ABC takes a punt on Kielty
by Jason Deans
Friday, July 26, 2002
(Media Guardian) -- UK TV presenter Patrick Kielty may follow in Anne Robinson's footsteps by being given his own show on a major US television network.
The format to Kielty's BBC Choice panel show, Stupid Punts, has been bought by American broadcaster ABC, which has asked the presenter to host a US pilot.
If the pilot leads to a full series commission, Kielty could emulate Robinson, who became a US TV star overnight when she hosted the US version of The Weakest Link last year.
In the American version of Stupid Punts, three celebrity contestants will bet - with real odds and real money - on the outcomes of bizarre competitions over the course of four rounds.
The Stupid Punts format is owned by UK independent production company CHX, formerly known as Channel X.
The joint managing director of CHX, Alan Marke, and the director of programmes, Jim Reid, will travel to the US next month to executive produce the pilot.
The deal was brokered by the William Morris Agency.
Following the initial success of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?, Whose Line Is It Anyway? and The Weakest Link in the US, a second invasion of British formats has taken place this summer.
Dog Eat Dog and American Idol - the US version of Pop Idol - have become US hits.
by Jason Deans
Friday, July 26, 2002
(Media Guardian) -- UK TV presenter Patrick Kielty may follow in Anne Robinson's footsteps by being given his own show on a major US television network.
The format to Kielty's BBC Choice panel show, Stupid Punts, has been bought by American broadcaster ABC, which has asked the presenter to host a US pilot.
If the pilot leads to a full series commission, Kielty could emulate Robinson, who became a US TV star overnight when she hosted the US version of The Weakest Link last year.
In the American version of Stupid Punts, three celebrity contestants will bet - with real odds and real money - on the outcomes of bizarre competitions over the course of four rounds.
The Stupid Punts format is owned by UK independent production company CHX, formerly known as Channel X.
The joint managing director of CHX, Alan Marke, and the director of programmes, Jim Reid, will travel to the US next month to executive produce the pilot.
The deal was brokered by the William Morris Agency.
Following the initial success of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?, Whose Line Is It Anyway? and The Weakest Link in the US, a second invasion of British formats has taken place this summer.
Dog Eat Dog and American Idol - the US version of Pop Idol - have become US hits.
