Liz Hurley

Channel 4 is reportedly gearing up to axe The Inheritance, which was fronted by Liz Hurley and Rob Rinder and saw 13 players attempt to win money from a will, after just one series

Elizabeth Hurley‘s reality show could be about to be axed after just one series. The Hollywood star, 60, teamed up with Good Morning Britain presenter Rob Rinder to front the game show, which aired on Channel 4 earlier this year.

The Bedazzled actress played the The Deceased, with Rob working as The Executor, and 13 contestants battled it out in a series of challenges to unlock money from the will as they try to convince each other that only they should be trusted with the money pot. Whilst no official decision has bene made on the programme’s future, insiders have claimed that it is not expected to come back for a second run of episodes.

A source told The Sun: “The Inheritance has been widely viewed as a flop, despite all the publicity and having a big star at its heart.

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“Channel 4 maintains no decision has been made on its future, but many people involved in the debut series are working on the basis that it isn’t returning. Of course there may be some huge changes of mind and the show enjoys a stay of execution, but all the signs are that this is another expensive flop and they’re likely to quit while they’re behind.”

The Mirror has contacted Channel 4 representatives for comment.

The first episode of The Inheritance pulled in just half a million viewers, although this grew once catch up figures were taken into account. However, over the course of two weeks, overall, the programme averaged just 1.5 million. In the end, it was 28-year-old Yorkshire scaffolder Cam who emerged victorious, winning the vote amongst his fellow finalists to be the ultimate Prime Beneficiary, receiving a whopping £100,000 fortune from The Deceased’s estate.

Cam then had the option of keeping the prize money to himself, which would add to the already huge £10,000 he had accumulated throughout the game. However, in a nail biting final decision, he chose to share his winnings with Emma, Hafsah, Hannah and Jesse, who each took home £20,000 each, along with what they had already banked throughout.

In total, Cam walked away with £30,000 with the rest of the finalists trailing closely behind. Hannah and Jesse received £28,200 each Hafsah taking home £27,700 and paramedic Emma walking away with a modest £23,800.

During the tense moment, host Rob Rinder was seen standing with the finalists during the tense moment, as he revealed that Cam had chosen to split the money with all four players. “You arrived at the final at the final stages of this game together, and you now leave with an equal slice of the inheritance,” Rob announced, as the contestants broke down in tears.

“You arrived at the final at the final stages of this game together, and you now leave with an equal slice of the inheritance,” Rob announced, as the contestants broke down in tears.

“The inheritance is now concluded, please collect your money from the safe boxes and leave the estate immediately,” he concluded.

While the players were left shocked at Cam’s generous decision, it was a no brainer for him, as he announced: “I’ve had debt hanging over my head for years, I can’t describe the feeling of a fresh start.

“My dad taught me integrity and in that strong room it is literally a battle between your head and your heart. To be able to change the lives of four other people too, I am so happy and proud.” Of course, he’s only human, and he did have second thoughts when the money was right in front of his eyes.

“We all spoke about it in the final division ceremony, dividing all the money up, and I think it’s easy to say you would,” he said. “However, when you get down into that room, and you’ve got a hundred thousand pounds in front of your face, you start thinking about everything back at home and how much it could change your life.

“It really is a tough decision but at the end of the day I’m a team player, and I’m just so happy that I did make the decision I made.”

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Sharing the spotlight with Robert Rinder, Liz Hurley stars in The Inheritance as The Deceased – an eccentric winemaker. But she admits she isn’t the biggest fan of alcohol.

Liz Hurley recently opened up about her relationship with alcohol – and it may be the secret to her ageless appearance.

Her admirers may be surprised but Liz Hurley is a Traitors superfan. So, when the chance came to star alongside Robert Rinder in C4’s The Inheritance, she didn’t hesitate.

In the new reality game show, Liz plays The Deceased, a glamorous winemaker with a lavish estate. Barrister and broadcaster Robert portrays The Executor in the show and ensures the stipulations of The Deceased’s will are followed to the letter.

