Project Catwalk dropped from Sky1

Sky1 has axed the Kelly Osbourne-fronted fashion series Project Catwalk and said it wants new "female-friendly" shows to replace it.

Project Catwalk, which aims to discover new fashion designers, was based on the US format Project Runway, fronted by supermodel Heidi Klum.

The show, made by Elisabeth Murdoch's Shine independent production company, follows a group of fashion designers as they compete against each other to win the competition.

Project Catwalk launched in the UK in January 2006, with Elizabeth Hurley as host and designer Ben de Lisi as fashion mentor.

However, Hurley was replaced by Osbourne for the second run last year, with the third series airing in January this year.

A Sky1 spokesman confirmed the show would not return.
"Project Catwalk was a great addition to Sky1's schedule," he said. "Kelly Osbourne, Ben de Lisi and the team have provided a fantastic platform for genuine talent, introducing the rising stars of fashion to the UK.

"We felt the series had come to a natural end and we're now looking for some new female-skewed formats for the 8pm slot to complement our success in the 9pm and 10pm hours."

The Sky1 controller, Richard Woolf, added: "We have done three seasons of Project Catwalk. I want to find other shows that will go in that slot. 8pm is a real opportunity. What we really need are some more female-friendly formatted shows."

The show pulled in just over 110,000 viewers for its last series in January. Last year's second run averaged around 300,000 viewers.