Lee Mack explains why his once popular BBC show with Holly Willoughby was cancelled

Lee Mack has revealed why his reality show with Holly Willoughby ended up being cancelled.

The comedian presented the show Freeze the Fear alongside the former This Morning presenter, which aired on BBC One.

But the programme ended up being scrapped after just one series.

The concept of Freeze the Fear was to take celebrities from across different industries, and plummet them into sub-zero temperatures to test their mental and physical strength - all under the mentorship of Dutch extreme athlete and motivational speaker, Wim Hof or 'The Iceman'.

Familiar faces we saw on the series included Strictly Come Dancing’s Dianne Buswell, former Manchester United player Patrice Evra, rapper Professor Green, and many more.

It was also a huge switch up for TV in the UK as it was the first time Willoughby had presented on the BBC after being exclusively with ITV since 2004.

BBC.

Sources claimed to The Sun: “Since 2004 Holly has almost exclusively worked for ITV as one of the channel’s most prized presenters.

“So it was a big deal in the industry that she was hopping over to the BBC and showed she had real confidence in Freeze the Fear being a big success."

However, they also claimed that there was 'no work done on a second series'.

A BBC spokesperson also revealed to The Sun at the time that 'there are no immediate plans for another series of Freeze the Fear on the BBC'.

Now Lee has spoken about why the show was cut short, saying: "Celebs in cold water did not make as exciting television as they thought."

The 55-year-old added: "I liked it.

"I was booked to be the cynical comic and Holly was already on board.”

LADbible has contacted the BBC for comment.

In December, Willoughby was announced to be returning as a co-host for Dancing on Ice alongside Stephen Mulhern.

Jed Cullen/Dave Benett/Getty Images

Last month, boxer Ricky Hatton punched Stephen in the arm during the opening show.

It all came about when Stephen was making fun of Ricky - joking that he was the new boss of the reality show.

Willoughby made a quip about Ricky 'knocking him out' which led to the world champion punching Stephen in the arm before he fell to the floor.

But while it was all a bit of lighthearted fun, Stephen has revealed he's actually still recovering from the blow.

Speaking to The Sun, Stephen explained that they'd come up with the skit during a rehearsal.

"I said to Ricky, do us a favour: Holly will say to you, 'just punch him Ricky', which she said off the cuff initially and I said 'we should do that live,'" he said.

"Obviously, I forgot he's a three time world champion boxer."