Gogglebox eyes Breakout hit with BBC2 gameshow
Taken from Broadcast
BBC2 has ordered a daytime gameshow from Sony-owned indie Gogglebox Entertainment in which contestants are forced to choose between working together or striking out alone.
The broadcaster has ordered a 20 x 45-minute run of Breakout following a non-TX pilot earlier this year.
The Nick Hancock-fronted gameshow takes place on two giant lit-up tracks, which have 30 spaces between the contestants and the finish line. The five contestants must choose whether to progress down the track as a team and share the prize money, or risk crossing to the adjacent track in a bid to strike out on their own and keep the cash for themselves.
Gogglebox managing director Mat Steiner said the show was physically “very ambitious” due to its 100-foot set, based at the BBC’s studios.
Steiner said he hoped the show would be picked up for a longer order if it proved successful.
“Getting a quiz show on BBC2 has always been one of our goals. If it beds in well, then becoming the next The Weakest Link is the prize,” he said.
“Having Nick Hancock on board is a great coup. There’s an increasing demand to bring big primetime presenters in to front daytime TV shows.”
BBC Daytime controller Liam Keelan, who ordered the show, described Hancock, best known for They Think It’s All Over, as a “highly regarded comedian and presenter”.
He added: “Breakout will be a fresh new addition to our daytime quiz line-up, which has gone from strength to strength over the past few years.”
The show is being exec produced by the BBC’s Pam Cavannagh and Gogglebox’s Steiner and Adam Wood.
It builds on Gogglebox’s existing portfolio of gameshows, which includes BBC2’s early evening antiques adventure Trust Me I’m A Dealer and Channel 5’s magic-themed Impossible?
