Future of Ken Bruce’s Channel 4 Popmaster TV series revealed after broadcasting legend left the BBC
THE future of Channel 4 quiz Popmaster TV has been revealed.
Fans are in luck as the show has been double recommissioned for a third and fourth series.
Legendary radio DJ Ken Bruce will be returning to present the Glasgow-filmed music quiz.
Ken previously hosted a weekday mid-morning show on BBC Radio 2 between 1986 to 2023.
Originally, Popmaster was exclusively a radio format, with its beginnings going back over two decades.
In the TV version, five contestants go head-to-head testing their music knowledge across six knockout rounds.
These include ‘Intros, Middles and Ends’, ‘Video Gaga’, ‘Pop Years’ and ‘It’s Only Words’.
Ultimately, two competitors advance to play “Original Popmaster”, tackling the familiar game.
By the end, the winner must correctly tackle a ‘3 in 10’ to take home the Popmaster TV gold disc.
The show’s launch last year elevated More4 to the number one digital channel in its time slot — feedback Ken described as “heart-warming”.
Speaking previously to The Sun, the DJ said: “There’s always one who says ‘it only belongs on the radio’ but on the whole, everyone was extremely positive.
“I thought it would work nicely on TV, but I maybe didn’t expect it to do as well as it did.
“Sometimes when you watch celebrity editions of quiz shows, they can be a bit easier.
“But that is not the case with this one. We’re not giving the celebrities an easy ride.
“It is brave of them, they’ve no guarantee they’ll be able to answer anything. Everyone hopes they will but it’s never easy.
“It’s a dangerous thing in a sense for pop and rock stars to take part in, but I’m glad they’re taking the chance.”
The TV edition’s success also saw two celebrity specials have been added to the return run.
Famous faces including DJ Mistajam, Toyah Willcox, rapper-turned-actor Richard Blackwood, actress Sally Lindsay and singer Kimberly Wyatt signed up take on the quiz.
In the past, celebrities rang up Ken’s Radio 2 show to play the game anonymously.
PopMaster TV airs on More4 and is available on Channel 4.