Channel Ten has axed its nightly game show Family Feud after four years, with host Grant Denyer admitting the network aired the show too frequently for it to remain successful.

Denyer, who hosted 1200 episodes of the show, announced it had been “rested” while co-hosting his 2DayFM breakfast show on Tuesday morning.

“It’s obviously been a huge success for myself and for Ten for four years, we only thought we’d ever get two years out of it so it was really lovely to stretch it to four,” Denyer said.

Ratings for Family Feud have been decreasing in recent months,  averaging close to 300,000 a night, which falls well below Ten’s nightly news ratings.

“It did good things but we are probably guilty of driving it into the ground a bit too early, we gave it a bit too much,” Denyer said.

“It’s six days a week, twice a day, plus All Star episodes, we might have squeezed that lemon a little bit too much.”

In a statement, a Channel Ten spokesperson said: “Family Feud has been an important part of our schedule for the past four years, but we feel it is time to rest the show.

“It will be put on hold later this year and we will be announcing an exciting new game show very soon. We will also have some exciting news about Grant Denyer’s new show on Ten soon.”

When asked by co-hosts Em Rusciano and Ed Kavalee if this meant he was “available” for other TV projects, Denyer replied: “Yes.”

“They [Ten] want me to do some big new projects and I can’t do both,” Denyer said.

“I’ve heard what those programs are and they are big and they are bright and they are shiny and they are exciting.”

According to TV Tonight, that “exciting new game show” could be an Australian version of UK quiz show Pointless, with Ten’s casting team currently seeking “Sydney-based teams of two skilled in general knowledge”.

Denyer, however, implied he was moving away from the game show format, conceding that, “game show host is a tag that I’ve never really liked or enjoyed to be honest”.

But the former Sunrise weatherman also gave credit to the show for resuscitating his career.

“It came along at a time when I was looking for something new … and it kind of rebirthed me and you have a sentimentality towards it, it’s a bit sad,” Denyer said, adding that the show “reinvigorated the 6.30pm time slot” for Ten.