INTRIGUE AT ITV, a new audience call for another recording for Sing If You Can has come up at Applause Store and it looks like Vernon Kay’s being dropped in favour of Leigh Francis, presumably as Keith Lemon.
Celebrity Juice does very well for ITV2 (it was rating over 1.6m a few weeks ago) and I quite enjoy it, but Lemon for primetime? It’s not an obvious choice.
The show was always likely to come across as a bit naff on ITV1 so bringing more of a comedy element is probably for the best.
Edit: It sounds as though there might be a little more to this than meets the eye, although I’m still in the dark.
In other news BBC4 are planning an entire Connecting Wall night, based around everyone’s favourite third best round on Only Connect. Amazing.
You say dropped? Maybe.
Also possible kay bailed on them.
On a separate note, must have been about a year since the door. Since I’ve heard no mention,i presume it’s not on it’s way back, but did we ever get an official decommission?
HA HA HA HA HA THE DOOR.
Ah… I recall someone making a cryptic reference to this:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2011/03_march/30/fictionandentertainment.shtml
That was meant to link to the Only Connect bit…
Connecting Wall night!
“There will be a chance to see celebrities tackling some of the walls and to learn the secrets of the question-setting trade from the people who dream up the walls in the first place”
Does this mean that Mr Bodycombe will be coming out from behind the camera???
He’s already done Win Beadle’s Money!
And some clips-based documentary on Channel 4 once.
I don’t know, because I’ve only heard about this two days ago. Essentially the meat of the proposition will be two special shows of a knockout walls-only tournament (possibly featuring old teams we invite back), and there’ll be other bits inbetween the other programmes that night with online/interactive shenanigans of some sort.
I don’t know, because I’ve only heard about this two days ago.
*giggles* That sounds like the world of TV to me!
I’m not convinced that the Connecting Walls are the best part of the show, but I’m well prepared to believe that this wouldn’t have gone ahead if research hadn’t proved that they’re the most popular part – and more work and recognition for the show (does this count as a spin-off? A rare accolade indeed!) and the people who make it is always welcome. I can vaguely remember short featurettes in passing, as parts of longer shows, on how tough quizzes and tough quiz questions are set, so I would not be at all surprised to see Mr. B. on screen at some point, potentially with some of the setters as well.
(Mr. B., there’s fifty quid in it for the charity of your choice if you can get on screen for three seconds wearing your sparkly game show host jacket, if you still own it…)
Good job we’re in widescreen these days. And the next series is in HD, for reasons none of us are sure.
And here’s one I didn’t see coming: ABC1 (Australia) is picking up the OC format down under for a trial of 10 episodes. Some format changes: round 1 will be text connections, round 2 will be all picture/music/sound/video connections (wise decision – the lack will put a natural cap on the show’s shelflife), and the rest is the same.
Surprisingly, it looks like they’re keeping the toughness of the questions the same. One of the samples I was shown was (if I recall it correctly) as follows:
Peter Cundall
Lachy Hulme
John Butler
Tamati Ellison
“lack of sequences” that was meant to say.
Assuming this isn’t an April 1st joke, that’s great news!
Yes, it was an April Fool. All the people mentioned are famous Antipodeans who were born on April 1st.
Ah, you should have said SBS.
This is a bizarre change, if true. They’ve recorded two episodes already with Vernon Kay as host. Why would they change the presenter in the middle of filming? And what will happen to the two episodes already recorded? Vernon Kay is a brilliant presenter so I can only guess this is a typo from Applause Store or that Vernon Kay has been “secretly” signed up to present Strictly Come Dancing and the contract prevents him from hosting programmes from other broadcasters.
Why would it be a typo? They were advertising it with him previously, and now there is only one recording date given. Strictly is more likely I suspect.
Personally, I could see Francis working better on that kind of show than Vernon. It’s not beyond the realms of possibility that the first two shows they filmed just didn’t ‘click’ and they’ll bin them. It’s been done before…
Yep, Broadcast suggesting the pilots were more madcap than they were expecting, Lemon’s been upgraded from original role as judge.
‘Kay added: “Following the pilot, the producers and I sat down and talked about the tone of the show we all agreed that because of the mix of comedy and slapstick challenges that it would benefit from having a comedian host it. I’m really happy with the decision.”’
So there we are.
Also “familiar faces including X Factor evictees Jedward and one-hit wonder Chesney Hawkes will attempt to hold their nerve while having their chest waxed or sitting atop a specially designed erupting volcano.”
If it wasn’t being scheduled around Britain’s Got Talent, I think this would flop big time. Even then it’s a bit weird – a singing competition leading into a competition with loads of singers in it.
Curiouser and curiouser, apparently Sing If You Can has a start date of April 16th, alongside Britain’s Got Talent.
“Vernon Kay is a brilliant presenter.”
🙄 🙄 🙄 🙄 🙄
I presume fellow twat Steve “101 Ways…” Jones is a brilliant presenter too?
BTW, any news yet on whether or not All Star Family Fortunes is getting a mind-numbing sixth series?
Hope it doesn’t – the fifth was the most desperate yet, and not surprisingly, viewing figures were well down on previous years…
Cute clip of the day: from the Australian National Film and Sound Archive’s Sounds of Australia Registry, a 1963 show simultaneously broadcast by television and radio, it’s Pick A Box!
Clip three is particularly fun, albeit rather spoiled by the text beneath; one of the contestants is Barry Jones, who Wikipedia suggests “won a total 208 episodes spanning eight years between 1960 and 1967 and won over A$58,000”. If that can be sourced, then mention of world records regarding Ken Jennings, Ian Lygo and so forth should be reconsidered. Jones’ later political career within Australia is certainly very impressive, game show stalwart or no.
Similarities between Pick A Box and another more familiar format with the word “Pick” in its name are evident, but compare with another Oceanstralasian format with an obvious UK, erm, “predecessor.