Alan Carr's Celebrity Ding Dong

Alan Carr's Celebrity Ding Dong is a game show on Channel 4, presented by Alan Carr. During the first series, voice-over commentary in between rounds on the scores is provided by Leslie Phillips.[1] From Series 2, the announcer is Peter Dickson. A Series 1 compilation was later released onto DVD in 2008.

Alan Carr's Celebrity Ding Dong
GenreGame show
Presented byAlan Carr
Voices ofLeslie Phillips (series 1)
Peter Dickson (series 2)
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series2
No. of episodes11 (inc. 1 special) (list of episodes)
Production
Running time45 minutes
Production companyOpen Mike Productions
Release
Original networkChannel 4
Original release1 February (2008-02-01) –
23 December 2008 (2008-12-23)

Format

The first series of Alan Carr's Celebrity Ding Dong was based around a gameshow format where two teams — "Celebrities" and "Civilians" — were asked a series of questions relating to the other team's lifestyle. Rounds included 'Celebrity Crypts', 'Life Swap', 'Kiss and Tell' and 'How the Other Half Lives';[2] producers claim that "fantastic prizes" can be won, much like a traditional gameshow format.[3]

The second series abandoned the "Celebrities vs. Civilians" angle and went with two different teams of celebrities each episode.[4]

The show also includes a celebrity news section, where Carr will irreverently discuss the week's showbiz news.[5]

Episodes

Series 1
Date Episode number Celebrity team Civilian team
Pilot Richard E. Grant, Les Dennis and Justin Hawkins
1 February 2008 1 Chris Moyles, Duncan James, Zoë Ball, Tara Palmer-Tomkinson and Jamelia Kirsty, Stacey-Jo, Stewart, John, and Laura from Glasgow
8 February 2008 2 Davina McCall, Les Dennis, Konnie Huq, Kirsty Gallacher and Alex Zane Mel, Adele, Chris, Will and Sephra from Huddersfield
15 February 2008 3 Louis Walsh, Sarah Beeny, Richard Fleeshman, Jayne Middlemiss and Bruno Tonioli Betty, Dennis, Berthrand, Debra and Kojak from Lewisham
22 February 2008 4 Paul O'Grady, Patrick McGuinness, Myleene Klass, Peter Andre and David Gest Robbie, Vicki, Andy, Abbie and Peter from Liverpool
29 February 2008 5 Johnny Vegas, Jenni Falconer, Lee Ryan, Jermaine Jackson and Sara Cox Chris, Claire, David, Hayley and Sarah from Leicester
7 March 2008 6 Lorraine Kelly, Trisha Goddard, Brendan Cole, Matt Di Angelo and Sally Lindsay Gari, Lisa, Ross, Daithi and Shelly from Shannon

Series 2

Series 2 started 10 October 2008.[6] Although the series was originally commissioned for 6 episodes, only 5 episodes aired. However, at the end of the series, Alan revealed that there would be a special episode airing at Christmas time. The shows featured two teams of celebrities from similar programs or who have similar backgrounds playing against each other, such as Coronation Street vs EastEnders. Alan Carr noted in an interview with Jonathan Ross, that due to complaints from civilians they had to abandon the previous format and go along with celebrity teams.

  The winning celebrity team
Date Episode number Ding Team Dong Team
10 October 2008 1 Martine McCutcheon, Todd Carty, Gillian Taylforth and Joe Swash (EastEnders) Julie Goodyear, Ian Reddington, Sally Lindsay and Bruce Jones (Coronation Street)
17 October 2008 2 Tony Blackburn, David Gest, Sophie Anderton and Christopher Biggins (I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!) Anton Du Beke, Claudia Winkleman, Craig Revel Horwood, and Rachel Stevens (Strictly Come Dancing)
24 October 2008 3 Gok Wan, Nicky Clarke, Jodie Kidd and Nicky Hambleton-Jones (Fashionistas) Danny Dyer, Nick Moran, Martin Kemp and Neil Ruddock (Hard Men)
31 October 2008 4 Shaznay Lewis, Coleen Nolan, Jenny Frost and Mutya Buena (Girl bands) Antony Costa, Kenzie, Tony Mortimer and Kian Egan (Boy bands)
7 November 2008 5 Louis Walsh, Amanda Holden, Neil Fox and John Barrowman (TV Talent Judges) Carol Vorderman, Rav Wilding, Trisha Goddard and Kate Garraway (TV presenters)
23 December 2008 Christmas Special Adele Silva, Paul Daniels, Debra Stephenson and Barbara Windsor (Panto Goodies) Claire Sweeney, John Thomson, Michelle Collins and Joe Pasquale (Panto Baddies)

Home release

Season one was released onto DVD 20 October 2008. It features the entire 6-episode season meshed together with intercepting scenes of him interviewing Liz Hurley. Bonus features involve the unaired pilot, deleted scenes, a gag reel and a featurette.[7] It featured only English subtitles and is only playable on a Region 2 player.

Season Two has not been released and no statements for its release have been made, most probably due to Carr' moving on with his chat show and the fact the series had low viewers towards its end.

References
  1. Carr lands C4 gameshow : News 2007 : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide
  2. Alan Carr's Celebrity Ding Dong
  3. Take Part
  4. "Artist Home Page". Archived from the original on 13 September 2008. Retrieved 28 September 2008.
  5. "Artist Home Page". Archived from the original on 18 January 2008. Retrieved 23 January 2008.
  6. "Alan Carr's News". Archived from the original on 2 July 2008. Retrieved 3 July 2008.
  7. "Alan Carr: Now That's What I Call a Ding Dong". Amazon UK. 20 October 2008.
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