Vanessa Feltz ‘very upset’ after being dealt career blow as she admits ‘it was a shock’

Television star Vanessa Feltz broke her silence as she presented her programme on LBC

Vanessa Feltz has broken her silence after it was announced that her Channel 5 programme is being “rested”.

The news about her self-titled show Vanessa – which she had been presenting since March last year – came earlier this week.

The star has now addressed the decision while speaking on her LBC programme, admitting that she was “shocked” by the move.

She told her listeners: “It was a bit of a shock. It was meant to be a delightful year’s contract, the show was going really well… I was shocked to the core and very upset and I still am.”

The chat show saw Vanessa in conversation with studio guests and members of the public, who called in to the show to share their stories on whatever was being discussed.

However, during its time on air the programme did receive some calls from hoaxers, some of whom posed as characters from EastEnders and recounted plotlines from the BBC soap.

Confirming that the programme was being dropped, a 5 spokesperson said: “Due to afternoon scheduling changes, Vanessa will be rested from July 17th. We thank Vanessa and her team at ITN for 18 months of warm, witty, wise and searingly honest shows.”

“Vanessa remains a valued member of the 5 family and we are discussing future projects together,” they went on.

Vanessa’s television chat show was first broadcast from 1994 to 1998 on ITV, before it was succeeded by Trisha.

She went on to several other projects, working on shows such as Channel 4’s The Big Breakfast, BBC Radio 2, This Morning. Then last year she revived her chat show on Channel 5, and it has been airing for an hour on weekdays.

However, after it was rebooted the programme went through some changes – it underwent three redesigns, which affected both the studio and the branding. It was thought that this was a bid to attract more viewers.

As well as her presenting work, Vanessa is known for her appearances on reality TV programmes. She has taken part in series such as Strictly Come Dancing, Celebs Go Dating and Celebrity Big Brother.

Vanessa aired on Channel 5.