Michael McIntyre's Big Show set to feature the "scariest" Midnight Gameshow yet in new episodes

This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine.

Running a Big Show? That’s a big job. “Michael always jokes that we’ve got four shows in one,” says James Pratt, series producer on Michael McIntyre’s Big Show, “and any of our strands could be a show in its own right.”

These strands are the building blocks of Big Show, which is back this week for a ninth series: theatre-based set pieces, a major musical performance, pre-recorded segments and the Unexpected Star of the Show slot, where people are tricked onto stage via a complicated prank to perform for the audience.

“Heart and humour,” says Pratt. “That’s at the core of any idea. We never start with logistics or budget.”

Few ideas are as reliably chaotic as Midnight Gameshow, with comedian/host McIntyre, in full quizmaster mode, showing up unannounced in a celebrity’s bedroom after dark. This series, Jonathan Ross is on the receiving end.

“We approach their agents, who usually check with a spouse,” Pratt explains. “There have been some really interesting ones. Rob Rinder lived alone, so his housekeeper had to let us in.”

Rugby star Joe Marler is also ambushed this series. “Michael said it’s the scariest one he’s ever done – he wore a scrum cap!”

But everyone can get pranked – not just famous faces. Unexpected Star is a cornerstone of Big Show, which filmed last summer at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane on Sundays (setting up immediately after Saturday night’s Hercules the Musical curtain call). The scale of Unexpected Star – with its fake rooms and fall-away walls – is enormous.

“Our art team is amazing,” says Pratt. “We find our person, work out the right environment to put them in, then design and build sets in a matter of weeks.” Past creations have included salons, police stations and hotels. “Our prank room is like a big Lego kit. We can resize rooms, re-dress walls or change corridor shapes.”

This year also introduces a new segment, Big Surprise, which encompasses the show’s most ambitious stunts. Pratt’s highlight sees two young boys stunned at a WWE show in Manchester – but he’s always thinking bigger. “We’ve always loved the idea of doing something on a plane. Not easy, but not impossible…”

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Michael McIntyre's Big Show returns at 6:45pm on Saturday 17 January on BBC One and iPlayer.

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