The Marriage Ref details revealed

Jonathan Ross, James Corden, Geri Halliwell, Alan Carr, Jimmy Carr, Sarah Millican and Micky Flanagan will all appear as panellists on ITV1’s new Saturday night entertainment show, The Marriage Ref, which is due to start later this month.

As we noted earlier last month The Marriage Ref, is to be hosted by The X Factor’s Dermot O’Leary and is based on a format originally created by Jerry Seinfeld, whereby real life, loving couples discuss their marital tiffs before a live studio audience. The disputes will all be quirky, funny, and eminently recognisable.

Disagreements that will be discussed on the show include a man who complains that his wife loves the cat more than him, and is also convinced that the cat has it in for him, plus a woman who wants her husband to give up his skateboarding hobby and grow up. Each partner will have the chance to put their side of the dispute across before the panel made up of three celebrities and comedians. The panellists will offer their own wit, wisdom and unique opinions on the problem, discussing the merits of each side before voting on who they think is correct.

Dermot O’Leary, the show’s host, says, “I’ll encourage the panel to keep it warm and friendly, fat chance! And I will definitely try to remain impartial, but I can’t promise… We have great panellists taking part, they’ll all bring something special.”

The Marriage Ref is already an international hit and has been produced in major territories including the US, Russia, Argentina, China and the Middle East. Zeppotron will produce the format in the UK and Endemol is the exclusive distributor of The Marriage Ref format across all platforms outside of the USA.

The seven part series was commissioned by ITV’s Director of Entertainment & Comedy Elaine Bedell and Commissioning Editor, Comedy and Entertainment Claire Zolkwer. Zolkwer says, “We are absolutely delighted to have so many great celebrities and comedians on our panel. Each week there will be three people commenting on the disputes, with Dermot as host. The panellists we’ve chosen are certainly not backward in coming forward, so there’s bound to be some lively debates on subjects we can all relate to.”

The seven hour long series will transmit on ITV this summer.