Bigg Boss Kannada Season 8, hosted by Kichcha Sudeep, has suspended its telecast due to Covid-19. The show, which began on February 25, completed 71 days before being shut down on Sunday.

The official confirmation was made by Parameshwar Gundkal, business head, Colors Kannada, on Saturday. The message on Instagram read, “It’s been 71 days since Bigg Boss season 8 started. Mixed emotions come to my mind when I stand by the PCR and watch the 11 contestants around the house. They are all happy, not aware of the difficulties and challenges faced by people outside. The contestants are safe and are in isolation. We will be calling them outside on Sunday after informing them about the current developments that are taking place outside. We are also making arrangements to send them home safely.(sic).” He added, “Hundreds of days of work, and hundreds of people have worked as a team on this. The dream of a team that worked diligently is being halted halfway. It was a difficult decision that has been taken with a heavy heart.”

With Divya Uruguda exiting the house due to illness, the other contestants who were left in the Bigg Boss house were Aravind KP,  Raghu Gowda, Vaishnavi, Manjunath Pavagada, Divya Suresh, Prashanth Sambargi, Chakravarthy Chandrachud,  Nidhi Subbaiah, Subha Poonja, and Priyanka Thimmesh.

Sudeep, who was unwell, could not host the weekend episodes and was unavailable for the rest of the show due to lockdown restrictions that have been imposed till May 25.