Cilla Black looks set to lose her throne as the queen of ITV entertainment after it emerged the broadcaster had approached a rival presenter to host Blind Date, the show she has fronted for 18 years.
ITV bosses have secretly talked to daytime presenter Trisha Goddard about possibly replacing Cilla in the long term.
It is not clear who approached Goddard - LWT bosses insisted they had not had the discussion - but the daytime host told a Daily Mail reporter at the TV Quick awards on Tuesday night that it was one of the shows that had been mentioned during talks about her new prime time career.
But Goddard, who fronts successful ITV1 morning talk show Trisha, said she did not intend to accept the lucrative offer to replace Cilla on Blind Date.
"It's a poisoned chalice because everyone sees it as Cilla's show and she'd be a very hard act to follow," Goddard said.
"I've got two children so I wouldn't want to give up that much time, whatever the money. I've been without money and survived but I wouldn't without my sanity," she added.
"I have my own ideas for a prime time show anyway, involving mental health issues."
Cilla has been the queen of Saturday night entertainment for almost two decades. ITV bosses have already admitted the Blind Date format is tired and are radically revamping the show in advance of its return later in the autumn.
The Liverpudlian presenter remains firmly at the helm for this series but today's reports about Goddard have prompted immediate speculation that Cilla may be moved from the show when her current contract expires.
Blind Date launched in 1984 to mixed reviews but went on to become one of the most successful UK entertainment series of all time. In 1991 it pulled in audiences of almost 17 million.
But Saturday night TV, once an assured viewing slot, has undergone enormous upheaval in the past five years.
Last year Cilla had to intervene personally to move her other show, Moment Of Truth, out of the deadend 6pm slot.
Moment Of Truth had been moved from its 7pm slot to make way for football show The Premiership and its audiences dwindled to 4.4 million.
Within months ITV bosses had to admit defeat and move the football highlights programme back to 10.30pm.
At the same time Cilla revealed she had personally phoned the Granada chairman, Charles Allen, to beg him to intervene.
"The project was wrong for that time in the evening. Mother's there and the kids are there and they want light entertainment. Football is not light entertaiment," she said.
The revamped Blind Date has new music, new opening titles and a new set but will be without veteran announcer Graham Skidmore, who has been axed.
There will also be a much harder edge to the encounters between the contestants.
People choosing partners for their dates can now reject their first choice and the audience will be given the chance to vote on whether the participants should "ditch" or "date" a contestant.
A spokeswoman for LWT, which makes Blind Date, insisted Cilla was safe.
"Cilla Black is ITV's premier female artist, Cilla is the queen of Blind Date on Saturday night," she said.
However, she added she was "unaware" of the reported approach to Goddard.
"There is only one Cilla and she is Blind Date," the spokeswoman added.