“I really enjoyed The Traitors and loved the idea of being part of a show in which audiences were really invested,” Liz says, “I thought Robert Rinder and I would be a good combination.”

Though she wouldn’t mind following in the footsteps of celebrity vintners like Kylie Minogue and Brad Pitt, Liz has her own spin in mind.

“I can certainly see the glamour of having your own wine, and Brad Pitt’s rosé is actually delicious,” she says. “But I drink alcohol so rarely that I’d be more interested in trying to create an exceptionally fabulous alcohol-free wine.”

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At 60, Liz is still gleefully playful about her roles – even if that includes lying in a coffin. “I quite enjoyed it, it was very restful,” she quips. What really stole her heart, though, was the shoot’s picturesque setting.

“Shooting at an exquisite country estate was a real treat,” she says. “The air was so fresh it felt like we were at a health retreat. It can be easier shooting on a sound stage, but I prefer real locations as it really helps with getting into character.”

Liz shines on screen but she admits she’s never been tempted to join a reality show as herself. “I have been invited on a few really good ones, but I prefer scripted work,” she says. “I don’t much like being myself on camera; it feels like I’m invading my own privacy!”

Talk of inheritance sparks a softer note. Liz treasures porcelain coffee cups passed down from her great aunt. “I think of her with every espresso,” she says.

Material possessions don’t matter much, though. “I’m not desperate to inherit anything,” she says. “I want everyone I love to check out empty, having spent every penny on enjoying themselves.”

Produced by Studio Lambert, the powerhouse behind BBC’s The Traitors, the show takes 13 strangers, locks them inside a grand stately home, and pits them against each other in challenges to prove themselves worthy of inheriting part of The Deceased’s fortune – and it’s no easy feat.

Contestants must show cunning, teamwork and nerve, all while enduring surreal challenges that embody Liz’s camp and larger-than-life alter ego.

“They’re very right for this lady and her estate,” she says, “As the show goes on, she comes up with some interesting things.” The absurdity is clear from the very first episode.

Tasked with creating The Deceased’s trademark rose, players must gather white wine from the bottom of a lake and pick out the perfect red wine from a string of barrels. “That’s absurd, isn’t it?” Liz says, “Everyone has to put on their diving suits. I wouldn’t want to do that!”

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It’s been over three decades since Four Weddings and a Funeral was released on the big screen, and the Richard Curtis rom-com still holds a special place in the hearts of audiences everywhere

For over thirty years, Four Weddings and a Funeral has shown that a film with a lot of heart can go a long way. Despite being one of the most beloved romantic comedies out there, and helping catapult some of its stars to new levels of fame, it was actually a really low-budget project.

It cost only £3 million to make – which might sound like a lot, but in Hollywood terms is as cheap as chips – and was shot over just six weeks.

But despite being a small movie, Four Weddings is still one of the British public’s favourite rom-coms after all these years, and it cemented Hugh Grant as a household name in the UK, along with his girlfriend Liz Hurley.

Her stunning and risque Versace dress – the barely-there piece was held together with safety pins – captured serious attention at the Four Weddings premiere, and has become an iconic moment in fashion history.

The movie’s producer, Duncan Kenworthy, remembered discussing what Liz might wear when going for lunch with her and Hugh the week before the premiere, “Liz said, ‘I have absolutely no idea at this point’,” he said, adding that “With every piece about Liz came a mention of the film, so it was great publicity. The premiere was an extraordinary event.”

After the film’s release on March 11, 1994, even the movie’s theme song – Love is All Around by Wet, Wet, Wet – found major success, and spent 15 weeks at the top of the charts.

Pretty much every character in the film has become totally beloved by audiences, from the floppy-haired Charles as lead, to his quirky flatmate Scarlet, and the laugh-a-minute, over-the-top Gareth.

Duncan, 73, has said that they were totally consumed by their “little film” during the two years production took and that due to issues finding finance for the film, “We were making it for a long time in our heads before we actually made it in reality”.

