The BBC has pulled the plug on its Saturday night flagship light entertainment show Noel's House Party - just 24 hours before it was due to be screened.

But neither the corporation nor star Noel Edmonds have been prepared to explain why the top-rated programme had been so suddenly cancelled.

Noel Edmonds has not been sacked says a friend

The BBC would only say it was "due to unforeseen circumstances beyond our control".

Mr Edmonds was not available for comment. Inquiries were referred back to the BBC.

Radio 1's entertainment reporter Robert Nesbit sheds some light on the mystery (1' 24")

The live show is produced in front of an audience at the BBC Television Centre in London, with guests arriving on the set of Crinkley Bottom.

The BBC will repeat The Best of Noel's House Party instead. Edmonds owns the format of the programme and is said to have full control. In November, he stepped in to replace the producer.

He was quoted as saying: "By my standards, the show was not as good as it should have been."

A source close to the entertainer said tonight: "Noel is fine - he has not been sacked."

Mr Edmonds, a millionaire businessman, is one of the BBC's most popular personalities and figured heavily in its Christmas schedule.
 

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