ITV to revive Sunday Night At The London Palladium
ITV is to revive the iconic TV series Sunday Night At The London Palladium.
The format, which was watched by over 25 million viewers in its heyday in the 1950s and 1960s, was previously hosted by the likes of Tommy Trinder, Bruce Forsyth and Jimmy Tarbuck.
A new six-part series is now being created by ITV Studios, with the format - like Live At The Apollo - now set to operate on a guest host basis.
Rob Brydon, Jimmy Carr, Alan Davies, Milton Jones, Sarah Millican, Bradley Walsh and Jack Whitehall are reportedly amongst those that have been booked to appear.
As before, the show will also feature musical entertainment, with Neil Diamond, Art Garfunkel, Bryan Adams, Maroon 5, The Script, Nicole Scherzinger and Little Mix set to perform.
An ITV spokesperson described the revival as follows: "Some of the UK's best-loved comics and entertainers will host one show each and introduce some of the biggest stars from music and comedy. There will be jaw-dropping acts from around the world, plus surprise guests."
Produced by ATV, Sunday Night At The London Palladium originally ran from 1955 to 1967 with hosts Tommy Trinder, Bruce Forsyth, Don Arrol, Norman Vaughan, Jimmy Tarbuck. The show was noted for booking some of the biggest names in entertainment, with the likes of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones making appearances on the show.
The title re-appeared on TV in 1973 and 1974 with Jim Dale, however two episodes were taken off air due to bomb scares.
The variety format was revived in the 1980s. Hosted by Jimmy Tarbuck and broadcast from different theatres, it was first Live From Her Majesty's, then Live From The Piccadilly and finally Live From The Palladium. The first of the three was the series in which Tommy Cooper suffered a fatal heart attack live on screen.
A further revival in 2000, called Tonight At The London Palladium, was hosted by Bruce Forsyth but was axed after one series due to poor ratings.
The new series of Sunday Night At The London Palladium is expected to start on ITV this September. An ITV executive describes the programme as "a fun and unmissable part of the weekend".