However, even though they were working on a budget, everyone around them really believed that Four Weddings would go the distance.

“I remember sitting and watching the Oscars on telly with friends the year before we made Four Weddings and they all said, ‘You’ll be there next year’ and laughed,” Duncan explained.

“Literally a year later, there I was, at the Oscars, with a Best Picture nomination. It was unthinkable, really. In those days there were only five nominees for best picture at the Oscars. It shows what a big impact the film made – not just with the public but within the film world, too.”

Despite its popularity, Four Weddings and a Funeral didn’t take home Best Picture, but to be fair, they faced some pretty stiff competition that year, with other nominees in 1995 including Pulp Fiction, The Shawshank Redemption, and Forrest Gump – with the latter taking home the statue.

Four Weddings did manage to score a host of BAFTAs, however, for its depiction of Hugh Grant as the slightly-hopeless Charles attending a series of landmark occasions in his loved one’s lives – and falling in love with American socialite, Carrie – played by Andie MacDowell.

Casting the film presented the production team with a few challenges, particularly when it came to the lead role of Charles. Whilst it might seem impossible to imagine anyone else playing him now, Richard Curtis is said to have had more than few doubts about his ability to carry the role.

Over 70 people were auditioned for the role, but in the end it came down to Hugh Grant and one other choice.

“It sounds odd now but the other actor in the frame was Alan Rickman, who’d really cut through in the Robin Hood movie. Mike, Richard and I simply couldn’t agree which of them to cast, so we voted in secret,” Duncan explained.

“We were an odd number, and it came out 2 to 1 in favour of Hugh Grant. It’s a cause of enormous delight to me that it was Richard who nearly ended Hugh’s romcom career before it even started.”

Hugh Grant has also revealed that Richard Curtis definitely was not a fan of him during the auditioning process, saying “[My audition] was in front of Mike Newell, the director, who seemed to quite like me, and Richard Curtis, who seemed to want me dead. He really hated me. Apparently there was a bit of a fight between them…. and Richard didn’t want me at all.”

The actor also revealed that before the movie’s release, he thought it would be a total flop, and he said as much to his friend Sam Neil over dinner one night. Later, Hugh said about his initial impression of the rom-com “I was clearly wrong and the film changed my life. It was the beginning of a happy friendship with Richard Curtis, and I’ve always had the greatest respect for Mike Newell who taught me things I use to this day.”

Despite the rocky start to Richard’s impression of Hugh, the pair went on to make two other iconic rom-coms together, Notting Hill and Love Actually, so the actor obviously convinced him eventually that he had it in him.

Finding someone to play Carrie also presented some challenges, Duncan explained, and after an extensive auditioning process in the US, they offered the role to two actresses – both of whom turned it down.

Back in the UK, they heard on the grapevine that established actress Andie MacDowell was in town, and quickly arranged a meeting, “We found out Andie MacDowell was staying at The Dorchester, so Mike and I arranged to meet her in the bar. As soon as we met her, Mike knew she was the one,” the producer said.

And it was Andie who would end up delivering probably the film’s most famous – and cheesy – line after Hugh Grant’s character declared his undying love for her as the pair stood in the pouring rain. “Is it still raining? I hadn’t noticed,” Carrie deadpans, a delivery that Duncan thinks in hindsight might have missed the mark.

“Of course Carrie knows it’s raining! She’s drenched, he’s drenched. She means it ironically,” he explained. “If Andie had said it with a smile, no one would have mentioned it!”

Four Weddings and a Funeral is packed with laughs – and at the funeral of Gareth more than a few tears – and it’s popularity is such that it has even born a TV show. Created by Mindy Kaling, the show over ten episodes followed the framework of the film – but it didn’t resonate with the public in the same way the film had.

When it comes to the continued love for Four Weddings, and its longstanding legacy, Duncan said: “To think there’s still interest in the film, all these years later, is surprising but lovely.”