Comedy Central’s Blockbusters to Open Edinburgh TV Fest

Comedy Central’s reboot of the game-show format Blockbusters is set to open this year’s Edinburgh TV Festival, with Dara O’Briain on board to host.

Four teams from BBC, Channel 4, Channel 5 and Sky will compete to cross from one side of the show’s famous hexagonal board to the other by answering quiz questions correlating to a letter. The original version of the show aired on ITV and was hosted by Bob Holness. Comedy Central’s reincarnation recently aired and included two celebrity specials.

The session is produced by Phil Harris, creative director at Thames, and Chris Curley, head of development for Comedy Central.

As a festival and a charity, the Edinburgh Television Festival is committed to helping young people from all backgrounds gain access to the TV Industry. It runs two young talent schemes, Ones to Watch and The Network. Both schemes aim to ensure that the people working in television are as diverse as the audience watching it.

O’Briain said: “I’m delighted to be hosting this…even though Blockbusters is a quiz show featuring 16-year-olds and if a fully grown television executive can’t answer them, then we are all in serious trouble. Or it explains everything.”

CEO and Festival Director Lisa Campbell said: “Blockbusters is a legendary game show that I, and I know many in the industry, have hugely fond memories of, so it’s been fantastic to see it return to our screens. With the channels up against one another, this is going to be a fun and nail-biting session, displaying some of our execs true competitive natures.”