Celebrity line ups revealed for all your favourite quiz show’s Christmas Specials
A SERIES of famous faces will be hoping to prove their worth this Christmas after signing up to a variety of different quiz shows.
This festive season, a number of TV quizzes will be given a star-studded Christmas makeover with celebrities from the world of Strictly Come Dancing, Coronation Street and The Masked Singer coming together for a chance to show off their knowledge. Here is who you can expect to see on the box this Christmas…
Blankety Blank
Bradley Walsh will be at the helm of TWO seperate game shows this year thanks to the BBC‘s Blankety Blank and his long-running ITV quiz show The Chase.
This December, a number of major British stars will be doing their best to fill in the blanks on the old-school TV favourite.
Leading the line-up will be The Masked Singer host Joel Dommett alongside talk show host Jonathan Ross.
Channel 5 star and cruise ship icon Jane McDonald, Dancing on Ice judge Oti Mabuse, comedian Sara Pascoe and RuPaul‘s Drag Race UK winner The Vivienne round out the stars on this year’s feelgood festive edition.
House of Games
Richard Osman‘s weekly game show House of Games will be receiving a festive spin-off this year.
Four celebrities will be facing off to win a variety of novelty prizes and wrap their heads around a slew of complex and challenging quiz-style questions.
Comedian Jon Richardson will be making his first screen appearance since his shock divorce from Lucy Beaumont on the show alongside fellow comedy star Desiree Burch.
Coronation Street actress Jennie McAlpine and choirmaster Gareth Malone complete the line-up.
The Weakest Link
Romesh Ranganathan will be hosting THREE extra special editions of Saturday night quiz favourite The Weakest Link.
Whilst the revived BBC format now always features famous faces – this December the show will follow three themes to mark the holiday season.
First up will be a Strictly special to go alongside the ballroom contest’s final, as well as a full-on festive Christmas special before winding things up with an over-the-top party edition.
Answering the quick-fire questions for the Strictly round will be current pro stars Carlos Gu, Michelle Tsiakkas, Lauren Oakley and Kai Widdrington, former show champ Kelvin Fletcher, past contestants James Bye and Zara McDermott as well as former dancer Joanne Clifton.
A further eight stars will be putting their Christmas knowledge to the test in the aptly titled Xmas special – namely actress Sally Lindsay, Love Island star and presenter Indiyah Polack, Happy Monday singer Shaun Ryder and EastEnders actress Heather Pearce.
Media personality Kerry Katona, cricket legend Phil Tufnell, comedian Tim Vine and chef and Young Masterchef judge Big Has complete the line-up.
Finally, sprucing up the floor for the Christmas party episode will be Ibiza Weekender star and Celebrity Big Brother winner David Potts, ex-Gogglebox star Scarlett Moffatt, comedians Babatunde Aleshe and Seann Walsh, BBC Radio 2 star Richie Anderson, EastEnders star Louisa Lytton, It Takes Two host Janette Manrara and TV personality and The Real Housewives of Cheshire star Christine McGuinness.
The Chase
ITV opted to not broadcast any new Christmassy episodes last year but this December, fans are in for a treat with two brand new episodes.
Alexander Armstrong, host of the BBC’s teatime quiz rival Pointless, has signed up for the show and will finally be able to come face-to-face with Brad amid their show hosting rivalry.
Joining Alexander on his team will be Coronation Street star Tony Maudsley, comedian Kerry Godliman and Olympian Bryony Page.
Elsewhere, a second special is on the horizon with McFly star Harry Judd and Strictly pro Kai Widdrington leading the line-up.
EastEnders star Shane Richie and Waterloo Road actress Angela Griffin will round-out the famous names.
Bradley Walsh will be at the helm of the episodes as usual with all of the Chasers muscling in on the action and switching in and out round-by-round as opposed to undertaking a full episode each.
Hardest Quiz Show Questions
Would you know the answers to some of quizzing TV's hardest questions
- Who Wants To Be A Millionaire – Earlier this year, fans were left outraged after what they described as the “worst” question in the show’s history. Host Jeremy Clarkson asked: “From the 2000 awards ceremony onwards, the Best Actress Oscar has never been won by a woman whose surname begins with which one of these letters?” The multiple choice answers were between G, K, M and W. In the end, and with the £32,000 safe, player Glen had to make a guess and went for G. It turned out to be correct as Nicole Kidman, Frances McDormand and Kate Winslet are among the stars who have won the Best Actress gong since 2000.
- The 1% Club – Viewers of Lee Mack’s popular ITV show were left dumbfounded by a question that also left the players perplexed. The query went as follows: “Edna’s birthday is on the 6th of April and Jen’s birthday falls on the 15th of October, therefore Amir’s birthday must be the ‘X’ of January.” It turns out the conundrum links the numbers with its position in the sentence, so 6th is the sixth word and 15th is the fifteenth word. Therefore, Amir’s birthday is January 24th, corresponding to the 24th word in the sentence.
- The Chase – The ITV daytime favourite left fans scratching their heads when it threw up one of the most bizarre questions to ever grace the programme. One of the questions asked the player: “Someone with a nightshade intolerance should avoid eating what?” The options were – sweetcorn, potatoes, carrots – with Steve selecting sweetcorn but the correct answer was potatoes.