''Celebrity Poker Club'' is a British television series featuring

celebrities Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group as a result of the attention given to them by mass media. An individual may attain a celebrity status from having great wealth, their participation in sports ...

playing

poker Poker is a family of comparing card games in which players wager over which hand is best according to that specific game's rules. It is played worldwide, however in some places the rules may vary. While the earliest known form of the game w ...

. It aired on Challenge for three series from 2003 to 2005 as a spin-off from

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

's popular ''

Late Night Poker ''Late Night Poker'' is a British television series that helped popularize poker in the 2000s. It used "under the table" cameras that enabled the viewer to see each player's cards. The show originally ran for six series between 1999 and 2002 ...

'' series.

Liam Flood Liam Flood ( 1943 – 16 August 2014) was an Irish bookmaker and professional poker player who was the 1997 European poker champion.Kirby, Terry (2005)Poker playing robots? Surely not, ''The Independent'', 6 July 2005, retrieved 7 November 201 ...

was the casino manager for the series, and Cayt Dear was the producer.

Commentators

* Series 1:

Jesse May Jesse May is an American poker commentator and player. Jesse May was born in New York City in 1971 and raised in Madison, New Jersey, where he first became hooked on poker playing with friends. In 1988, he started attending The University of C ...

and

Barny Boatman Barny M. P. Boatman (born 1956 in St Pancras, London) is an English professional poker player and the oldest member of the poker-playing foursome known as The Hendon Mob. He is the older brother of Ross Boatman, and resides in Archway. Dur ...

* Series 2: Jesse May and Grub Smith * Series 3: Jesse May and

Victoria Coren Victoria Elizabeth Coren Mitchell (' Coren; born ) is a British writer, TV presenter and professional poker player. Coren Mitchell writes weekly columns for '' The Telegraph'' and has hosted the BBC television quiz show '' Only Connect'' since ...

, with backstage interviews by Helen Chamberlain

Series finalists

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Sir Clive Sinclair Sir Clive Marles Sinclair (30 July 1940 – 16 September 2021) was an English entrepreneur and inventor, best known for being a pioneer in the computing industry, and also as the founder of several companies that developed consumer electronic ...

, £25,000 , Keith Allen , *

Cindy Blake Cindy may refer to: People *Cindy (given name), a list of people named Cindy, Cindi, Cyndi or Cyndy *Tugiyati Cindy (born 1985), Indonesian footballer Music * ''Cindy'' (musical), an off-Broadway production in 1964 and 1965 * "Cindy" (folk song ...

Zac Goldsmith Frank Zacharias Robin Goldsmith, Baron Goldsmith of Richmond Park, (born 20 January 1975) is a British politician, life peer and journalist serving as Minister of State for Overseas Territories, Commonwealth, Energy, Climate and Environment si ...

Stephen Hendry Stephen Gordon Hendry (born 13 January 1969) is a Scottish professional snooker player who dominated the sport during the 1990s, becoming one of the most successful players in its history. After turning professional in 1985 at age 16, Hendry ...

Gladstone Small Gladstone Cleophas Small (born 18 October 1961) is an English former cricketer, who played in 17 Test matches and 53 One Day Internationals (ODIs) for the England cricket team. Small was primarily a pace bowler, he was selected for the 1986� ...

John McCririck John Michael McCririck (17 April 1940 – 5 July 2019) was an English horse racing pundit, television personality and journalist. McCririck began his career at '' The Sporting Life'', where he twice won at the British Press Awards for his camp ...

Tony Cascarino Anthony Guy Cascarino (born 1 September 1962) is a former professional association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), striker for various British and French clubs and internationally for the Republic of Ireland ...

, * Fiona Foster *

Sam West Samuel Filmore West (October 5, 1904 – November 23, 1985) was a center fielder in Major League Baseball who played for three different teams from to . Listed at , 165 lb., West batted and threw left-handed. He was born in Longview, Texa ...

Nolan Hemmings Nolan Hemmings (born 1970) is an English stage and film actor. He is known for his role as Charles E. Grant in '' Band of Brothers''. Early life Hemmings is the son of British actor/director David Hemmings and American actress Gayle Hunnicutt. ...

* Grub Smith *

John Bishop John Marcus Bishop (born 30 November 1966) is an English comedian, presenter, actor and former footballer. Bishop formerly played football as a midfielder for Winsford United F.C., Crewe Alexandra F.C., Runcorn F.C., Rhyl F.C., Witton Al ...

Nigel Lindsay Nigel Lindsay (born 17 January 1969) is an English actor. He is best known on television for his roles as Sir Robert Peel in the first two seasons of ''Victoria'', Jo Jo Marshall in the Netflix series '' Safe'' and as Barry in the BAFTA-winnin ...

