ITV orders second series of Red or Black?

After much dithering ITV has finally decided to order a second series of Red or Black fronted by Geordie duo Ant and Dec.

ITV has commissioned an all-new second series of Red or Black? from ITV Studios and Syco TV. Hosted by Ant and Dec, the show will air weekly on ITV1 later in the year. The high octane, high jeopardy and supersized game show will feature more large scale stunts and nerve wracking challenges where the contestants will use their judgement and skill to battle it out to win big money prizes.

But in a brand new twist to last year’s series, if the prize isn’t won the money rolls over to the next week. The prize starts at £500,000 and could rise to a massive £3.5 million, one of the biggest prizes up for grabs on British television.  Each show will culminate in one finalist having an all or nothing opportunity to triumph. But if they get it wrong, they walk away empty handed.

Red or Black? will feature celebrity names, games, and the biggest music acts. The last series featured amazing stunts and challenges from the sporting and entertainment world’s biggest talents including current World Number 1 golfing hero Rory McIlroy and current World Number 3 Lee Westwood; football greats Robin Van Persie and Cesc Fàbregas; F1 legends Jensen Button and David Coulthard; cricketers Michael Vaughan and Freddie Flintoff; and boxing champion Amir Khan and David Haye. Plus the cast of Coronation Street, David Hasselhoff, Louis Walsh, JLS, One Direction, Leona Lewis, Jessie J and Pixie Lott.

The last series of Red or Black? peaked at 8.1 million viewers and averaged 5.3 million over its week long strip in September 2011, making it ITV1’s highest performing entertainment launch in five years.

“Red or Back? is an extravaganza of a show, it’s the most nerve-wracking thing to work on but hugely exciting with so much at stake for the contestants. We’re really excited to be going again with the new series.” – Ant and Dec

“One of the things I love most about this show is that it’s exciting, unpredictable, scary, and a bit nuts all in one. I’m delighted it’s back and am excited about the possibility of rollover winnings and some even bigger games.” – Simon Cowell

“We have developed Red or Black? and built on what we did with the first series. The scale of the challenges will still be huge but this time around, contestants will have more control over their own destinies as they are able to use their skill and judgement in an attempt to win big money prizes.” – Peter Fincham, ITV’s Director of Television

“With a great weekly slot and our experience from series one, we are really excited to be bringing the new Red or Black? to ITV1.” – Denise O’Donoghue, Managing Director, ITV Studios UK

Red or Black? will be made by ITV Studios and Syco TV and was commissioned by ITV’s Director of Comedy and Entertainment Elaine Bedell. The commissioning editor is Kate Maddigan. It will be executive produced for ITV Studios by Richard Cowles and for Syco TV by Siobhan Greene and Nigel Hall and series produced by Sarah Harris from ITVS.