Five brings back Ball, Theakston

EDINBURGH NEWS: UK terrestrial Five is reuniting erstwhile kids TV presenters Zoe Ball and Jamie Theakston for a new primetime gameshow co-funded by Japanese games outfit Nintendo.

Eight-parter Britain’s Best Brain will be a Tiger Aspect and GroupM Entertainment production, as previously reported by C21 here. However, Five kept the names of the two hosts under wraps until today.

Ball and Theakston previously presented the BBC’s Saturday morning kids show Live & Kicking until 1999 and chatshow The Priory on Channel 4 until 2001.

Britain’s Best Brain puts contestants through a series of gruelling mental and physical challenges designed to test five specific brain functions: memory, co-ordination, calculations, recognition and risk. Contestants’ performance generate a “brain score”, with top scorers returning for the grand final.

Richard Woolfe, Five’s channel controller, said: “Zoe and Jamie are brilliant broadcasters and their chemistry is extraordinary. The fun and challenging format of Britain’s Best Brain is the perfect project for these sparky and loveable presenters.”

The show will be executive produced for Tiger Aspect by Deborah Sargeant and Ricky Kelehar, and for GroupM Entertainment by Richard Foster and Tony Moulsdale. The executive producer for Five is controller of factual entertainment, Steve Gowans.