Less reality TV pledged

Joe Millionaire was a big hit for Fox

US television network Fox has said it will show more original programmes and less reality TV over the summer.

Fox is the home of reality series such as Joe Millionaire, Paradise Hotel and Temptation Island.

Sandy Grushow, chairman of Fox Television, told television critics on Thursday, that networks should use the summer for original programming rather than repeats.

Asked about the networks raft of reality TV shows, he replied: "I think there is a limit to how many of them we can do."

Big Brother reaches the fourth series

"As an industry we've got to be moving to strike a better balance in the summer between scripted and unscripted programming," he said.

The success of programmes like Survivor, American Idol and Joe Millionaire, with their emphasis on ordinary people, has led to a glut of reality TV shows in the US.

But despite Fox's pledge, there appears to be no let up in the genre from other networks.

Survivor has reached its fifth series in the US, while Big Brother is on its fourth incarnation on CBS.