Red or Black? - Car Crash Television!

By Jason Wright (Entertainment Expert)

WE ALL know that no-one in life is perfect.  Even the most successful people in television can make mistakes – take Simon Cowell for example.

     He has made his fair share of bad mistakes and decisions – “forcibly sacking” Cheryl Cole from The X-Factor USA, robbing glamorous Lucie Jones of a glittering music career by backing Jedward and hiring bumbling David Hasslehoff for Britain’s Got Talent are just of some of the errors of judgement that he had been put up against in recent times.

DOOMED: Red or Black? was a terrible idea from the start

     Nevertheless, Cowell is always in for the money and with his TV production company, produced a brand new show which aired last week on ITV.  A unique game, stripped across an entire week, in which seven people were given the opportunity to become millionaires, just by being lucky 10 times in a row.  Costing £15 million to produce, the biggest press launch in ITV’s history and a plethora of celebrities helping to decide what fate befall the contestants, Red or Black was ready to roll.  So what else possibly could go wrong?

CONTROVERSY: Nathan Hageman served time, but kept his prize

     Aired across all of last week (bar Tuesday due to England’s Euro 2012 qualifier against Wales), things were initially looking bright, with seven million viewers tuning in to the first episode.  However, that was as good as it ever got.  After the first episode produced a millionaire, in bricklayer Nathan Hageman from Reading, it emerged that he had a criminal conviction after serving five years in prison for ABH (assault and bodily harm.)  The Sun led a nationwide campaign for ITV to strip Hageman of his cash after rules of application for the show forbids anyone from entering with a criminal record.  Three further people who were due to appear in following shows for the live studio rounds were subsequently kicked out after this revelation.  Surprisingly, Hageman was allowed to keep his prize, despite Cowell’s suggestion that it should go to either his attack victim or be donated to charity.

     Out of the remaining programmes, three more millionaires were created.  Intriguingly, no women contestant made it to the million pounds spin which led to some experts suggesting whether the show was fixed in favour of male contestants.  Challenges used in the programme were also complicated and sometimes meaningless.  I mean, since when did starting up a car decide whether you can advance in the game?  The challenges set in Wembley Arena were often impressive, especially one which featured footballers Robin van Persie and Cesc Fabregas.  Even games held in the live studio were completely way off the scale.  Jenson Button and David Coulthard’s go-kart challenge and a “punch-the-sheet” game featuring Amir Khan and David Haye were really the only games that captured excitement.  The final game before the million pound spin, entitled “Duel,” was also dramatic as it totally proved the theory of luck needed in the game.

     Having the programme itself split into two shows each night was a big mistake as it completely sucked out the tension of the first programme.  The live studio set was a mess, looking more like a giant disused bus stop, rather than a high-class set.  The programme never had any proper introduction/opening titles at all, considering the theme used to introduce the Red or Black wheel onto the stage was very epic and would have made a great opening theme overall.

     Ultimately, the format was a total mess and newspaper critics slated it left, right and centre, with blasted comments including:-

“It’s A Knockout for morons” – Rachel Tarley, Metro

“A sausage factory of sob stories” – Kevin O’Sullivan, Daily Mirror

“The dullest show of the week” – Ken Smith, The Herald

“A spin of a wheel away from total disaster” – Jan Moir, Daily Mail

“It’s so devoid of intellect that it actually sucks nearby intelligence into its vortex.” – Jonathan Liew, the Daily Telegraph

     Viewers quickly agreed with the critics and started switching off in their droves.  Towards the end of the week, BBC One deservedly thumped Red or Black in the ratings with its standard evening schedule.  This proves that Simon Cowell can’t always create a masterclass of show and Adam Crozier, chief executive of ITV, proving once again of his inept ability of keeping full control of the broadcaster all the time.  Come back Michael Grade, all is forgiven!

SORRY: The contestants didn't get a fair crack of the wheel

     Ultimately, the innocent acts in this debacle are the contestants, for bravely deciding to put their faith into the programme, win or lose.  I felt sorry also for the programme hosts Ant & Dec.  It’s not right to blame them at all.  They did the best they could all week and people have got to remember, they didn’t bring their names forward to host the show; it was Cowell’s idea to hire the pair.  It could have been a whole lot worse of course; imagine if Adrian Chiles was employed as host?  The show would have been off the air within days!

