Bullseye, the classic show combining darts and quizzing, is making a welcome return to our screens with ex-England cricket star Freddie Flintoff presenting.
Originally fronted by the late great Jim Bowen, Freddie is hosting a one-hour Christmas special and presumably, if it takes off then we can expect a series to follow. Will they have any speedboats as prizes we wonder?!
Freddie Flintoff said: "I love the darts and Bullseye was one of my favourite shows as a kid. Can't quite believe I'll get to host this Christmas special. You can't beat a bit of Bully!"
No doubt Freddie will be hoping to repeat Jim Bowen's famous line: "In this game, keep out of the black and in the red, you get nothing at all for two in a bed!".
ITV promises "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'."
Bullseye has a special place in viewer's hearts and Peter Kay memorably did a whole sketch about spending Sunday afternoons watching it. "I used to love Bullseye me. It was weird Bullseye, because it was s*** and it was good," he laughed.
Peter also mocked the prizes. "Every week my sister would say how do they split a car between them? How do they split a fitted kitchen? A chainsaw?!"
Here's everything we know…
Bullseye with Freddie Flintoff Christmas special release date
ITV is yet to confirm a release date for the Bullseye Christmas special but we'd expect it to be either Christmas Eve, Christmas Day or Boxing Day. It should be a Christmas TV highlight.
How does Bullseye work
Bullseye uses the genius idea of combining the ability to play darts with answering general knowledge questions. Assuming the new version follows the classic format, three pairs of contestants take part, beginning with one player answering questions while the other — hopefully a good player! — chucks the arrows.
To start with the dart player throws at the Bullseye board, which has various categories of questions like showbiz marked. If the player hits the showbiz section they win a bonus for their team. If they don't, the presenter moves on and asks the quizzers a question worth some money.
The team that accumulates the least amount of money is then knocked out. The first team knocked out collects the cash they accumulated, a set of darts, and a "Bully" mascot.
The two remaining teams move on to round two using a normal dartboard. The darts players throw three darts and the highest scoring player wins the right for their partner to answer a question. If their partner gets their question right they win the total scored by the dart player. At the end of this round whoever has accumulated the most cash goes through to the final round.
In the final round, the remaining team of two is then faced with another special dartboard, this one with numbered red zones. Hit a red segment and the team wins a prize. And if they hit a bullseye they win a special prize!
The team is then asked if they want to gamble their prizes to win the star prize. If they leave with what they got, the team that came second gets the same chance. If they don't want a crack, then it's the pair who came third. Whoever goes for the gamble has to throw 101 or more with six darts.
Is there a trailer?
No, not yet.
Bullseye behind the scenes and more
Bullseye 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.
Michael Mannes, Managing Director, 12 Yard Productions said: "We are delighted to have acquired the rights to Bullseye, one of the most iconic game shows ever. 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."
