''Celebrity Letters and Numbers'' is an Australian comedy

panel game show A panel show or panel game is a radio or television game show in which a panel of celebrities participates. Celebrity panelists may compete with each other, such as on ''The News Quiz''; facilitate play by non-celebrity contestants, such as on ' ...

on SBS which premiered on 2 October 2021. It is a revived version of the

game show A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or Let's Play, demonstrative and are typically directed b ...

Letters and Numbers ''Letters and Numbers'' is an Australian game show on SBS One. It is hosted by former newsreader Richard Morecroft, co-hosted by David Astle and Lily Serna. Although it is based on the French game show ''Des chiffres et des lettres'', its struct ...

'', which aired on SBS from 2010 to 2012, with an altered format with celebrity contestants competing rather than members of the public. Co-hosts

David Astle David Astle (born 9 November 1961) is an Australian TV personality and radio host, and writer of non-fiction, fiction and plays. He also co-hosted the SBS Television (SBS) show ''Letters and Numbers'', as the dictionary expert, in company with Ri ...

and

Lily Serna Lily Serna is an Australian mathematician and television presenter, best known for co-presenting the SBS game shows '' Letters and Numbers'' (2010−2012) and ''Celebrity Letters and Numbers'' (2021−), as well as the cooking show ''Destinati ...

returned from the original series, while comedian, journalist and actor Michael Hing replaced presenter

Richard Morecroft Richard Morecroft (born 20 January 1956) is an English-born Australian radio announcer, TV newsreader and presenter, and conservationist. He presented the Adelaide News bulletin, before becoming the long-running host of the nightly bulletin of ...

as host. Two series of twelve episodes were commissioned in July 2021 with celebrity guests including

Hamish Blake Hamish Donald Blake (born 11 December 1981) is an Australian comedian, television and radio presenter, actor and author. Since 2003, he has worked with Andy Lee as part of the comedy duo Hamish and Andy. The pair have performed live and on te ...

Susie Youssef Susan Kathryn Youssef (born 1984) is a writer and actor who works in television, on radio and stage in Australia and the United Kingdom. Youssef performed at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Sydney Comedy Festival, Edinburgh Fest ...

Merrick Watts Merrick Watts (born 18 November 1973) is an Australian comedian, radio and television presenter. He is best known for performing stand-up comedy and radio works as part of the comedy duo Merrick and Rosso with Tim Ross. Career Stand up Watts ...

and Matt Okine, and the third season will air from 17 September 2022. The show is similar to the British comedy panel show ''

8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown ''8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown'' is a British comedy panel show on Channel 4. The show follows the game of ''Countdown'', but presented in a comedic panel show format seen on ''8 Out of 10 Cats'', with the show being a crossover of the two. ...

'', which also features celebrity comedians and airs on SBS in Australia.

ITV Studios Australia ITV Studios Australia is an Australian television production company and the Australian arm of UK company ITV Studios. It was formed as Artist Services in 1989, later becoming Granada Media Australia before being rebranded to its current name in ...

also took over as the production company (

Shine Australia Endemol Shine Australia is an Australian production company and is a division of Banijay led by Rory Callaghan. Following an acquisition of shares, production company Endemol Australia merged with Shine Australia on July 26, 2015. They produce ...

had produced the civilian version); the revamped program uses ITV-owned elements developed for the British ''

Countdown A countdown is a sequence of backward counting to indicate the time remaining before an event is scheduled to occur. NASA commonly employs the terms "L-minus" and "T-minus" during the preparation for and anticipation of a rocket launch, and eve ...

'' such as its logo style and theme music.

Gameplay

Unlike the original version of ''Letters and Numbers'', each episode features three contestants competing individually and the winning contestant does not return for the next episode. Additionally, instead of winning a

Macquarie Dictionary The ''Macquarie Dictionary'' () is a dictionary of Australian English. It is generally considered by universities and the legal profession to be the authoritative source on Australian English. It also pays considerable attention to New Zealand ...

, the guest with the most points wins a single volume from the 1980s ''Oceaniapaedia''

encyclopedia An encyclopedia (American English) or encyclopædia (British English) is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge either general or special to a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into articles ...

, allegedly donated by the Hing family. Another addition is the inclusion of a Dictionary Corner guest, as in the British show ''

'', who sits beside Astle. The mix of letters and numbers rounds, the final nine-letter conundrum and the eight-letter word mixes preceding the commercial break are retained from the original series.

Episodes

Season 1 (2021)

:Note: Winners are listed in bold

Season 2 (Early 2022)

:Note: Winners are listed in bold

Season 3 (Late 2022)

:Note: Winners are listed in bold

References

External links

SBS On Demand: ''Celebrity Letters and Numbers''
*{{IMDb title, tt15533298 Special Broadcasting Service original programming 2021 Australian television series debuts 2020s Australian comedy television series 2020s Australian game shows English-language television shows Television series by ITV Studios Australian television series based on non-Australian television series

Gameplay

Episodes

Season 1 (2021)

Season 2 (Early 2022)

Season 3 (Late 2022)

See also

References

External links