''Alan Carr's Celebrity Ding Dong'' is a

game show A game show (or gameshow) is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment where contestants compete in a game for rewards. The shows are typically directed by a game show host, host, who explains the rules of the program as well as commentating a ...

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

, presented by

Alan Carr Alan Graham Carr (born 14 June 1976) is an English comedian, broadcaster, and writer. His breakthrough was in 2001, winning the '' City Life'' Best Newcomer of the Year and the BBC New Comedy Awards. In the ensuing years, Carr's career burgeo ...

. During the first series, voice-over commentary in between rounds on the scores is provided by

Leslie Phillips Leslie Samuel Phillips (20 April 1924 – 7 November 2022) was an English actor. He achieved prominence in the 1950s, playing smooth, upper-class comic roles utilising his "Ding dong" and "Hello" catchphrases. He appeared in the '' Carry On'' ...

. From Series 2, the announcer is Peter Dickson. A Series 1 compilation was later released onto DVD in 2008.

Format

The first series of Alan Carr's Celebrity Ding Dong was based around a gameshow format where two teams — "Celebrities" and "Civilians" — were asked a series of questions relating to the other team's lifestyle. Rounds included 'Celebrity Crypts', 'Life Swap', 'Kiss and Tell' and 'How the Other Half Lives'; producers claim that "fantastic prizes" can be won, much like a traditional gameshow format. The second series abandoned the "Celebrities vs. Civilians" angle and went with two different teams of celebrities each episode. The show also includes a celebrity news section, where Carr will irreverently discuss the week's showbiz news.

Episodes

Series 1

Series 2

Series 2 started 10 October 2008. Although the series was originally commissioned for 6 episodes, only 5 episodes aired. However, at the end of the series, Alan revealed that there would be a special episode airing at Christmas time. The shows featured two teams of celebrities from similar programs or who have similar backgrounds playing against each other, such as

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' (colloquially referred to as ''Corrie'') is a British television soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced ...

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a British television soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the East End of London, the ...

noted in an interview with

Jonathan Ross Jonathan Stephen Ross (born 17 November 1960) is an English broadcaster, film critic, comedian, actor, writer, and producer. He presented the BBC One chat show '' Friday Night with Jonathan Ross'' during the 2000s and early 2010s, hosted his ow ...

, that due to complaints from civilians they had to abandon the previous format and go along with celebrity teams. : The winning celebrity team

Home release

Season one was released onto DVD 20 October 2008. It features the entire 6-episode season meshed together with intercepting scenes of him interviewing Liz Hurley. Bonus features involve the unaired pilot, deleted scenes, a gag reel and a featurette. It featured only English subtitles and is only playable on a Region 2 player. Season Two has not been released and no statements for its release have been made, most probably due to Carr' moving on with his chat show and the fact the series had low viewers towards its end.

References

External links

* * *{{UKGameshow, Celebrity_Ding_Dong 2000s British game shows 2008 British television series debuts 2008 British television series endings Channel 4 game shows