Bradley Walsh's Blankety Blank to return to BBC One
- Bradley Walsh will return as host in a new series of Blankety Blank
- Series 19 - his second in charge - is expected to air on BBC One in the autumn
- Walsh says: "I absolutely love recording this show. I'm looking forward to getting back into the studio"
BBC One has commissioned a second series of Blankety Blank hosted by Bradley Walsh.
The format's nineteenth series on British television, ten new episodes will be produced by Thames for broadcast later this year.
Having previously been hosted by Terry Wogan, Les Dawson and Lily Savage, Walsh took up the role for a one-off Christmas special in 2020. It proved to be the year's most-watched comedy programme on British television, resulting in a full series commission, which aired between October and December 2021.
Consisting of 9 episodes and a Christmas special, the series proper attracted an average weekly audience of 5.8 million viewers, again making it the most-watched comedy format of the year.
Having first aired in 1979 under the stewardship of legendary broadcaster Terry Wogan, the game sees a group of celebrities attempt to match missing word guesses with members of the public who are playing for notoriously naff prizes.
Players in Series 18 included Jimmy Carr, Richard E Grant, Angela Rippon, Lady Leshurr, Baga Chipz, Josh Widdicombe, Judi Love and Chris McCausland, with "another brilliant host of stars" promised by the BBC for the new series.
Bradley Walsh says: "I absolutely love recording this show. We have some of the funniest comedians and some of Britain's most well-known faces join us on the panel, and they're incredible, but for me, it's the players that steal the show. I'm looking forward to getting back into the studio and having a blast filming."
Kate Phillips, Director of Entertainment Commissioning at the BBC says: "It's been so brilliant having Blankety Blank back on the Beeb. And Bradley really is the perfect host for this very funny family show, dealing with unpredictable celebrities, contestants, and prizes!"
Charlie Irwin, director of programmes at Thames comments: "It's astonishing to think that Blankety Blank has been a part of our lives for 43 years and we're honoured to be able to continue entertaining audiences - particularly those who don't remember the original series!"