Mike Whitney reveals real reason hit 90s show Who Dares Wins was axed from screens: ‘Just nuts’

Mike Whitney reveals why hit 90s game show Who Dares Wins was axed from screens after just two seasons despite being ratings gold.

Who Dares Wins was ratings gold for Channel Seven when it aired back in the late 90s.

But the hit Aussie adventure game show was pulled from screens after just two seasons.

In a recent appearance on the Bloke in a Bar podcast with Denan Kemp, Who Dares Wins host Mike Whitney sheds some light on the series’ sudden axing after a short run from 1996 and 1998 – and it had everything to do with insurance costs.

“The show was just nuts!” Whitney, 65, said on the episode.

“This is what happened. In year one what was a major dare that if the person completed they went around the world on a holiday. In year two that was now a $50 dare.”

Mike Whitney reveals in a new podcast why Who Dares Wins ended after just two seasons.

The host said insurance costs went through the roof as the show went on.

The show saw contestants complete in a variety of death-defying and often record-breaking dares for prizes, from easy stunts such as eating three Sao biscuits while whistling a tune to walking on a two-inch plank of wood between two hot air balloons.

But Whitney said as the show went on producers were encouraged to create more exhilarating and engaging dares, all while trying to maintain a safe set for contestants.

“You had to step up, step up, step up! I remember seeing on the office whiteboard: ‘Man feeds sharks on Barrier Reef with metal glove on.’”

Whitney hosted the show with Tania Zaetta from 1996 to 1998.

Whitney was told that the contestant would be given a chain glove made for the task, but the host told producers: “‘What if the shark bites him at the elbow?’ As you can imagine, the insurance just went out of control.”

The former cricketer also recalled a “couple of moments on the show” where it was just too dangerous to action the dare, including one where a contestant was dared to ride a motorbike through cardboard boxes filled with hay and set alight.

The man was dressed head-to-toe in flame-resistant clothing, but he panicked mid-dare and jumped off the bike that was going full speed, breaking his shoulder in the fall.

Another stunt involved rollerblades and a ramp that ended badly for one female contestant after she did a backflip in the air and landed on the concrete.

She was “knocked out” and taken to hospital, where she thankfully made a speedy recovery, said Whitney.

“They were two incidents I remember really well that never went to air, of course,” he shared. “You could never make that show now. Some of the things some of the things were so … There were moments on that show where I went [gasps] and just held my breath.

“[Co-host] Tania [Zaetta] and I used to go, ‘Far out, this is becoming a bit serious’, because you had to up the ante.”

The dares ranged from eating Saos biscuits while whistling …

. to full-blown stunts on helicopters.

In a previous interview with news.com.au, Zaetta also revealed that she also voiced her concerns over the dares.

“We would get faxes the night before about the next day’s challenge. I was famous for calling the producers after I got the fax saying ‘We can’t do this! We’re going to kill someone!’” she told us.

“With that one, all the research given to me said ‘Crocodiles aren’t territorial until they’re four years old. These crocodiles are three to three-and-a-half.’ My argument then was, what happens if one is a little mature for his age?

“Obviously you’d be crazy to get into a swamp with crocodiles, so I basically talked the contestant out of it by pointing out everything that could go wrong. I knew I was going to say no, no matter what happened. Then it was over to the professional crocodile handler — he did it, but it was very hairy when a few crocodiles got close to him. We were all very happy when that one was over.”

Originally published as Mike Whitney reveals real reason hit 90s show Who Dares Wins was axed from screens: ‘Just nuts’