Ant and Dec to bring back students' favourite Blockbusters

by Sam Matthews, Brand Republic 18-Mar-05, 11:00

LONDON - Ant and Dec are to host ITV quizshow greats including 'Blockbusters', 'Bullseye' and 'Family Fortunes' for a week-long series coinciding with the network's 50th anniversary this autumn.

Other shows planned are 'The Golden Shot', 'Double Your Money' and 'Wheel of Fortune'.

The Geordie duo will present a different show every night for a week in September, to celebrate ITV's 50th anniversary.

Granada's entertainment division is producing the series.

ITV is looking at signing the original shows' presenters including 'Blockbusters' quiz-master Bob Holness and 'Bullseye' host Jim Bowen.

It will be the third incarnation of student favourite 'Blockbusters'. The show is best known for being presented by Bob Holness, running for 10 years between 1983 and 1993. It came back for a year on BBC Two and was presented by Michael Aspel and was back a third time in 2000 when it was presented by Liza Tarbuck on Sky One.

The show was famous for its joking around in the way students asked for the next hexagon to play. It started with "Can I have a P please, Bob?" with girls sometimes going for "I want U, Bob", while in the 80s jokers would ask "Can I have an E, Bob?".

'Blockbusters' first started life in the US in 1980 having been developed by gameshow guru Mark Goodson.

For those who do not remember the originals ITV is also planning to show documentaries about the quiz shows for younger viewers who may have missed the initial series.

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