     I think it’s safe to say we won’t be seeing an abomination of a show like this again.  Channel Five tried a similar show with Chris Evans in January, ‘Famous or Fearless.’  That was a better show than this disaster and still got axed by Richard Desmond.  Now, whether you want to point the finger at Cowell or Crozier I’m going to blame them both, they’re as bad as each other at the moment.  ITV showed off all week saying they were Terrestrial Channel of the Year?  I must have been living on Mars for the past week!  Add Red or Black to ‘Sing if You Can,’ ‘The Premiership,’ and ‘Shafted,’ in ITV’s growing portfolio of disastrous programmes. 

Four words have to sum up Red or Black? . . . ONE BIG EPIC FAILURE!!!

Britain's Got Talent 2011 - Scotland upsets favourite

By Jason Wright (Entertainment Expert)

SCOTLAND’s Jai McDowell was the surprise winner in Saturday’s final of Britain’s Got Talent.   Although most of the talk has been that the talent certainly hasn’t been up to the standard in recent years, the grand finale of 2011 promised to be big and entertaining with perhaps the best of mix of acts that it could deliver this year.  Luckily, the quality of the final didn’t disappoint.

     Scottish tenor McDowall poured emotion and soul into his performance and deservedly won high praises from the judges.  It gave him a glimmer of hope that he could pull off an upset and that’s what ended up happening, despite a perfect performance from young singer Ronan Parke.

PERFECTION: Ronan's rendition of 'Because of You' was stunning

     Parke, 12, the bookies favourite and at the centre of a ‘fix’ scam document last week produced an invincible performance of Kelly Clarkson’s ‘Because of You.’  However, it wasn’t just these two acts that grabbed the attention on Saturday night.

     Retired pensioner Steven Hall may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but his breakdancing was certainly an entertaining act.  Despite suffering a sore throat on the night, Hall kicked the show off in explosive fashion, which was followed up by a solid rendition of the audition performance by Michael Collings.  Despite only having 24 hours to prepare after Friday’s semi, Collings confidence shone through. 

     Risk-taking was a key term of the night’s action.  Comedian Les Gibson made a brave gamble to ditch the Ross Kemp/Kevin Webster impressions for accents of the judges.  Although his David Hasslehoff and Michael McIntyre impressions were spot on, Gibson was wide of the mark with Simon Cowell and got a tongue lashing from Cowell afterwards.  Nevertheless, he has been a breath of fresh air in the competition and is bound to get an ITV Christmas show on the back of his performances in the show.  Another favourite with the fans, dancer Razy Gogonea, took a huge risk with adding a new element into his routine, in the form of fireballs.  Like Gibson, Razy’s ambition got the better of him, and it didn’t quite work off.  Surprisingly, his routine was overshadowed by pianist Paul Gbegbaje.  He took a risk with a song that no-one had ever heard off, and his ambition worked and won him deserved praise. 

     Fellow pianist Jean Martyn was the only female in the line-up, and the mad woman was a crowd pleaser, but her chances of winning the show were rather slim anyways.  Ballet dancer James Hobley was lacklustre in a performance that was almost a carbon copy of his semi-final routine, whilst boyband New Bounce closed the final off with a crowd-pleasing performance, although they have some way to go if they want to fulfil predictions of following in the footsteps of JLS.

     Just over half an hour later, the acts were called back to the stage for the public’s verdict. In a change, the full voting result was revealed by Ant and Dec, in reverse order…

10th – Jean Martyn

9th – Les Gibson

8th – James Hobley

7th – Steven Hall

6th – Paul Gbegbaje

5th – Michael Collings

4th – Razy Gogonea

      Razy’s risk certainly didn’t pay off and with New Bounce in third; it left Ronan and Jai in the contention.  Surely now, despite Jai’s heroics, this was, once the obligatory long pause finished, Ronan’s to win.

FATE: The tension builds as Ronan and Jai await their fate

     However, to the complete shock of Jai, this was his night and his victory.  For Ronan, this was a distinct feeling of déjà vu, with Susan Boyle having lost out in a similar way two years ago to Diversity.  However, his future looks very bright and the gracious attitude he showed in being beaten by Jai certainly won him a new-found respect.

     As for Jai, it was an inspired song choice that won it for him in the end.  He collects the prize of £100,000 and more importantly, a place on this year’s Royal Variety Performance in front of Her Majesty the Queen.

     Congratulations to Jai McDowall on a sensational Britain’s Got Talent win!

