The show has been a regular feature of Saturday evenings for the past eight years but BBC One controller Peter Salmon said it was time to "move on".

Noel's House Party ratings fell to an all-time low at the weekend when it dipped below six million viewers for the first time.

A BBC spokeswoman said: "This isn't about ratings - it's about moving forward with fresh ideas and a fresh format."

"It's a totally, genuinely joint mutual decision by the BBC and Noel that they want to try something different."

The last show will be broadcast on 20 March.

It is the second long-running show presented by Edmonds which has fallen out of favour recently.

Last year the early evening TV quiz Telly Addicts was axed and then later revamped by Edmonds' company, Unique Television, for a daytime audience.

Edmonds is currently working on plans for a new Saturday evening primetime show which is expected to be aired early in the year 2000.