Axed TV show TFI FRIDAY returns on November 10 for its final series – and the Spice Girls are presenting the first show.
The show, which coincides with the week in which the band go head to head with Westlife in the albums chart, are taking over from Chris Evans, who’s stepped down from the show after five years of hilarious stunts and interviews. The plan is for different celebrities to host the final shows, something a TFI Friday spokeswoman says is “a tribute to the show that helped to launch many of their careers”.
Further celebrity hosts have yet to be announced, but it’s thought that the Spice Girls were particularly keen to get involved after having been featured on the show on various occasions since their first hit, ‘Wannabe’, in 1996.
At its peak, ‘TFI Friday’ was pulling in record audiences for Channel 4 and became an important marketing tool for bands hoping for a showcase in the week prior to a single’s release. Recent years, however, have seen Evans‘ vehicle lose momentum as he spends more time on his Virgin Radio show, and falling viewing figures prompted Channel 4 bosses to scrap the show after this series.