Alan’s hit the classic GAME SHOW JACKPOT

From Bullseye to Play Your Cards Right, Alan Carr on why rebooting five m ch-loved shows for a nostalgic new series is just what we all need

Remember Bullseye, the iconic primetime game show based on (yes, really) darts? Alan Carr does, but he insists that most people don’t remember it accurately. They possibly remember a speeded-up version. ‘I mean, go back and watch it,’ he says. ‘You’ll be amazed. It’s so slow.’

He turns into a Bullseye contestant for a minute, throwing an imaginary dart. His progress is painful. Then – in no rush – he’s the show’s legendary presenter, Jim Bowen. ‘Five,’ he says, followed by an endless pause as he drums his fingers on the table. ‘Take your time.’ Another pause, as another imaginary dart is thrown. ‘Fifteen.’ By now he’s dissolved into giggles. ‘It ain’t The Fast And The Furious is it? It was so slow. I mean, you’d never get away with that now, would you?’

And therein lies the problem in trying to resurrect much-loved classic family shows. Alan was understandably delighted when he was offered the chance to bring five iconic game shows back to our screens for a modern audience in a new ITV series. Quite the challenge, though. ‘Especially with Bullseye,’ he agrees. ‘When we were filming that I went out and explained the concept to the audience. Well, they were all Love Island fans. I said, “Yes, yes. It is a show about darts. People throw darts and they can win a speedboat. Or a caravan.” And they were all looking at me, like, “Pardon?” God, I felt old.’

On paper, the new series – Epic Gameshow – might seem like just what the nation needs, a bit of morale-boosting nostalgia, a step back to a safer, steadier time. The format, devised way back when people thought Corona was simply a beer, was to re-create feelgood TV.

Each week Alan reinvents a classic game show. One week it’s Bruce Forsyth’s Play Your Cards Right (this one also gets an additional celebrity special episode), another Michael Barrymore’s Strike It Lucky. The Price Is Right, which was hosted by Leslie Crowther, is in the mix, as is Des O’connor’s 1990s version of Take Your Pick. And of course dear old Bullseye, complete with teams made up of one accomplished player and one who can barely hit the dartboard. ‘They’re still rubbish,’ Alan laughs. ‘You’d think they’d practise before they came on, but no. I mean I’m no darts player, though I do have the physique of a darts player, but you’d think they’d try.’

No Dusty Bin, though? Viewers of a certain age will remember the booby prize character from 3-2-1 with Ted

Rogers, even if their hands might struggle with Ted’s trademark finger movement that signalled the programme’s title. ‘No, I asked about that, but I don’t think the production company had the rights to do that one.’

As host of these revamped shows

Alan, 43, is stepping into some legen dary shoes. Understandably, he sounds nervous, as he possibly should be. ‘I mean, you don’t want to try to become them, but it’s very hard not to,’ he admits, going all Bruce Forsyth as he segues into Play Your Cards Right. ‘Higher than a queen?’ he asks.

He’s very good at the voice, it’s as if Brucie lives again. ‘You find yourself just doing the voice, even if you aren’t trying to. You just can’t say certain lines without turn ing into Brucie. I tried not to all the way through, but doing these shows was a bit like Stars ALAN’S HIT THE CLASSIC GAME SHOW jackpot

In Their Eyes.

“Tonight, Matthew,

I’m going to be

Michael Barrymore.”’

Some will absolutely love the resurrection of all the old classics, while others will undoubtedly say the new versions are a pale imitation. ‘I’m prepared for that,’ Alan admits. ‘I think you’ll have people coming at them with rosetinted glasses, which will work for the show sometimes but against it sometimes too. But it is different. The sets are much more glitzy – my God, the money that’s gone into them. And everything’s much sleeker. It’s like all the shows are on steroids, genetically modified.’

But we loved the old cardboard clunky sets. He says he did too, but the ‘best bits’ have been retained. ‘I got shivers when we were filming Bullseye,’ he admits. ‘A woman comes out with the white gloves [famously worn by Bully, the show’s mascot], which are like a collector’s item now. All these shows remember watching from childhood. We’d all s round together. It wasn’t like it s today, with everyone watching in different rooms. It was a complete family thing, part of everyone’s life.’

We also – how to put this – adored all those presenters who were a part not just of our childhoods, but our collective history. Alan isn’t always known for his reverence, but he is (mostly) awed to step into the original presenters’ shoes. ‘I actually knew Brucie, so I hope I’d have his blessing. I shared a dressing room with him at a Roy