Comic Relief 2011 - Doing something funny for money

By Jason Wright (Entertainment Expert)

SINCE its inception back in 1988, Comic Relief has raised more than over £400 million to help disadvantaged children in both UK and Africa, thanks to its successful Red Nose Day campaign.  Over the last few years, the record for fundraising in a campaign has always been broken and this year was no exception.

     A massive £74.4 million was raised on the night on Friday and where as the final total on the last Red Nose Day finished up on just over £80 million, this figure is expected to topple this when the final totals are published in a few months time.  In total, the biggest donations came from the following:

BT raised £1.7 million for their sponsorship of the Celebrity Desert Trek

Sainsbury’s raised £10 million for sales of official merchandise, a new record for the supermarket

TK Maxx raised £3 million for sales of official t-shirts

Maltesers raised £1.1 million for a public competition

Walkers raised £1.2 million for sales of four special crisp flavours

British Airways raised £801,000 for sales of special scratch cards on selected flights

BBC raised £2.9 for some of their stars attempting various tasks

The remaining £53.7 million was provided by public donations

     BBC One again provided a full evening’s worth of entertainment to help fundraising initiatives.  The programme featured comical sketches of Doctor Who, Outnumbered, Miranda and MasterChef, which featured an appearance by none other than Prime Minister David Cameron himself.  Also, Blue Peter presenter Helen Skelton attempted to pull off a high wire walk between two of London’s tallest buildings and Radio 1’s Chris Moyles and Comedy Dave succeeded in fronting the station’s longest ever show, at a staggering 53 hours, setting a new Guinness World Record in the process.

     David Walliams also proved his stern material to survive long hours by attempting to appear on as many panel shows in 24 hours.  ’24 Hour Panel People’, which was broadcast on the BBC website, saw Walliams joined by a selection of guests to participate in various shows past and present, including 8 Out Of 10 Cats, Have I Got News For You, Never Mind The Buzzcocks and They Think It’s All Over.

     Nine famous faces endured an energy-zapping trek across the Kenyan desert to raise nearly £2 million which featured Scott Mills, Lorraine Kelly, Kara Tointon, Dermot O’Leary and Olly Murs.  Meanwhile, Ant and Dec were challenged by Comic Relief to gatecrash as many shows as they could in 24 hours unannounced and steal various items to auction off.  Daybreak, This Morning, Loose Women and The One Show were among those that were targeted.

     On the music front, the campaign has brought out two songs.  Rising boy band The Wanted provided the official track ‘Gold Forever’, the first original song for Red Nose Day since 2005.  However response of the track was largely negative.  The other is another comical edition which has Peter Kay on board again, reprising his alter ego Geraldine McQueen to team up with Susan Boyle to perform ‘I Know Him So Well,’ originally sung by Elaine Page.  As expected, this has gone down as a huge hit and it won’t be surprising if it claims top spot in the charts next Sunday.

     All in all, it has been another successful night for the charity.  Now everyone is indeed wondering how they will top those events for 2013.  A whole 731 days must pass before then.

Push the Button - Is it Saturday night material?

By JASON WRIGHT (Entertainment Expert)

LAST year, the gods of ITV, Ant and Dec, decided to dispense of their hugely popular hit, Saturday Night Takeaway.  They launched a new show that strengthened more to a family appeal, Push the Button.  Backed by a huge press campaign that saw advertisements on billboards and bus stops across the country and promos appearing on both TV and in the cinemas, it was bound not to fail but somehow it did.  The viewing figures declined across its six-week run and received scathing reviews from the press.

Somehow, ITV kept faith in their boys and decided to give it another shot, providing certain changes were made to the format.  So this Saturday, saw the intrepid show return to the screens but did it deliver what is said on the tin this time around?

The first big change was that it was broadcast live compared to being pre-recorded last time.  Live TV certainly brings out the best of Ant & Dec and it hypes up tension as there is no way of knowing what happens next.  Another change is that there is now just four members for each family as opposed to five and only one member of the winning family takes on the D.A.V.E. machine in the end game compared to all members taking part last year.  Plus win or lose on the final game, the family is invited back next week to take on a new lot of challengers.

New features involve another inspired element from Takeaway.  “The People vs. D.A.V.E.” sees viewers calling in from home and answer a question for the chance to win a prize, such as a car, a holiday, a home entertainment system and much more, in a similar way to Takeaway’s “Grab the Ads” segment.  There is also a section in the studio audience called “The Happy Hundred”, who are selected at random before the show and play along with games by predicting the winners.  The person in this 100 that is the most accurate with their predictions wins £5,000.  The final regular game has now become “The Accumulator”, which allows both families to bet on three questions or outcomes, á lá You Bet!, with right answers winning back money they lost from the starting pot of £100,000 but wrong answers continuing to cost them money.

