POKERFACE

03 July, 2006 by The_Boss

ITV1 Monday 10th July 2006 8:00pm to 9:00pm

Created and hosted by Ant & Dec, PokerFace is a new gripping quiz show for ITV, where one person is GUARANTEED one million pounds.

Over six nights PokerFace will see six contestants, per night, face quick-fire general knowledge questions to win money and ultimately to stake a claim to play in the final (show seven), where one will walk away a millionaire.

The idea came to the boys one night down at the pub. Ant explained: “We tried the idea out in the pub with our friends first and it worked really well. It’s all about convincing them you know more than you do – it’s an art. We knew nothing about poker, so we’ve swapped cards for questions and thought let’s add a million to win."

Dec described the show as: “You don’t have to get any of the questions right to win – a perfect game for us. Our contestants have to bluff about their ability but more importantly recognise when their opponents could be ‘pokerfacing’ them.”

Each show will see six new contestants face five rounds of questions. Throughout the game they will know exactly how many they have right and how much money they are accumulating.

However they have no idea how well their fellow contestants are actually faring. Only by reading their rivals body language and behaviour can they hope to judge whether their opponents are pokerface bluffers or a genuine contenders who could jeopardise their place in the final.

Dec added: “You don’t have to be the brain of Britain but you do have to be clever enough to make people think you are.”

As the rounds progress and the players get less, the prize money per question increases.

At the end of each round one person must leave the game. A 10 second countdown will begin. Each contestant must then decide whether to fold and take the money in front of them or risk it all by not folding. If no one folds the person with the lowest score must leave with nothing.

Ant, talking about the dress-runs, was stunned by the ability of the contestants to maintain a ‘pokerface’. He said: “I tell you what, they never fail to impress me the contestants, the way they can bluff and double bluff each other, its not easy you know. It's not easy, especially with the money that they can potentially win. It won’t be the questions that will give the contestants the sleepless nights.”

So a good bluffer can stay in the game no matter how many questions they’ve got wrong, as long as they can convince their rival players that they’re not bottom of the scoreboard.

Viewers at home will know exactly who is topping the leader board and who is pulling the ultimate pokerface.

Ant added: “Hopefully we’re going to make scream at the telly moments that we both love.”

The remaining two players will compete with each other in the final face off. Will the leader hold their nerve in a bid to take the £50,000 or will they be pokerfaced by their rival into handing over the coveted place in the million pound final?

A talkbackTHAMES in association with Gallowgate productions for ITV1