You’ve got to be spin it to win it
Comedian Michael McIntyre on his suspenseful, high-energy new game show which sees contestants and celebrities on two massive spinning wheels
It’s safe to say that this year has been far from easy but Michael McIntyre is hoping his new game show will be just what is needed to put a smile back on everyone’s faces.
The Wheel sees three contestants competing to win big money by answering a series of questions with the help of the celebrity experts – including Mel B, Gok Wan, Dermot O’Leary and Joey Essex.
But this isn’t your average game show, as the celebrities and contestants will find themselves on two giant spinning wheels which determine which contestant plays and which celebrity expert helps them pursue the jackpot.
And with Michael revealing that the show is full of suspense and high energy, we couldn’t wait to catch up with him to find out more…
Where did the idea for The Wheel come from?
I was in the bath. I was thinking for a while about the evolution of entertainment TV whereby there have been so many talent shows but there haven’t been any brand new formats for game shows or quiz shows. I thought of two in moments in the bath but one really wasn’t very good.
The other was The Wheel and a human roulette wheel was my first thought. Now we’ve filmed 10 episodes and it couldn’t have gone better. The
LET’S GO FOR SPIN...
Host Micheal puts guests through their paces set looks insane – it looks like nothing you’ve ever seen before.
How does the show work?
There are two wheels. One with the celebrity experts and, beneath that, a contestant wheel. The contestant wheel is spun and whoever lands in the middle of the main wheel is selected and they rise up.
The idea is that the contestant has to stay on the main wheel and keep answering questions until the end, when they can win big money. But every time they get a question wrong they slip back on to the contestant wheel and have to start again. Only one of them can win but there’s also a final round and, if they get that wrong, nobody wins.
This was a great debate for me because you always want someone to win, especially in 2020. You want a happy ending.
Which celebrities can we expect to see on the show?
There is an eclectic mix of experts. We’ve got Richard Madeley on television, Jennie Bond on the royals, Joey Essex on dating, Stephen Mangan on movies and
Gyles Brandreth on literature. Gyles stole the show.
We’ve also got Chris Eubank doing boxing and you don’t want to miss that
It’s such high energy game show and there is an enormous amount of suspense.
Are the wheels vertical or horizontal?
Flat, like a turntable. It’s not a ferris wheel. They’re all spun pretty fast but it’s very smooth and fun.
I based the chairs on the Jedi Council. My son was watching Star Wars during lockdown and I said, ‘What is that room?’ That’s where the idea came from.
Will there be a Christmas edition of The Wheel?
Yes. We’ve decided we’re going to do a celebrity contestant version playing for charity.
We were worried about someone not winning on Christmas Day because we want it to be a big celebration.
We’ve got three celebrities – Holly Willoughby, Alan Carr and we’re confirming the last one. The experts are people like Alexander Armstrong on Christmas carols, Christopher Biggins on panto and we’re confirming a chef.
It will be a great play-along for Christmas.
WHEEL DEAL... Joey Essex