, - , 2 ,

, £25,000 ,

Willie Thorne William Joseph Thorne (4 March 195417 June 2020) was an English professional snooker player. He won one ranking title, the 1985 Classic. He also reached the final of the 1985 UK Championship, losing 16–14 to Steve Davis after leading 13–8 ...

, *

Barry Hearn Barry Maurice William Hearn (born 19 June 1948) is an English sporting events promoter and the founder and President of promotions company Matchroom Sport. Through Matchroom, Hearn is also involved in many sports including snooker, darts, pool ...

Norman Pace Norman John Pace (born 17 February 1953 in Dudley, Worcestershire) is an English actor and comedian, best known as one half of the comedy duo Hale and Pace with his friend and comic partner Gareth Hale. Both former teachers, they fronted seve ...

* Roger DeCourcey *

Tom Parker Bowles Thomas Henry Parker Bowles (; born 18 December 1974) is a British food writer and food critic. Parker Bowles is the author of seven cookbooks and, in 2010, won the Guild of Food Writers 2010 award for his writings on British food. He is known ...

Steve Davis Steve Davis (born 22 August 1957) is an English retired professional snooker player who is currently a Sports commentator, commentator, musician, DJ, and author. He is best known for dominating professional snooker during the 1980s, when he rea ...

Eric Bristow Eric John Bristow, (25 April 1957 – 5 April 2018), nicknamed "The Crafty Cockney", was an English professional darts player. He was ranked World No. 1 by the World Darts Federation a record five times, in 1980, 1981 and 1983–1985. He was ...

, *

Jonny Gould Jonny Gould is a British media presenter, sports journalist, and political commentator. He has formerly broadcast on Sky News, Smooth Radio, and Talksport among others. Gould has commented on antisemitism, conservative politics, and the s ...

Raj Persaud Rajendra 'Raj' Persaud FRCPsych (born 13 May 1963) is an English consultant psychiatrist, broadcaster and author of books about psychiatry. He is known for raising public awareness of psychiatric and mental health issues in the general media, ...

Jesse Birdsall Jesse Birdsall (born 13 February 1963) is an English actor, known for his roles as Marcus Tandy in the BBC1 soap opera ''Eldorado'', Nick Beckett in the adventure series '' Bugs'' (1995–1999), football manager Roger Webb in ''Footballers' Wive ...

Matt Born Matt may refer to: * Matt (name), people with the given name ''Matt'' or Matthew, meaning "gift from God", or the surname Matt *In British English, of a surface: having a non-glossy finish, see gloss (material appearance) * Matt, Switzerland, a ...

* Fiona Foster *

Jon Ronson Jon Ronson (born 10 May 1967) is a British-American journalist, author, and filmmaker whose works include '' Them: Adventures with Extremists'' (2001), ''The Men Who Stare at Goats'' (2004), and ''The Psychopath Test'' (2011). He has been desc ...

, - , 3 , A. D. Bower , £25,000 ,

Edward Giddins Edward Simon Hunter Giddins (born 20 July 1971) is a former English cricketer who played in four Test cricket, Tests from 1999 to 2000. Giddins was born in Eastbourne, Sussex, Giddins was educated at St. Bedes Preparatory School in Eastbourne ...

, * Michael Greco *

Mike Tindall Michael James Tindall, (born 18 October 1978) is an English former rugby union player. Tindall played outside centre for Bath and Gloucester, and won 75 caps for England between 2000 and 2011. He was a member of the England squad which won ...

Alexander Armstrong Alexander Henry Fenwick Armstrong (born 2 March 1970) is an English actor, comedian, radio personality, television presenter and singer. He is the host of the BBC One game show ''Pointless'', as well as the morning show on Classic FM. He is ...

Richard Herring Richard Keith Herring (born 12 July 1967) is an English stand-up comedian and writer, whose early work includes the comedy double act Lee and Herring (alongside Stewart Lee). He is described by ''The British Theatre Guide'' as "one of the leadin ...

Richard Orford Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'strong ...

, *

Kitty Flanagan Kitty Flanagan (born 1968) is an Australian comedian, writer and actress who works in Australia and the United Kingdom. She has also performed in France, Germany, the Netherlands, South Africa, and Japan and at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and ...

Craig Charles Craig Joseph Charles (born 11 July 1964) is an English actor, comedian, television and radio presenter. He is best known for his roles as Dave Lister in the science fiction sitcom ''Red Dwarf'' and Lloyd Mullaney in the soap opera ''Coronation ...

Oliver Chris Oliver Graham Chris (born 2 November 1978) is an English actor. He has appeared in television series, TV films and on the stage. His work has included theatrical productions in London's West End theatre, West End and Broadway theatre, Broadway in ...

Lucy Porter Lucy Donna Porter (born 27 January 1973) is an English actress, writer and comedian. She has performed at the Edinburgh Fringe, the Brighton Festival and many clubs around Britain. She is also a regular voice on BBC Radio 4 in various panel sh ...

