Michael McIntyre's Big Show

Michael McIntyre interview

Michael McIntyre is back for a seventh series of his hit BBC One show.

Big Show really is Saturday night TV at its very best - what do you think it is about the show that makes it such a big hit?

Over the years Michael McIntyre's Big Show has made people laugh and made people cry. The combination of heart and hilarity is what I feel makes the show so special. We've managed to keep the show full of new ideas as well as breathing new life into viewers' favourites. The ideas are so strong and well executed.

Last series we did a TV Takeover, where a man watched his favourite show, The Antiques Roadshow, but didn't know he was watching a fake version full of all his belongings that we had borrowed from his home. This series, we play a similar prank with The One Show.

A few series ago, I stole someone's home cooked food from their freezer and then served it back to them in a Michelin Star restaurant. The prank became a huge success on social media, so this series we did it again with a hilarious twist.

We're very lucky to have so many good new entertainment ideas to sit alongside classics like Send to All, Unexpected Star and The Midnight Game Show.

What can viewers expect from this series?

We've got two big new ideas in the new series that I'm so excited about people seeing. The first is called Wheel on Wheels, where I find people watching my gameshow The Wheel on TV as it's broadcast on a Saturday night. I peer through windows into their front rooms, ring the doorbell, freak the life out of them, pause their TV and then play the game with them for prizes in the back of my Wheel on Wheels van.

The other is called the Unexpected Star Star, where we surprise an actual pop star in the same way that we surprise an Unexpected Star but as soon as they arrive on the stage we play their biggest hit and see if they take the mic and immediately start singing. I don't want to give too much away, but Tony Hadley thought he was going to the dentist, sat in the dentist chair and then the wall collapsed to reveal his band on the stage of The Theatre Royal, playing the opening notes of True. What happens next is unmissable TV.

It's so exciting that Big Show is returning to our screens on Saturday - can you let us in on some of the celebrity guests who will be joining you this series?

We've got utterly hilarious Midnight Game Shows with Bradley Walsh and Alison Hammond; Unexpected Star Stars with Tony Hadley, Chesney Hawkes and Kaiser Chiefs; Send to Alls with Anne-Marie, Joe Lycett, Dermot O'Leary, Katherine Ryan and lots of other surprise celebrity appearances.

Can you let us in on any of the funniest moments from this series?

When Joe Lycett played Send to All, I sent a text into his phone inviting everyone to a party that was happening that night, pretending Joe had a special announcement! We hired a pub function room across the road from the theatre and waited to see who showed up, the results were hilarious.

Big Show knows how to make an impact on your audience; there are tears of laughter, but there are some real hard-hitting emotional tear-jerker moments too. Can you elaborate on any for us?

We have two of the most emotional and heart-warming Unexpected Stars we've ever had. An amazing young man called Alfie who has cerebral palsy but hasn't for a moment let that get in the way of his dream to be a singer. He's an astonishingly inspirational person. And Sarah, an amazing lady who has recovered from a life-threatening brain tumour. Both Alfie and Sarah are exactly what the Unexpected Star is all about, giving deserving people a wonderful dream come true moment.

Whose Send To All in this series has received the best celebrity responses?

Definitely Dermot O'Leary, he had so many celeb responses that even Ricky Wilson who we were also pranking that night, replied to Dermot's text mid-prank.