It’s time once again to say “You can’t beat a bit of bully”, as ITV reveals they are reviving the classic gameshow ‘Bullseye’ for a Christmas special with Freddie Flintoff as the new host.
Bullseye is one of the UK’s most successful and best-loved family game shows and in this brand new Christmas special each playing team will be made up of an amateur dart player, known as the ‘thrower’, and their team partner, the ’knower’. They will combine their skills, throwing darts at different game boards, whilst answering questions correctly for ‘points and prizes’.
“’I love the darts and Bullseye was one of my favourite shows as a kid,” said Flintoff, who will host the special. “Can’t quite believe I’ll get to host this Christmas special. You can’t beat a bit of Bully!”
The hourlong special for ITV was commissioned by Katie Rawcliffe, Director of Entertainment & Daytime Commissioning ITV and Joe Mace, Entertainment Commissioning Editor ITV. It will be Executive Produced by Paul McGettigan, Head of Entertainment, 12 Yard Productions.
“Bullseye is back and we can’t wait to welcome Freddie Flintoff back to ITV too,” adds Katie Rawcliffe, Director of Entertainment & Daytime Commissioning ITV. It’s a real treat to have both as key parts of our Christmas schedule on ITV1 and ITVX this year.”
The original ‘Bullseye’ began in 1981, hosted by Jim Bowen, and ran for 14 years on ITV. There was a brief revival of the show by Challenge TV, hosted by Dave Spikey, in 2006. The series was well known for giving away large mystery prizes such as new cars, caravans, luxury holidays, and even boats (often, hilariously, to people living nowhere near water…), whilst the consolation prizes for the losers consisted of a set of darts, tankards/goblets, and “Bendy Bully” doll mascot. It also had the somewhat entertaining feature of saying “look what you could have won” showing off the mystery star prize to the people who lost, along with playing a version of the theme tune in a minor key.
“We are delighted to have acquired the rights to Bullseye, one of the most iconic game shows ever,” said Michael Mannes, Managing Director, 12 Yard Productions, who produce this version. “And the timing could not be better considering the popularity of darts. Freddie is the perfect host for it and we can’t wait for the show to be back on ITV.”
The ‘Bullseye’ special does not have an exact air date but will premiere in Christmas 2024 on ITV1 as part of their festive schedule.
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