Keith Barry

Saturday nigh''s strangest primetime distraction - an unsettling splice of The Generation Game and The Manchurian Candidate - continues. Pro mesmeriser Keith Barry puts five civilian contestants under before the cameras start rolling, enabling him to rewire their behaviour on the fly as they tackle a series of simple challenges in pursuit of a £25,000 prize. Smoothing over the most erratic behaviour is unflappable host Phillip Schofield, this week joined by superbike star Carl Fogarty and docile reality hunk Joey Essex.

For those of you lucky enough to miss the so-called entertainment show the first time around the basic premise of You're Back in the Room is that five members of the public attempt to win a large amount of money whilst being put under hypnosis. While it sounds like a sound enough idea for a small segment on a show such as Saturday Night Takeaway, rolling out to an hour was a mistake on its own. Host Phillip Schofield doesn't help matters by basically failing to keep a straight face during each challenge and basically having a lot of fun at the contestants' expense. Unfortunately Schofield forgets that his main job as the host is to keep up as at home entertained but rather it seems that only he, the studio audience and hypnotist Keith Barry are in on the joke. Barry himself is an odd character who has tried to build his role in the series to more than that of a lackey who gives the contestants zany things to do before each challenge. Furthermore it appears as if Barry has been told to involve Schofield more in the game meaning that he got the contestants do to a number of things to the host including writing him love letters and giving him the kiss of life. The reason for Barry's involvement is to hinder the contestants in their various challenges, five in total, so they win as little money as possible. But the fact they came away from the game with fifteen thousand pounds suggests to me that he didn't do his job very well. Instead the hypnosis is just a silly little gimmick to add on to what is basically just a bog-standard Saturday night game show and not a good one at that. This series seems intent on being more low-rent than its predecessor which was exemplified in a challenge which saw the contestants administer beauty treatments to the 'stars' of Loose Women. There's nothing of merit I can say about You're Back in the Room which is the complete antithesis to Ant and Dec's brilliant show which airs before it. Whilst the Geordie duo keep their audience engaged throughout, Philip and Keith seem intent on making us at home as drowsy as the contestants are pre-challenge. I'm just hoping that Keith stays away from the ITV executives as I'm sure hypnosis is the only way that this rubbish got recommissioned in the first place.

Although it was met with allegations of fakery when it first aired last year, the Phillip Schofield-fronted gameshow returns for a second run, with mesmerist Keith Barry once again claiming that he can coerce participants into doing the strangest of things. Indeed, series one saw him convince contestants that they were jockeys, bodybuilders and even X Factor contestants. It might provoke a few giggles but if you find that you're very, very sleepy and your eyelids are growing heavy that's probably boredom rather than hypnosis.

Clearly we're sensible people so would never countenance watching Saturday night game shows on ITV. And yet here we are, and I can honestly say You're Back In The Room is funny and entertaining: it's all those things Saturday night TV used to be about in the wholesome days before talent shows and ratings wars took over.

The new series starts tonight of this hypnosis-based game show presented by Philip Schofield where a group of five complete strangers have to work together in various challenges to win a cash prize. However, International Mentalist (that's quite a job title!) Keith Barry puts them under hypnosis so they will "unwittingly sabotage their chances".

One of their tasks tonight is to subject the panel of Loose Women to a pampering session. You'd have to be under strict mind control to want to massage that troupe of loud, unbearable women, but the real challenge comes from the various roles the hypnotised contestants have adopted: one thinks she is a cosmetic surgeon, one is made to believe he's in howling pain whenever he pulls off a wax strip, and another believes the Loose Women have foul body odour. Yes it's silly but it's simple family entertainment which is what Saturday night TV should deliver.

Keith Barry interview

You're Back In The Room hypnotist Keith Barry doesn't just use his brain-hacking skill to subject the likes of Phillip Schofield to wardrobe misery. He also uses it to get out of speeding tickets.

You're Back In The Room: A hypnotist's review

From a hypnotist's perspective, the show does no favours to the credibility of our industry. Any science provided by the hypnotist Keith Barry is minimalistic and unenlightening, the hypnosis of the contestants is glossed over and the show makes insufficient effort to educate viewers about the power of the psychological phenomenon.

This week we have the latest proof that ITV's light entertainment line-up has been devised by Alan Partridge. Following such disasters as Harry Hill's Stars in their Eyes and Get Your Act Together, the channel were in a need of a new hit. Unfortunately they're not going to find it in hypnosis-based game show You're Back in the Room which sounded like a rubbish idea even before it began.

Every week five members of the public compete in a series of challenges including balloon blowing and clay sculpting with the aim to win as much money as possible. The only problem is that they've been put under the spell of the hitherto unknown hypnotist Keith Barry.

Whilst watching You're Back in the Room I had the distinct impression that the whole show was a way to get Barry famous and that he'd had to hypnotise the light entertainment department at ITV in order to do so. The only people who'd find You're Back in the Room remotely entertaining are those who feel that one man trying to re-enact the pottery scene from Ghost with another male contestant is the funniest thing you've ever seen.

The humour in You're Back in the Room was very base and at times I felt like the only people being entertained were the studio audience and host Philip Schofield. Indeed, Schofield seemed to be having the time of his life leading me to believe that he was seeing something that those of as at home didn't.

Obviously there was the big question about whether the contestants were genuinely hypnotised or if they were just acting. However, I don't think this matters all that much as even if they were acting it didn't contribute to a show that was entertaining in the slightest.

The best Saturday night shows; such as Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway, are ones in which the hosts try to involve the audience at home as best they can. Unfortunately the only people being entertained by You're Back in the Room were those watching it live and as a result I don't see it being back on the box after this series has come to an end.

Radio Times review

A comedy game show based on hypnosis: five members of the public take on straightforward tasks, made harder by the hurdles that hypnotist Keith Barry plants in their unconscious minds. If they can complete the tasks, they'll share a £25,000 prize. But they'll look very silly along the way.

Phillip Schofield as ringmaster tries to keep his air of priestly calm while all around him is chaos. Serving a meal to celebrity chefs, Carolyn believes she has lost a precious ring in the mash, while Kate shakes every bottle of champagne in celebration. During a music round, there's an altercation between Lennie, who thinks she's an X Factor judge, and Ross, who believes he is James Brown. And that old chestnut: in the blowing-up-balloons round, Ross believes he's naked.

Interview with hypnotist Keith Barry

Professional hypnotist Keith Barry talks about his role in You're Back In The Room.