ITV orders fourth series of The Jonathan Ross Show

A fourth series of Jonathan Ross’s primetime ITV1 chatshow has been ordered by the network.

The Jonathan Ross Show will return next year, despite a reported dip in ratings.

A spokesman told The Daily Telegraph: “There is going to be a fourth series – it’s already commissioned. I haven’t got a confirmed date yet, but it’ll be in 2013.

Broadcast reported in September that the show had its lowest ratings since Ross transitioned from the BBC, with just 1.8 million tuning in. Ross previously hosted his BBC show Friday Night with Jonathan Ross between 2001 and 2010. It was recently announced that the presenter will front a new film series for ITV.

Ross regularly hosts programmes between BBC One, ITV and Channel 4 with Comic Relief for the beeb and The British Comedy Awards for Channel 4. Ross began his television career on the fourth network back in the 1980s hosting shows such as comedy and entertainment series Saturday Night Live, chat show The Last Resort and one on one interview series Jonathan Ross Presents…

Jonathan quit the BBC in January 2010 two years after being briefly suspended by the beeb over an ill-judged ‘joke’ made at the expense of Fawlty Towers actor Andrew Sachs and his granddaughter. Both Ross and his guest, Russell Brand, suffered a backlash, notably from The Daily Mail who went on a witch-hunt to have both publicly flogged for their attempt at humour on Ross’ Radio 2 programme.

While Ross returned to both BBC Radio 2 and his BBC One chat show following the suspension, it tainted his time with the corporation and later further negative press, again from The Daily Mail, on how much he was being paid by the BBC also seemed to add to his decision to depart the broadcaster for ITV.