FROM MasterChef to Design Masters, the Beeb loves a good challenge show to bring out the best in their contestants.
Now they’re giving us another, Master Of Ceremonies, which is based around planning weddings.
The new BBC2 series pits two fledgling planners against each other in a bid to deliver the ultimate big day for a bride and groom.
And the timing couldn’t be better as it will help some couples whose wedding plans have been left in tatters by lockdown.
A spokesman said: “At the heart of every episode are our couple and their family. It’s for the planners to work together to pull off the couple’s dream wedding in just a matter of days.
“The planners will be talented, creative and have great organisational skills, but they will be attempting the seemingly impossible as they go all out to turn around incredible weddings against the clock.
“They know that if they fail, they could be booted out of the competition at any time by the no-nonsense judges.”
The six- part show is set to be fronted by a big-name presenter as well as expert judges at the top of this multi-billion pound industry.
BBC2 has a knack for nurturing contests that go on to become big hits.
They were behind the 2005 reboot of MasterChef with John Torode and Gregg Wallace, and they launched The Great British Sewing Bee with Claudia Winkleman In 2013.
Both proved so popular they later jumped to BBC1 and became two of the channel’s best-loved midweek shows.
Meanwhile, BBC2’s most recent success is Design Masters, which sees comic host Alan Carr set interior designers against each other in a series of challenges.
Like The Repair Shop’s swap last year, it won’t be long before Alan makes the big move too
PHIL: OUR COVID DUTY
THEY have kept millions of viewers going during 15 months of pandemic fear and lockdowns.
And by balancing fun and fact, This Morning’s Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby Tried to make sure no one felt alone.
Now, speaking about their roles on the box during the health crisis, Phil said it was watching ex-hosts Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan’s coverage of the death of Princess Diana in 1997 that made him realise the important part This Morning plays in reassuring viewers during difficult times.
He explained: “When Diana died in that tunnel and This Morning was on the next day, Richard and Judy held on to the nation’s hands with dear [late agony aunt] Denise Robertson and had a big open phone-in and got the absolute pulse of the nation – the feeling and the grief.
"They weren’t afraid to show the grief. That, in a microcosm, is what This Morning is and can be.
“And then you just explode that and do it for a year. I think you suddenly realise, ‘That’s exactly what we’re here for, that is what we do.’ ”
This Morning is enjoying its best ratings in 19 years, with more than 10million viewers having tuned in during the first week of lockdown.
Holly, who has three young children with husband and TV producer Dan Baldwin, added: “I knew we were doing something important.
“I’ve got the kids at home, I was really the only one going in and out of that house and I was worried because I was thinking that I’ve got a responsibility for my own children.
“Having said all that, I knew what we were doing was important, so I wanted to keep doing it.”
GILLIAN: THE FALL COULD BE BACK
FANS of The Fall will be glad to hear Gillian Anderson confirm there have been talks to bring the hit crime drama back to our screens.
The cult BBC series, which ended in October 2016 after three series, saw Gillian as DSI Stella Gibson alongside Jamie Dornan’s serial killer Paul Spector.
Gillian, who most recently played Margaret Thatcher in The Crown, said: “The Fall is something we are in discussion about.
“Even when we ended those three seasons, we talked about the fact one day, maybe – in the same way as Prime Suspect did – we’d come back.
“There were huge breaks between their seasons.
“This has kind of been the first time our writer/creator-director Allan Cubitt has been ready to dip back in.”
Speaking about her career on TV, Gillian also revealed she moved back to the UK from the US in 2002 because she had been struggling to find the right roles.
She said: “No A-list actors were doing television and we forget that. Over here, there was never a stigma about that.
“The Judi Dench stars of the world move between theatre, television and film.
“My preference is to do all three. The fact that I get to, I feel like the luckiest girl alive.”
THE TOOTH HURTS FOR GRAEME
IF anyone reckons football’s coming home it’s Frank Skinner, who wrote the famous Three Lions anthem with fellow comic David Baddiel in 1996.
That’s why when TV pundit Graeme Souness said of England’s limp performance against Scotland on Friday, “If you carry on playing like that, it ain’t coming home”, the Brummie joker couldn’t help but hit back – by mocking the former Liverpool and Scotland captain’s sparkling pearly whites.
Speaking on his latest podcast, Frank jibed: “That’s correct, but we won’t carry on playing like that, don’t worry Graeme . . . with your big white teeth!
“Oh, I mean, come on . . . we were told when I began in television that you can’t wear white on screen ’cos it flares.
“Well, surely you can’t bring those teeth into a studio. They were flaring like there was no tomorrow.
“It was like watching a Vangelis gig."
Bizbit
SCHOOL drama Ackley Bridge – starring Jo Joyner, Liz White and Sunetra Sarker – is returning for a fifth series on Channel 4 and is now in “active development”, say insiders.
The last series saw a format change, with the show airing on weekdays at 6pm over a fortnight and all episodes available on All4
MAC’S SPIN THE MOOD FOR MORE
David Walliams and Danny Dyer are set to take part in Michael Mcintyre’s The Wheel Christmas special.
The Saturday night show, in which celebrities assist contestants to win big money, will return to BBC1 later this year for a second series.
Earlier this month, The Sun revealed how filming for the new series was thrown into chaos when one of the team caught Covid, forcing guest Harry Redknapp to isolate.
Anton Du Beke, Lady Leshurr, Nick Grimshaw, Carol Vorderman And Mr Motivator are among those also expected to star in the new 16-part series.
The comic host has said he is “thrilled” by the success of the show.
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