Munich, January 30, 2008. TV broadcaster ITV will be creating a version of ProSieben’s successful “Beat Your Host” show (producer: Raab TV/BRAINPOOL) for the UK market. The program will air as a series of eight episodes and be called “Beat the Star”, hosted by Vernon Kay.
In contrast to the German concept, each show in the UK version will feature a celebrity to compete with a member of the public. Just as in the ProSieben version, the two will have to take part in a number of competitions, including sports, knowledge and dexterity. If the contestant beats the celebrity opponent, the contestant will win £50,000 pounds. If the celebrity wins, the money will rollover leaving a £100,000 jackpot in the following show.
Says Jens Richter, Managing Director of SevenOne International: “Right from the start, ‘Beat your Host,’ has captured the attention of the international TV market thanks to its innovative concept and high audience shares. In ITV, we’ve found the perfect partner to adapt the show to one of the world’s most important TV markets. ‘Beat Your Host’ undoubtedly benefits from its extraordinary concept, and attracts audiences because of the strong visual experiences that the competitions offer.”
Says Duncan Gray, ITV’s Controller of Entertainment: “’Beat The Star’ is a hugely dramatic piece of event tv – it takes the thrills and spills of a sporting event and combines it with the emotion and jeopardy of a high stakes game show. ITV is thrilled to have this project and we can’t wait to see it in our schedule.”
“Beat The Star” is currently in production and will air later in 2008. The series is executive produced by Matt Paice, Executive Producer, Diverse Production; Ed Forsdick, Managing Director, Gallowgate Productions; and Jörg Grabosch, Managing Director, BrainPool.
The most recent episode of ‘Schlag den Raab’ (‘Beat Your Host’) on German TV was shown on January 19, with an audience share of 24.2 percent in the target audience of viewers aged 14 to 49. In 2007 the ProSieben show earned shares as high as 31.5 percent.