Things that are gone include the massive emphasis of comedy and the silly costumes that had been present in the last series with Ant and Dec.  It seems to have become more of a light entertainment show which certainly fits the bill of it much more to its liking.

Overall, these are changes that the show badly needs but is it enough?  Well, it is certainly a vast improvement on last year’s version but it will never live up to the standards of Saturday Night Takeaway.  Perhaps, this version of the show would work better if it was on a Sunday night because then it doesn’t have the pressures to live up to Takeaway in being in the same slot.

However, providing that it doesn’t experience a drop in viewers like last time, I’m pretty sure the show will live on for another series or two at the very least.

National Television Awards 2011 - A night of expected winners

By JASON WRIGHT (Entertainment expert)

WEDNESDAY night saw a host of stars from British television descend on London’s O2 Arena for the National Television Awards.  Now in its 16th year, it promised to be the best staged yet.

BIG WINNERS: Another successful night for EastEnders

As it turned out, the successful shows and stars of the night were just as who everyone had predicted.  EastEnders were the big winners, with three gongs.  Ricky Norwood picked the ‘Best Newcomer’ for his role as troublemaker Fatboy, Lacey Turner retained her ‘Best Serial Drama Performance’ award for Stacey Branning and the BBC1 soap itself won through in the live vote-off for ‘Best Serial Drama.’  Many felt it should have gone to rivals Coronation Street, but the Walford drama came through and the crew looked surprised.  So, not even a tram coming down on top of Weatherfield was enough for it to receive any recognition which is certainly rough justice.  Hopefully it will get what it deserves come the British Soap Awards in May.

Popular ITV1 duo Ant and Dec were also among the successes again.  The Tyneside-born pair added yet another two NTA’s to their cabinet for ‘Best Entertainment Programme’ with I’m A Celebrity and scooping up the ‘Best Entertainment Presenter’ award for the tenth time in a row.  Speaking live in Cardiff, where they are filming auditions for Britain’s Got Talent, they understandably gave credit to everyone who helped them succeed not just this year but the ten years they have achieved the Entertainment accolade at the awards.

HONOURED: Sir David Jason added to his collection

Other shows and famous faces that were winners on the night were ITV1 comedy Benidorm, earning the ‘Best Comedy Programme’ award for the second time in three years.  Sir David Jason was honoured with the ‘Best Drama Performance’ award for his final case in A Touch of Frost.  The E4 mega-hit The Inbetweeners beat hot rivals Glee to the inaugural ‘Best Digital Choice’ award, which celebrated the best programme offering from digital channels and This Morning were the victors of the ‘Best Topical Magazine Programme’ award.  After years of struggle and turmoil for the daytime offering, the popular partnership of Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby is ensuring that it is finally returning to the glory days of the nineties.  As an added beneficiary, viewers were able to see resident chef Gino D’Acampo cook naked on the following day’s edition, as he pledged to do so if the show won.

With the football sexism scandal caused by the disgraced Richard Keys and Andy Gray fresh in the air, it was being talked about a lot by those in attendance.  Even host Dermot O’Leary referred to it many times during the ceremony but it was Top Gear who had the last laugh and when they picked up the award for ‘Best Factual Programme.’  James May made a rather funny though obviously crude remark about it and it led to Jeremy Clarkson jokingly sacking him on the spot.  That’s what they call comedy around here!

The X-Factor proved to be the dominant force in the award for ‘Best Talent Show’.  Despite the controversy surrounding the previous series and that there were fears that people would rebel and vote against it, the ITV1 competition held on to win for the third time in four years.  No doubt this made Simon Cowell one very happy chap again.

The biggest shock and disappointment of the night was no awards for Doctor Who.  Although its popularity was slightly reduced after Matt Smith’s timid debut last year in the title role, it was still expected to win ‘Best Drama Programme.’  However it lost out to popular school drama Waterloo Road.  To add insult, Smith lost the Drama Performance to David Jason.  This will without a doubt call the show’s viability into serious question.

FINALLY: Bruce Forsyth get a deserved recognition

The biggest cheers though of the night went to the legendary Bruce Forsyth.  After over 50 years in showbiz, the soon-to-be 83 year old was finally given credit with the ‘Special Recognition Award.’  He sent the crowd into dismay and then hysteria by seeming to announce his retirement but then quipping one of his famous one-liners, “but I’m not bloody going to.”   It proves there is still life in the veteran yet.

