TELLY favourite Stephen Mulhern has teased a more competitive ‘Deal or No Deal‘ if his revival pilot is commissioned for a full series.
The ‘Catchphrase’ host thinks things are looking positive for a reboot of Noel Edmonds’ iconic game show on ITV – but he has warned viewers that his pilot won’t see quite the same unity between contestants.
We reported last year that the iconic noughties series was making a comeback on ITV.
He told the Politicalite last night: “I think the way Noel did the show, it was very much like a group, everybody was supporting each other.
“But the reality is now I think things are a bit more… I think it will be as entertaining, but people want to win money now.”
The 45-year-old star is replacing Noel at the helm, and he is hopeful the show will get commissioned after filming the pilot.
He added: “The rumour is that ‘Deal or No Deal’ is coming back. We did a pilot for it.
“Do I think that it will get commissioned? I honestly think it will. Have we had the official green light? The answer is no.
“But I do think it will come back, and if it does I will be over the moon.”
The format sees a contestant choose one of 22 boxes, each containing a cash amount between 1p to £250,000, and then attempting to win as much as possible either by gambling on having a high amount in their chosen box, or making the game’s hidden operator, named “the Banker”, offer a considerable cash sum for their box regardless of what is inside.
Over its original 11 year run between 2005 and 2016, ‘Deal Or No Deal’, gave away a total of £40 million to winners.
And while there were talks about potentially getting Noel back involved, ITV instead decided to go in a different direction.
Back in October, a source told The Sun newspaper: “There have been discussions around Noel possibly returning but ITV decided they want to give the show a completely fresh look and feel.
“Stephen has been approached about being the new host of the show which is something he is over-the-moon about.
“He has really proven himself to ITV and after he got his own show ‘In For A Penny’, as well as ‘Catchphrase’, bosses think Stephen could be ideal for it.”
