Four beloved BBC shows axed from screens amid schedule shake-up

Four beloved BBC shows are set to be taken off air in a huge TV schedule shake-up. With Wimbledon kicking off on Monday, 1 July, the broadcaster has had to make room in its schedule for daily coverage of the tournament.

Extended coverage of Wimbledon will be fronted by Clare Balding, 53, across BBC One and BBC Two. The likes of Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz will compete in the highly anticipated tennis tournament this year.

For two weeks, coverage will air from around 2pm all the way until BBC News at Six begins on BBC One. Over on BBC Two, usual programming will be halted from 1pm until 10pm to make way for Wimbledon coverage, which includes hit magazine programme Today At Wimbledon.

Commentators for this year's tournament include Annabel Croft, Martina Navratilova, Billie Jean King and Tim Henman. The likes of Andrew Castle, Joanna Konta and Nick Kyrgios will feature.

To make way for the BBC's extended coverage of Wimbledon, four TV shows have been taken off air. The titles impacted are Rip Off Britain, The One Show, Escape To The Country and Animal Park.

Rip Off Britain, hosted by Angela Rippon, Gloria Hunniford and Julia Somerville, usually airs at 2pm on BBC One, but will be axed while Wimbledon takes play. It tends to be followed by Animal Park at 2.30pm, hosted by Ben Fogle and Kate Humble.

Animal Park, which looks at Longleat Estate and Safari Park in Wiltshire, won't be airing in its usual slot, neither will Escape To The Country, which usually follows at 3pm. The shows will be off-air or broadcast at alternative times to make way for tennis coverage.

Elsewhere, The One Show will lose its usual 7pm slot on BBC One. The hit evening show won't be airing again until Monday, 8 July at 7pm, but will be on BBC Two instead of the broadcaster's main flagship channel.

As well as Wimbledon coverage, the BBC has also had to make way for coverage of the general election, which will take place on Thursday, 4 July. Live coverage will kick off at 9.55pm as the votes are counted through the night, and wrap up at 1.50pm on Friday (5 July) afternoon.

However, soap fans won't be losing their EastEnders fix despite the disruption to the BBC schedule. The hit soap will be moving to BBC Two, with episodes available to watch at 6am on iPlayer Monday - Thursday.