BBC One Signs Up for Hole in the Wall

LONDON, July 3: BBC One
has commissioned from talkbackTHAMES ten half-hour episodes of the Japanese
game show Hole in the Wall,
which is being rolled out worldwide by FremantleMedia.

Dale Winton will host the
Saturday night prime-time show when it airs later this year on BBC One. Joining
Winton will be Strictly Come Dancing’s Anton Du Beke and cricket legend Darren Gough, serving as team
captains. Each week, Du Beke and Gough will guide their teams through holes of
differing shapes and sizes. If the contestants are unable to make it through,
they will end up in a pool of water. The winning team will score £10,000 in
prize money for the charity of their choice.

“A swimming pool, a hole
in the wall, celebrities in lycra, what could be more me than this!” Winton
said. “I have been watching the foreign versions of this show on YouTube for
the last year, it's brilliant. I am thrilled to be hosting the British version
on BBC One later this year. I am already addicted to it, I hope that the
audience will be too.”

Mark Linsey, the
commissioning executive for BBC One, said: “This format is enjoyed by viewers
all over Europe and we believe it will be a great addition to the wide range of
entertainment programs already on BBC One.”

The FremantleMedia format,
which originated in Japan on Fuji TV—where it consistently leads its time
slot—is quickly emerging as a global hit. Clips have received more than
10 million hits on YouTube, and FremantleMedia has clocked up deals in 22
markets, including Indonesia, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, the Philippines,
Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, Greece, Israel, Norway, Russia, Sweden, Argentina,
Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Paraguay, Uruguay and the U.S. It is the top game show
in 2008 in Indonesia on RCTI, and is proving popular with the 16-34 and 4-15
sets on 1TV in Russia. It has also delivered strong ratings in Argentina,
Denmark and France.

—By Jackie Stewart