Michael McIntyre reveals he had to audition for his own job on The Wheel – despite inventing the show
THERE’S no business more fickle than showbiz, as Michael McIntyre learnt when his game show The Wheel became a runaway hit.
Just weeks into its first series on the BBC, TV corporations around the world were keen to make their own versions.
But despite the format being his brainchild, Michael was forced to audition for his role as host.
The funnyman revealed: “It was a really mean thing. The Americans bought the show quickly on Zoom in lockdown.
“Everyone seemed to want it after it had been on for one or two weeks here, it was crazy.
“I’ve got all these Americans going, ‘We love the show’. And then they said yes, they wanted to buy it. It was amazing.
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“Then they were looking for a host and I just kept getting told I was in the running.
“We painstakingly made a teaser tape of all my best bits!”
He added: “I think the Germans have decided to cast a host that looks just like me. There is a heavy-set, bouffant German gentleman bouncing around The Wheel.”
The show spins celebrity know-it-alls around a wheel, with each contestant hoping they will be delivered a star who can help them with an answer.
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It’s back for a third series, featuring Anton Du Beke and Tony Blackburn among its famous experts, after becoming such a success, it beat Ant and Dec’s gameshow, Limitless Win, in the ratings.
Michael said with a laugh: “I’ve always got an eye on what’s on the other channel, and I’m kind of obsessed with the ratings.
“Since we did win, that’s all you need to know! I never thought I’d be a game show host, that was never my intention.
“But then, the very few positive things that have come out of the pandemic was just do stuff, do what you can, just get on with it.”
Michael dreamt up the idea for the show in the bath — and it fit in with lockdown social distancing.
He went on: “We started to see if we could do this show in lockdown and remarkably you’re two metres from each other, just about. We thought ‘my god that feels like fate’.
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“We went to the set designer’s garden and measured it all out.
“I’m pleased that this show is a ratings success, it really has gone well and people like it.”
- Michael McIntyre’s The Wheel returns this Saturday at 5.40pm on BBC1.