The game show is now set to return to ITV1 and ITVX, along with four celebrity specials.
The show is produced by Remarkable Entertainment, a Banijay UK company, and sees contestants try to win a cash prize as they test their luck against the devious Banker.
The greatest comebacks since Lazarus – or lazy commissioning? An RTS national event in mid-October that boasted a panel of executives responsible for resurrecting many entertainment shows offered some answers.
The popular game show Deal or No Deal is set to make a return to TV. Acquired by ITV, the reboot has had a spruce up, introducing a new host in the shape of Stephen Mulhern, who takes over from Noel Edmonds.
Talking to ITV, Mulhern said: “It’s one of the greatest shows of all time and to be the new host is an honour! I can’t wait to get started.” Mulhern has plenty of experience in the presenting world, with previous game show gigs including Catchphrase and In for a Penny.
She was speaking at an RTS early-evening event in early December that celebrated the enduring appeal of quiz shows.
The audience were treated to a clip of Keppel’s triumph – one of British TV’s most iconic moments. Despite appearing calm and clear-headed as she pondered the jackpot question –Which king was married to Eleanor of Aquitaine?* – Keppel admitted: “I was like a duck – I was paddling madly underneath.
“I wasn’t calm at all. I thought my heartbeat was so loud that the mics would pick it up.”
Daytime TV has long been the butt of comedians’ jokes. In an episode of Mock the Week last year, Hugh Dennis pretended to be a weary daytime announcer: “Well, because they’re all the same, and I can’t be bothered to announce them all, here’s Flog Dickinson’s Antiques Sun Hammer Pointless Breakout in the Country… finishes at 5pm.”
First airing in 2005, the box-themed programme was an instant hit with audiences around the country, garnering 4million viewers at its popularity peak. Having handed out £40million in prize money since it began, only eight people have walked away with the maximum of £250,000.
Dolan is best known for hosting Channel 4's comedy sketch show Balls of Steel, where actors and comedians performed outrageous stunts involving an unsuspecting public, between 2005 and 2008. The north Londonder also spent five years hosting Sky Movie's flagship show 35mm where he interviewed Hollywood's elite filmmakers.