James Hewitt James Lifford Hewitt (born 30 April 1958) is a British former cavalry officer in the British Army. He came to public attention in the mid-1990s after he disclosed an affair with Diana, Princess of Wales, while she was still married to then-Pri ...

* Anne Savage Other celebrities featured have included

Dave Gorman David James Gorman (born 2 March 1971) is an English comedian, presenter, and writer. Gorman began his career writing for comedy series such as ''The Mrs Merton Show'' (1993–1998) and ''The Fast Show'' (1994–1997), and later garnered ac ...

, Rory McGrath,

Dexter Fletcher Dexter Fletcher (born 31 January 1966) is an English film director and actor. He has appeared in Guy Ritchie's ''Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels'', as well as in television shows such as the comedy drama '' Hotel Babylon'' and the HBO series ...

Dennis Taylor Dennis Taylor (born 19 January 1949) is a Northern Irish retired professional snooker player and current commentator. He is best known for winning the 1985 World Snooker Championship, where he defeated the defending champion Steve Davis in a ...

Louise Wener Louise Jane Wener (born 30 July 1966, Gants Hill, London, England) is an English writer, singer, songwriter and guitarist of the band Sleeper. She is the younger daughter of Donald Wener, an Inland Revenue tax inspector from East Ham who had se ...

Nick Leeson Nicholas William Leeson (born 25 February 1967) is an English former derivatives trader whose fraudulent, unauthorized and speculative trades resulted in the 1995 collapse of Barings Bank, the United Kingdom's oldest merchant bank. Leeson was ...

Howard Marks Dennis Howard Marks (13 August 1945 – 10 April 2016) was a Welsh drug smuggler and author who achieved notoriety as an international cannabis smuggler through high-profile court cases. At his peak he claimed to have been smuggling consignmen ...

Charles Ingram Charles William Ingram (born 6 August 1963) is an English novelist and former British Army major who gained notoriety for his appearance on the ITV television game show ''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?''. In episodes recorded in September 200 ...

Martin Amis Martin Louis Amis (born 25 August 1949) is a British novelist, essayist, memoirist, and screenwriter. He is best known for his novels ''Money'' (1984) and ''London Fields'' (1989). He received the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for his memoir '' ...

Al Alvarez Alfred Alvarez (5 August 1929 – 23 September 2019) was an English poet, novelist, essayist and critic who published under the name A. Alvarez and Al Alvarez. Background Alfred Alvarez was born in London, to an Ashkenazic Jewish mother and a ...

, Phil Taylor,

Hattie Hayridge Hattie Hayridge (born 17 December 1959) is a British comedian and actress, best known for the role of the female version of Holly (Red Dwarf), Holly in ''Red Dwarf'' during the third, fourth and fifth series. She was described as a "cult figure ...

Johnny Vegas Michael Joseph Pennington (born 5 September 1970), better known as Johnny Vegas, is an English comedian, actor, writer, and director. He is known for his thick Lancashire accent, husky voice, overweight appearance, angry comedic rants, and us ...

Darren Campbell Darren Andrew Campbell, (born 12 September 1973) is a British former sprint athlete. He was the sprint coach at Wasps Rugby Club for the 2015–16 season. He competed in the 100 metres and 200 metres, as well as the 4 × 100 metres relay. ...

Phil Daniels Philip William Daniels (born 25 October 1958) is an English actor, musician and singer, most noted for film and television roles playing Londoners, such as the lead role of Jimmy Cooper in ''Quadrophenia'', Richards in '' Scum'', Stewart in ''Th ...

Graham Linehan Graham Linehan () (born 22 May 1968) is an Irish television writer and anti-transgender activist. He created or co-created the sitcoms ''Father Ted'' (1995–1998), ''Black Books'' (2000–2004) and '' The IT Crowd'' (2006–2013). He has also ...

Ally McCoist Alistair Murdoch McCoist, (; born 24 September 1962) is a Scottish former footballer who has since worked as a manager and TV pundit. McCoist began his playing career with Scottish club St Johnstone before moving to English side Sunderland i ...

Colin Murray Colin Murray (born Luke Wright on 10 March 1977) is a Northern Irish radio and television presenter. In 2010, he became host of BBC Television's ''Match of the Day 2'' on BBC Two, while still anchoring shows on BBC Radio 5 Live, including '' 5 ...

and

Michael Praed Michael Praed ( ; born 1 April 1960), birth name Michael David Prince, is a British actor and narrator, probably best remembered for his role as Robin of Loxley in the British television series ''Robin of Sherwood'', which attained cult status ...

. Several celebrities playing in the tournament were put forward by celebpoker.com.

External links

Victoria Coren article from ''The Observer''
Channel 4 original programming Poker tournaments Poker television shows Poker in Europe Celebrity competitions 2003 British television series debuts 2005 British television series endings Television series by Banijay