ITV has commissioned a third series of Lee Mack’s hit game show The 1% Club, which will once again shoot at MediaCityUK’s dock10 Studios.
The latest order for the BAFTA-winning quiz is for 16×60’ episodes – double its previous run – with a further two Christmas specials also in the pipeline for this year and 2024.
The show is produced by Magnum Media and is currently on air in its second run during the Saturday primetime slot. It debuted ahead of its schedule slot average with 3.7 million viewers and a 31 per cent audience share, consolidating to 4.56m combined viewers within the first week of transmission on April 15.
The introduction of a live play along app has been a hit with audiences, topping app download charts in the first weeks of the show being on air.
The show’s format sees 100 contestants begin every show, but to make it to the end and win the top prize of up to £100,000, contestants must correctly answer a question only one per cent of the country would get right.
Each contestant starts with £1,000 but an incorrect answer knocks them out of the game and their grand goes into the Prize Pot. Every episode begins by asking a question that 90 per cent of the country got right, based on a sample of answers given by 1,000 people across Britain, and works its way down.
Contestants of all ages and backgrounds can take part because, unlike most quizzes, no swotting up on general knowledge is required to do well. Logic and common sense are the key to solving the questions.
Mack said: “Once again I am delighted to cause household arguments, as kids mock their parents for being not as bright as them. But us grown-ups can stay out as late as we want, so we get the last laugh.”
The series is commissioned for ITV by Satmohan Panesar, commissioning editor, and Sue Murphy, head of factual entertainment.
Panesar said: “Establishing a new game show and finding an audience is no easy task in such a competitive field, but the combination of the 1% Club’s unique, inclusive format and our host Lee’s brilliantly spontaneous interaction with the studio audience has proved a big hit with viewers. We’re excited to be able to announce a third new series as well as two Christmas specials which we’re sure will be a massively entertaining addition to festive telly for all the family.”
The format has already been licenced in six territories. It has been sold to France, Germany, Spain, Netherlands, Israel and Australia. The 1% Club was created by Dean Nabarro and Andy Auerbach and is a Magnum Media production for ITV.