Overall it was another night of impressive celebrations and accolades, proving just how much Britain really does say about the nation’s TV.  Here is to what should be an amazing 2011 of television and who knows who will come out on top in 2012?  These next 12 months will tell all.

National Television Awards - The Shortlist

Tuesday saw the official publication of the shortlist for the National Television Awards.  This year, the public has twelve awards to vote for, with a couple of new awards.  The ‘Best Travel Documentary’ award introduced last year has been axed and has been replaced by the Best Topical Magazine Programme and Best Digital Choice, showcasing the best programme on digital television, which is owned by any of the five terrestrial networks (E4, ITV2, BBC3, Five USA etc)

To get voting now, visit the official NTA website at http://www.nationaltvawards.com/home.  This is the only ceremony which has no critics choice, no judges choice, the only ceremony where you the public decides who wins.  Will Ant & Dec continue their domination of Best Entertainment Presenter?  Can EastEnders hold off the stiff competition from Coronation Street and Emmerdale for Best Serial Drama?  Is Doctor Who going to charge away with the main drama awards?  Can US hit-shows 24 and Lost shake off the stiff competition from E4’s hit treble challenge from Glee, Skins and The Inbetweeners for the new Best Digital Choice award? 

The first round of voting closes on October 11^th, so get voting for your favourite.  The show is live on ITV1 and ITV1 HD from the 02 Arena on Wednesday 26^th January 2011 and is presented by X-Factor host, Dermot O’Leary.

Best of luck to all the nominees!

BEST TALENT SHOW

The X-Factor

Strictly Come Dancing

Britain’s Got Talent

Dancing on Ice

Over The Rainbow

So You Think You Can Dance?

Let’s Dance For Sports Relief

Don’t Stop Believing

BEST COMEDY PROGRAMME

Harry Hill’s TV Burp

Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow

Peep Show

The IT Crowd

Benidorm

My Family

John Bishop’s Britain

The Armstrong and Miller Show

The Impressions Show with Culshaw & Stephenson

Miranda

Live At the Apollo

Last of the Summer Wine

Rev

Outnumbered

Life of Riley

BEST NEWCOMER

Marc Silcock – Emmerdale

Steven Miller – Casualty

Emmett J Scanlan – Hollyoaks

Paula Lane – Coronation Street

Olga Fedori – Holby City

Ricky Norwood – EastEnders

BEST TOPICAL MAGAZINE PROGRAMME

Loose Women

This Morning

BBC Breakfast

The One Show

GMTV

Daybreak

The Wright Stuff

The Alan Titchmarsh Show

BEST SERIAL DRAMA

EastEnders

Emmerdale

Coronation Street

Hollyoaks

Neighbours

Home & Away

BEST FACTUAL PROGRAMME

Top Gear

Celebrity Masterchef

Antiques Roadshow

Joanna Lumley’s Nile

Piers Morgan on Marbella

Junior Apprentice

Who Do You Think You Are?

James May’s Toy Stories

Countryfile

Watchdog

The Gadget Show

The Lakes

DIY SOS

Richard Hammond’s Invisible Worlds

Lion Country

Jimmy’s Food Factory

Secret Britain

One Born Every Minute

Nigel Slater’s Simple Suppers

Seven Ages of Britain

BEST DIGITAL CHOICE

Glee

24

Skins

Lost

The Inbetweeners

Desperate Housewives

The Xtra Factor

The Vampire Diaries

House

Bones

Britain’s Got More Talent

What Katie Did Next?

Peter Andre: The Next Chapter

American Idol

Russell Howard’s Good News

Family Guy

Got to Dance

Chris Ryan’s Strike Back

Stargate Universe

Mr. Bean: The Animated Series

Eddie Izzard: Marathon Man

I’m A Celebrity….Get me out of Here Now!

