And so the MASSIVE BIG NAME host for Money Tree has been announced and you WON’T BE DISAPPOINTED, it’s Alfonso Ribeiro who you may remember as the seventh place finisher on I’m a Celeb in 2013 and more famously, Carlton from Fresh Prince of Bel-Air 25 years ago. So either a) somebody is taking the piss or b) there’s a large disconnect between what TV peeps think is a big name and the general public.
However he has hosted a gameshow before, the pretty good fun Catch 21 on Game Show Network in the States, a modern reversioning of Bother’s Bar favourite Gambit, at the turn of the decade.
I do look forward to discovering what puts the disco into Only Disconnect. (Has that been done as a start/end of the show joke yet?)
I imagine a conversation at the production company going something like “I have an idea who could be the host, that American black guy who’s hosted game shows before, but I’ve forgotten his name” meaning Steve Harvey but someone got confused. Or, more realistically, they looked at getting Steve Harvey but realised he would be too expensive.
“Yeah so we used to show Fresh Prince on BBC2 at 6pm back in the day, so viewers will want a familiar face”
From a TV industry that saw no problems with hiring Richard “Al from Home Improvement” Karn as a host, this seems to be an advance. He’s currently hosting America’s Funniest Home Videos too which I think puts him firmly in the ‘safe family entertainer’ box. Not particularly worth the hype surrounding it, but he won’t be terrible. The format on the other hand…
This strikes me as probably not a coincidence:
https://www.radiotimes.com/tv-programme/e/g5vkv8/strictly-come-dancing–series-16-episode-9/
Much like last year, Bruno is taking a week off from judging later in the series – and the scheduling has just been released suggesting that the replacement judge is, yep, Alfonso Ribeiro. He’s got reasonable form given he won the US series (and I think had a guest judge stint there, too?), but I can’t help but wonder if this is also part of a conscious attempt to boost his mindshare in the UK a little.
“We’ve got a massive name who has never judged a UK dance show! Believe us you will NOT be disappointed!”
Well it seems Carlton has received a more than positive reception from the Strictly fans, so that’s something I suppose!