Steph McGovern wipes away tears as she bids an emotional farewell during last episode of her show Packed Lunch after it was axed by Channel 4

Steph McGovern wiped away tears as she bid a final farewell to her show Steph's Packed Lunch during its final episode on Friday.

The Channel 4 daytime show was axed after three years amid a slew of cancellations with the broadcaster reportedly battling to cut costs amid financial challenges. 

At the end of the show, Steph, 41, looked into the camera and said: 'We've had a proper laugh doing this show. 

'Thank you for sharing your stories with us and being part of this dysfunctional family. Before we go I thought it would be nice to take a trip down memory lane.' 

She then played a montage of some of the show's best moments over its three years on the small screen.  

The show's ratings for this week were 142,000 on Monday, 136,000 on Tuesday, 142,000 on Wednesday and 171,000 on Thursday. 

Steph opened the episode with an emotional speech with her co-workers gathered around her, saying: 'Today is our last show so we have got everyone here. Today is a proper family affair.'

'It is really lovely to have you all here and everyone watching at home. One of the reasons I have loved doing this show is because it is in the north. We get to shout out about all the creative things the north has to offer.

'It has been amazing to broadcast live from Leeds everyday. We have talked a lot of about the north, south divide, whether that really exists, what it means for jobs, transport and wealth and a lot of that being so London centric. I want to celebrate the north today.'

Steph's Packed Lunch started in 2020 with the presenter hosting the show from her own living room during lockdown.

It was confirmed in October Channel 4 had decided not to renew the show for another series and would let it finish in December.

A statement said: 'With audience habits changing quicker than ever, we have to make difficult decisions about which programmes to invest in to best drive our digital-first strategy and we have decided not to recommission Steph's Packed Lunch when its existing production contract ends in December 2023.

'We remain as committed as ever to our mission to help level up the TV industry outside London and to our 50% origination out-of-London target. 

'We will be reinvesting the budget previously committed to Steph's Packed Lunch into other nations and regions productions.'

A spokesperson for the producers, Expectation and Can Can told MailOnline: 'We've had over three fantastic years producing Steph's Packed Lunch together and working with the brilliant Steph McGovern and the outstanding on-screen family of talent. We're very disappointed that despite building a loyal audience we don't get to continue brightening up 12-2 on Channel 4.

'Leeds didn't have a live television community four years ago and it's been a privilege to build a team which boasts some of the brightest, sharpest TV producers in the country.'

Steph's Packed Lunch did struggle in the ratings for some of its run. 

According to The Sun, the show hit a ratings low at one point in September 2020, when official stats showed not a single person tuned in for one episode at 12:56pm.

In response, a spokesperson insisted the show averaged 87,000 viewers from 12.30pm-2.10pm.

The show, which debuted in March 2020 and was broadcast from Leeds Dock, was live and featured items including showbiz interviews and news segments.

In September, ITV's This Morning poached Channel 4's exec producer Vivek Sharmar, who worked alongside Steph.

Vivek is reportedly 'a huge champion' of Steph - meaning the star is now in the running to take over from Holly Willoughby.

When asked by The Sun at the Attitude awards about whether she would be interested in a move, Steph replied: 'I'm very happy at Channel 4 doing Steph's Packed Lunch but never say never.'

The axe comes amid a slew of cancellations with the broadcaster reportedly battling to cut costs amid financial challenges.

Controversial cult late-night show Naked Attraction, big-money celebrity flop Scared Of The Dark and groundbreaking medical documentary Rescue: Extreme Medics, based in Scotland, have all been canned.

A source said that the channel believes it is better to cut its losses.

But staff blamed Chief Content Officer, Ian Katz, for wasting money on expensive but little-watched shows such as reality series Rise And Fall, which is understood to have cost the channel £14million – money which could not be justified because of its low ratings.

One insider said: 'Everyone is calling it a Channel 4 bloodbath. At first everyone was in total shock when [earlier reality show] Four Weddings was cancelled.

'It's almost unheard of that a show that is going really well is decommissioned, but as news started to spread, other shows were falling down too.

'They were told that Ian Katz had been looking at the channel's entire output, and they were sorry but it had to happen because there was no money.

'The casting team were already in place to start on Naked Attraction and were all told they were no longer needed as they were not making another series.

'They tried to lessen the blow to the show's freelance crew by saying they hope to make another series in December, but that doesn't help them now.'