Don’t Tell the Bride

Being Human

BEST DRAMA

Doctor Who

Casualty

Holby City

Shameless

Doc Martin

Ashes to Ashes

Wild At Heart

A Touch of Frost

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation

Spooks

Waterloo Road

Heartbeat

Lewis

Collision

Foyle’s War

Silent Witness

Waking the Dead

Midsummer Murders

Identity

Law and Order: UK

Five Days

Luther

Wallander

Lark Rise To Candleford

Above Suspicion: The Red Dahlia

New Tricks

Sherlock

Merlin

Hustle

Married Single Other

Heroes

Murderland

The Mentalist

BEST DRAMA PERFORMANCE

Matt Smith – Doctor Who

Kevin Whately - Lewis

David Jason – A Touch of Frost

Amanda Redman – New Tricks

Stephen Tomkinson – Wild at Heart

Martin Clunes – Doc Martin

Sue Johnston – Waking the Dead

Suranne Jones – Five Days

Phillip Glenister – Ashes to Ashes

Amanda Burton – Waterloo Road

John Nettles – Midsummer Murders

Karen Gillian – Doctor Who

Emila Fox – Silent Witness

Robbie Coltrane - Murderland

Joe McFadden - Heartbeat

Georgia Taylor – Casualty

Kenneth Branagh – Wallander

Dawn Steele – Wild at Heart

Bradley Walsh – Law & Order: UK

Douglas Henshall – Collision

Michael Kitchen – Foyle’s War

Richard Armitage - Spooks

Colin Morgan - Merlin

Robert Glenister – Hustle

Laurence Fox - Lewis

Keeley Hawes – Ashes to Ashes

William Ash – Waterloo Road

Rosie Marcel – Holby City

Alun Armstrong – New Tricks

Simon Baker – The Mentalist

Shaun Dooley – Married, Single Other

David Morrissey – Five Days

Rebecca Atkinson – Shameless

Peter Firth - Spooks

Ciaran Hinds – Above Suspicion – The Red Dahlia

Idris Elba – Luther

Dennis Waterman – New Tricks

Luke Roberts – Holby City

Trevor Eve – Waking the Dead

Bradley James – Merlin

James Bolam – New Tricks

Martin Freeman - Sherlock

David Threlfall - Shameless

Ben Daniels – Law & Order: UK

Adrian Lester – Hustle

Julia Sawalha – Lark Rise to Candleford

Michael French - Casualty

Kelly Reilly – Above Suspicion – The Red Dahlia

Hayden Panetierre – Heroes

Benedict Cumerbach – Sherlock

BEST SERIAL DRAMA PERFORMANCE

Danny Miller - Emmerdale

Lacey Turner - EastEnders

Katherine Kelly – Coronation Street

Steve McFadden - EastEnders

Simon Gregson – Coronation Street

Jorgie Porter - Hollyoaks

Jeff Hordley - Emmerdale

Don Gilet – EastEnders

Kieran Richardson - Hollyoaks

Alison King – Coronation Street

Stefan Dennis - Neighbours

Marc Elliott – EastEnders

Bronagh Waugh - Hollyoaks

Amanda Donohue – Emmerdale

Jane Danson – Coronation Street

Anthony Quinlan - Hollyoaks

Dominic Brunt - Emmerdale

Chris Gascoyne – Coronation Street

Diane Parish – EastEnders

Claire Cooper - Hollyoaks

Charlotte Bellamy – Emmerdale

Bill Tarney – Coronation Street

Andrew Moss - Hollyoaks

Lindsey Coulsen – EastEnders

Natalie J Robb – Emmerdale

BEST ENTERTAINMENT PROGRAMME

I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!

Big Brother

Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?

Friday Night with Jonathan Ross

Paul O'Grady Live

Ant and Dec's Push the Button

All Star Family Fortunes

Piers Morgan's Life Stories

Have I Got News for You

The Whole 19 Yards

71 Degrees North

New You've Been Framed!

Hole in the Wall

QI

A Question of Sport

Never Mind the Buzzcocks

Total Wipeout Celebrity Special

James Corden's World Cup Live

Take Me Out

The Door

Mock the Week

Celebrity Mastermind

Animals Do the Funniest Things

101 Ways to Leave a Game Show

Outtake TV

The National Lottery: In It to Win It

The Big Fat Quiz of the Year

Justin Lee Collins: Good Times

Derren Brown: The Event

Tonight's the Night

Odd One In

All Star Mr and Mrs
BEST ENTERTAINMENT PRESENTER

Ant & Dec

Harry Hill

Paul O'Grady

Jonathan Ross

Holly Willoughby

Dermot O'Leary

Davina McCall

Bruce Forsyth

Phillip Schofield

Justin Lee Collins

Fern Britton

Piers Morgan

Claudia Winkleman

Steve Jones

Chris Tarrant

Stephen Mulhern

Vernon Kay

Jimmy Carr

Tess Daly

Cat Deeley

Graham Norton

Caroline Flack