The BBC has axed three of its most famous shows in its attempt to make £500m in savings over the next two years.

The broadcaster has confirmed that Celebrity Mastermind, the Blankety Blank revival and Live at the Apollo have all been put to rest. The latter has been a BBC mainstay for 22 years.

“We are incredibly proud of all three of these much-loved shows and would like to thank everyone involved, both in front of and behind the camera, for bringing them to screen and making them such a success over many years,” the BBC said in a statement.

“Unfortunately, we have to make some really tough choices in light of our funding challenges, and these savings have been identified from the entertainment genre.”

Blankety Blank is historically one of Britain’s longest-running game shows, though this incarnation stems from 2021, when the BBC rebooted it with host Bradley Walsh.

Celebrity Mastermind has run for 24 series, having first been broadcast as a one-off special in 2002. Presented by Clive Myrie, it has one filmed series waiting in the wings for release.

Likewise, there is one – now final – series of Live at the Apollo ready for broadcast. Originally launched in 2004, the show sees comedians perform a stand-up set at London’s Hammersmith Apollo. It helped launch the careers of comedians including Jason Manford, Russell Howard and Michael McIntyre, and played host to established comedy veterans including Joan Rivers, Rob Brydon, Jo Brand and Julian Clary.

The BBC has come under pressure to make significant cuts in recent years, with the broadcaster reporting that its income from the £180 annual licence fee has fallen by a quarter over the past decade. In March, the corporation warned that its current funding model was “not sustainable and needs reform”, committing to exploring options around reforming the licence fee.

Last month, the BBC’s director-general Matt Brittin announced his intention for up to 2,000 jobs to be axed in a cost savings plan, with 550 of those jobs taken from BBC News, and TV and radio-related roles.

It was also confirmed that six shows would be cancelled on BBC Radio 4 – The World Tonight, The Midnight News, Money Box Live, AntiSocial, The Law Show, and Crossing Continents – and that BBC One will no longer broadcast a Sunday morning edition of BBC Breakfast.

The Today Programme on BBC Radio 4 will also have a roster of four permanent presenters, rather than the existing five. Meanwhile, only one anchor will present the format on Saturday.

Blankety Blank’s axing may have been unknowingly teased on Monday (27 July), when its presenter Bradley Walsh confirmed that he was not returning to the show – though, he claimed, because of his schedule.

“I just don’t have the time, which is sad because I’ve loved Blankety Blank,” he told Radio Times. “It’s been one of my favourite shows, and it’s been brilliant. It really makes me laugh. It’s the most fun you can have in the studio, and I just cannot at the moment work on it. I just have not got the time.

He continued: “I would normally go to [the] studio [in] October, but I’m all taken up in October and November, so I just haven’t time to do it. Maybe next year.”