Stephen Fry To Host UK Version Of ‘Jeopardy!’ For ITV This Autumn

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When you want to bring a version of the US culturally iconic game show ‘Jeopardy!’ to the UK, you need an iconic host, and who better to do it than national treasure Stephen Fry, who will present the new series which lands on ITV1 and ITVX this Autumn.

For those of you who are unaware of ‘Jeopardy!’, the show pits three contestants against each other who are presented answers to trivia clues phrased as answers from different categories, and they have to respond with answers in the form of a question. For example, if the clue is “As the old saying goes, this city ‘wasn’t built in a day'”, the contestant has to answer “What is Rome?”

The twenty-episode weekday entertainment series, hosted by Fry, will see contestants play to win, using their best general knowledge to win rounds and may continue amassing winnings… if they can stay on until the end. The reboot will allow participants to play an extra round compared to the original format, increasing the stakes for the players.

“In the United States, Jeopardy! is a phenomenon like no other, commented Stephen Fry. “Whenever I’m in America, I do my damnedest to catch it every weekday. The idea of hosting it here in the UK makes me dizzy with delight. Such a dedicated quizzing nation as ours will, I hope, welcome this uniquely beguiling and endlessly rewarding game.”

Created by Merv Griffin, who also created ‘Wheel of Fortune’, ‘Jeopardy!’ first aired in the USA in 1964 on NBC, and has basically been running ever since. There have been a few versions in the UK previously, first arriving on Channel 4 in 1983 to 84 hosted by Derek Hobson. ITV revived it in the 90s, hosted by Chris Donat and then Steve Jones. The last revival came in Sky One in 1995 where it was hosted by Paul Ross.

“Bringing Jeopardy! to a brand new audience as part of our weekday schedule is exciting,” adds Katie Rawcliffe, ITV Head of Entertainment. “There is no one better to host this classic game show than Stephen, bringing knowledge and entertainment to all of our viewers.”

‘Jeopardy!’ is a Whisper North production for ITV1 and ITVX. The executive producers are Kerri Reid, Tom McLennan and Stephen Fry. It was commissioned by Katie Rawcliffe, ITV Head of Entertainment and Leanne Clarke, ITV Entertainment Commissioner.

The original U.S. quiz show is produced by Sony Pictures Television, a Sony Pictures Entertainment Company, which is distributed by Paramount Global Content Distribution along with the format rights.

‘Jeopardy!’ will premiere in Autumn 2023 on ITV1 & ITVX.