Tom Allen to host Dave show The Island
- The Island - a Dave show in which guests propose their own dream island - will be hosted by Tom Allen
- The eight-part series has been devised by James Acaster, Ed Gamble, Lloyd Langford and John Robins
- Tom Allen says: "I couldn't be more excited to be hosting this fun, original show"
Tom Allen will front channel Dave's new format The Island.
The series sees four comedian guests proposing "their own personal dream desert island", with Kemah Bob and Jason Forbes as regular 'reporters' on the show helping to test their ideas.
The same four guests - who haven't yet been named - will appear each week, as they continue to build up their plans.
The Island has been devised by comedians James Acaster, Ed Gamble, Lloyd Langford and John Robins.
Eight hour-long episodes are being made, with the creators acting as executive producers on the project.
Talking further about the format, the channel explains: "Each week, Allen will put these four islands, and their leaders to the test - who's got the best house band? How do you even judge that? And you may think you want your island's only drink to be Fanta Limon, but what happens when it attracts that swarm of angry bees you chose last week? Well, Kemah Bob and Jason Forbes will be on hand as they bring 'live' reports from the islands, to make sure nothing is missed."
Tom Allen says: "At a time when so many of us have fantasised about living on an island far away from the people around us, I couldn't be more excited to be hosting this fun, original show whilst putting comics through their paces to demonstrate that utopia is a very difficult thing to achieve. I'm also delighted to be working alongside the hilarious comic talents of Kemah Bob and Jason Forbes who I've wanted to work with for years - it's going to be a lot of fun!"
Commissioner Iain Coyle says: "It's a unique concept, driven by some of the sharpest comedic minds in the country. I'm absolutely delighted that we've managed to secure this show for Dave."
Dave channel director Steve North adds: "We're thrilled that Tom, Kemah and Jason will be joining the channel for this fantastic new show. The Island is sure to be a brilliant addition to the channel's biggest ever slate of brand-new programming that we're announcing today."
Joe McVey, who is producing via Super Best Quality Video Productions, comments: "I think Robinson Crusoe gave getting stranded on a desert island a pretty bad rep. It turns out he was just a massive drama queen and actually loads of really funny stuff happens."
The Island will air later this year on Dave. It is one of a number of commissions announced by the channel this morning. The network has also commissioned Outsiders hosted by David Mitchell, comic travel show British As Folk, Question Team hosted by Richard Ayoade and Meet The Richardsons Series 3.