The BBC has confirmed that John Bishop is to host a new Saturday night quiz show from MediaCity’s dock10 studios.
Wisdom of the Crowd is from the makers of The 1% Club and will see contestants take on the collective knowledge of the audience.
“We’re delighted that John Bishop is back on the BBC; his quick wit and natural charm make him the perfect host for this fascinating new entertainment quiz show,” said Kalpna Patel-Knight, Head of Entertainment Commissioning for the BBC.
“Wisdom of the Crowd is the perfect game for viewers to play along with at home, and if you like The 1% Club, then you’re in for a treat!”
READ MORE – Possible £500,000 prize pot as Lee Mack’s The 1% Club returns for week-long event
Here comes the science bit… Magnum Productions explained that they got inspiration for the programme, when they heard about Francis Galton’s scientific discovery from over a century ago when he witnessed a competition to win an ox by guessing its weight.
More than 800 people had entered and the scientist looked at all the guesses and what he saw “blew his mind”: the average guess of everyone put together was so accurate that it was even better than the best individual guess.
This, he called Wisdom of the Crowd, which went on to transform the worlds of politics, economics, philosophy…. and big-money Saturday night game shows on the BBC.
In each programme, individual contestants take on the might of the Crowd. The science says the Crowd should win and share the money between them, but can any of the contestants beat the odds?
“I’m delighted to be back on the BBC on Saturday nights to host Wisdom of the Crowd,” said Bishop.
“This big new entertainment format gives an interesting take on group dynamics – not only testing what the individual contestants know, but also testing what the crowd knows (or what they think they know!) I can’t wait for audiences to see it.”
The 8 x 60 minute series will film at dock10, with transmission details to be announced shortly.
The Executive Producers are Andy Auerbach, Clare Barton, Dean Nabarro. The show was created by Dean Nabarro and Andy Auerbach. The Commissioning Editor for the BBC is Katie Taylor.
