Beloved game show with national treasure host axed by ITV – despite promise it was ‘just being rested’
IT went into the limbo of being rested – and now I can reveal Alan Carr’s Epic Gameshow has officially been given the chop.
The Saturday nighter, which saw the comedian front classic game shows from down the years, on rotation, was put on ice by ITV last year.
But after careful consideration they definitely won’t be bringing it back for a fourth series.
A TV insider said: “Alan won’t be taking this too hard as the three seasons Epic Gameshow ran for on ITV were well received and it’s not like he’s short of other projects.
“On ITV alone, he has prime-time game show Password coming up later this year, as well as a second series of his autobiographical comedy drama Changing Ends.
“Plus, he has shows on the BBC including Picture Slam and Interior Design Masters, and will soon be heading out to Spain to make another series of his home make-over programme with Amanda Holden.”
Epic Gameshow was a weekly mash-up of game-show favourites from the past 50 years and ran from 2020 until December 2022.
It had contestants trying their luck in Play Your Cards Right, The Price Is Right, Take Your Pick, Strike It Lucky, Bullseye, Name That Tune and Child’s Play.
The shows pitted members of the public against each other but also featured Christmas and celebrity specials — often with Alan’s showbiz mates.
Early last year, just weeks after the end of series three, bosses quietly announced Epic Gameshow was being shelved.
Then came the disappointment for Alan of Abba-themed talent show I Dreamed A Dream, which he was a judge on, not doing well in the ratings. ITV have no plans to do another season.
But busy Alan will be glad of the rest.
RED EYE PLANE-LY CHEAPER
SHARING a drama set with Idris Elba sounds like a dream score, but it wasn’t quite all that for Richard Armitage.
The actor can currently be seen in ITV thriller Red Eye, which uses some of the same mock aeroplane scenery as Idris’s Apple TV+ hit Hijack.
But Richard told Virgin Radio’s Ryan Tubridy: “I heard an anecdote that on Hijack – because we were using some of the plane – they kind of spent like half a million dollars on the lighting effects to create the take-off.
“And then when it came to ITV, we didn’t quite have the same budget.
“So we had a bloke running past with a light outside the window.
“It was a bit cheaper!”
Not that you’d know – viewers are watching Red Eye in their millions.
THE BED CARPET
VICKY McCLURE must like method acting.
She turned up to the launch of her Paramount+ drama series Insomnia in what look like pyjamas.
Vicky, who posed with co-star Tom Cullen, stars as Emma – who shortly before turning 40 stops sleeping – just as her mum did before she had a psychotic break-down on the night of her own 40th birthday.
As events worsen, her world starts to unravel and she realises that only by investigating her painful past can she stop tragedy striking again.
Previews of the drama, which begins on May 23, also showed Vicky in a fetching pair of PJs.
She must have quite the collection now.
DYNAMO TRICK UP SLEEVE
MAGICIAN Dynamo is working his way back into the limelight after suffering a breakdown in 2020.
And he’s now revealed plans to film his big comeback as part of a new documentary.
In 2016, the conjuror – real name Steven Frayne– became the first magic act to play London’s O2 arena, but he now has much smaller venues in mind.
He tells today’s Great Company With Jamie Laing podcast: “I’ve got a lot of magic I want to share.
“As much as I find it scary – the prospect of going on stage – I do want to kind of make a live show.
“I like the intimacy of a smaller venue, but I want to create the best magic show ever. I think, ultimately, I want to create the best magic show I can ever create.”
Good luck to you, Dynamo.