America's Next Top Model axes three presenters

Three stars of America's Next Top Model have been dropped from the long-running TV show, after falling ratings.

Photographer Nigel Barker, runway coach J. Alexander and photo-shoot director Jay Manuel will not return, said the show's host Tyra Banks.

The show follows a group of girls as they are put through a series of modelling tests in order to become the ultimate series winner.

Barker said he had been expecting to be dropped for some time.

"It wasn't a shock. I'm friends with Tyra and the producers," the photographer, who joined the show in 2004, told E! News.

"There had been a discussion that ratings were down and that something like this would happen. We had an incredible run and there aren't any hard feelings."

Former model Banks and the show's executive producer wrote on Facebook and Twitter: "Nigel Barker, Miss J. And Mr Jay: Thank you for all our years together on America's Next Top Model.

"Working with you is always an absolute pleasure. Excited for what the future holds for us."

Manuel thanked fans in a blog post for their support and said he was moving on to other projects.

"Nigel, Miss J and I had a great run, and now it's time for us to move on," he said.

No information has been given as to who would replace the three.

America's Next Top Model, which airs on the CW channel in the US, has lost more than half of its 2005 audience, and is currently watched by less than two million people.

In the UK the show is broadcast on Sky Living.