TV flop The Block's grand finale has been given the chop.

Dwindling audiences have been tuning in to watch tempers and tiling on the DIY reality show.

Now producers have shelved plans to end the series with a dramatic live TV auction of the flats in Vine Street, Brighton, which contestants spent the summer renovating.

Instead the four couples have brought in estate agents and their properties will go to sealed bids.

The move - a surprise to contestants as well as the remaining viewers - follows a decision by ITV to knock the show from its prime 9pm slot.

Fewer than two million people have been tuning in to watch the paint dry and from next week it has been shunted beyond 11pm.

The team behind the show, hosted by Lisa Rogers and Simon Cowell's brother Nicholas, said it had been decided the live auction would be too "tacky". They feared potential buyers would be put off.

An ITV spokesman said: "We got the feedback that many people associated auctions with getting things at knockdown prices. This would have been a disservice to the couples, who have spent a lot of time and hard work on them. They now have estate agents and are looking to secure the highest bid for their property.

"Bids will be kept secret and revealed in the final show."

The couples will walk away with any extra made above the reserve price on their property.

The DIY-ers who turn around the biggest profit win the £50,000 top prize.

The show was launched in a blaze of publicity. Its format, a hybrid of Big Brother and Changing Rooms, was a hit abroad but left UK viewers cold.

The first episode drew 2.6 million viewers and was beaten by a repeat of Wife Swap on Channel 4.

Production company RDF Media plans to open the finished houses this weekend so people can view before they go on sale.

Contestant Helen Day was unaware of the changes until contacted by The Argus yesterday.

The dance teacher said: "It's hopefully going to mean we'll get a better price. There has been a lot of interest but people were being put off by having to bid on live TV."

An industry insider said: "Profile-wise, this is tantamount to throwing in the towel, accepting that hardly anyone would bother turning up and admitting the whole thing has been a disaster."