 TV show, Wife Swap.

In the show Sam moves in with Comedian, Freedie Starr and helps to care for his baby daughter, Ebony and his two older step children. Her partner Myra lived with Freddie’s wife Donna.

Sam told The Sun: “I’ve always had a maternal instinct. It’s something I’ve always thought about, babies, and that I’d always want a baby.”

Sam admitted that she and her lover and manager Myra Stratton, 53, had been thinking about having children for a while.

She added: “It’ something Myra and I have spoken about, but as for when, and how, and if, it’s something really personal to us. But I know I’d make a good mummy.

“I was hoping to have that experience with the baby, I changed my first nappy and enjoyed my time with the baby.

“The best moments were being alone with her in the mornings before Freddie got up. I had so much fun it was amazing.

“It made me sad when I got her out of the cot and she was going ‘Mummy, mummy’ and really crying.

“I thought ‘I’m not her mummy’. Imagine how she must have felt. But I was as good a mummy as I could be, and gave her lots of kisses and cuddles.

“I love kids – my sister’s got three – but I was nervous about the responsibility of looking after a baby especially when I had to give her a bath as I was scared of hurting her.”

Sam’s mum Carole Fox added: “They’ve talked a lot about having children or adopting one maybe. But it could be difficult with Sam’s lifestyle as she works a lot. But I think they’ll make good parents.”

Celebrity Wife Swap, C4, Sunday, 8pm

Wife Swap , the BAFTA-award winning hit series, is back starting with a celebrity swap. Notorious comedian Freddie Starr and his wife and manager Donna swap places with Page 3 pin-up Sam Fox and her partner and manager of eight years, Myra Stratton.

Freddie Starr captivated the nation in the 70s and 80s with his zany humour. After becoming infamous for his hell-raising hamster eating exploits, Freddie has now settled down to a traditional life with his third wife Donna. While Freddie gigs, Donna is in control of the home and three children, sleeping for only a few hours each night as she tries to fit in her endless chores. Freddie firmly believes that the working man needs to be looked after, and his doting wife Donna is happy to oblige.

By contrast, Sam Fox and partner her Myra Stratton devote all of their time to each other, happy sharing both their work and home commitments. Sam has a rigorous exercise regime, focused on keeping her in the spotlight. Sam might be the star on stage but at home she is more likely to be found preparing a dinner party for friends, while Myra is busy managing the hectic international schedule of her other half. How will Sam cope left holding the baby while Freddie waits for his tea to be delivered to his armchair, and what will Donna think when she steps into Sam’s shoes, experiencing a life without children and chores?

Channel 4, Sunday 27 January 2008, 8PM

Jess and Lou Pearson-Faith are a lesbian couple from Essex. They live in a council flat with Jess’s three children from a previous marriage. With no full-time jobs, they are reliant on benefits.

Two hundred miles away in Cheshire, in the Berrisford household, Mandy looks after the house and kids, while dad Mick works over 70 hours a week on the farm. How will Mick react when he discovers that the Pearson-Faiths get more money through benefits than he earns? And how will Jess cope when she learns that Mick would rather disown his son than accept him if he came out as gay?

Sunday 7 October 2007
8:00pm, Channel 4

Channel 4 show Wife Swap is to ramp up the controversy by including their first ever gay couple.

The swap will take place between a homophobic farmer and his wife, and a lesbian couple.

A show source said: “The farmer is very prejudiced, and initially he’s horrified living with the lesbian.

“His wife is none too happy either. But it’s interesting to see what happens . . . it’s not what you’d expect.”

Should be good telly!

It’s the penultimate episode of the series and this week there’s an extraordinary swap between Melissa from Wiltshire and Noelie from Doncaster, where viewers will find out what happens when a Wife Swap goes wrong. Noelie Klineberg is the doting partner of millionaire Robin Goforth. They’ve been together for five years and they live on the outskirts of Doncaster with Nolie’s 17-year-old son Danny and Robin’s 16 year-old-son Adam. Appearances are important in the Klineberg household, and Noelie keeps the house and herself in perfect condition and is accustomed to a glamorous lifestyle. On top of all of that, Noelie also takes care of Robin’s every need from running his bath to ironing his boxer shorts, while Robin runs a string of businesses from petrol stations to used cars.

Melissa and Adam have been married for twelve years. They live in Wiltshire with their two children, eight-year-old Milly and Phoebe who’s ten. Six years ago the family gave up city life swapping it for a more idyllic way of living in the country and have turned their home into a shrine for green values. How will Noelie cope with a household where domestic cleaning products are banned, lunches are organic, and sparkly is only for special occasions? And how will Melissa cope with running bubble baths for Robin in a household where take-aways are the norm?

Come rule change, however the swap broke down and the couples went home. Even after that there was an extraordinary twist. The police got involved and the story made front page news.

Channel 4, Sunday 20 May 8PM

It’s a fiery swap as housewife Tina Griffiths from Basingstoke and Labour party councillor Julie Young from Colchester trade places for 10 days. Julie Young and her teetotal husband Tim are both Labour party councillors, which means politics is top of the family agenda. As a socialist couple they spend more of their time helping others than spending time with their family. Young family life is constantly interrupted by their constituents who need their help, which means the needs of 10-year-old Kier, 14-year-old Matilda and 16-year-old Harriet often end up coming second.

Housewife Tina Griffiths likes to look good. She spends money on designer gear, spends two hours a day at the gym and has four sunbed sessions a week. Tina, who likes to be seen driving her top-of-the-range sports car, is expected to do everything around the house, and look after the kids, while husband Dean spends his days at the golf club. The family – 10-year-old twins Paige and Kelly, and Tina’s sons from a previous relationship, Gareth, 17, and Craig, 15 – rarely come together in the family home. How does politician Julie cope with Dean, a father who spends more time playing golf than with his kids? And how does she react when the police turn up on her first night to talk to 17-year-old Gareth? How does Dean deal with his new role as “model father”? And how does Tina react to taking on the duties of a local politician, which include dealing with complaints about vandalism and yobbish behaviour?

Wife Swap: The Aftermath follows on E4, with Tina and Julie meeting again after watching the show go out.

Channel 4 13th May 8PM