Paddy McGuinness lands new series of hit show weeks after Question of Sport axe
FINALLY it’s good news for Paddy McGuinness . . . his show Tempting Fortune appears to be coming back.
I can reveal the creators have got the wheels in motion for a second series of the trek challenge, even though Channel 4, which screened the first, have yet to commission it.
That opens up the possibility of it getting snapped up by another channel — or even a streaming service.
Either way, it is a welcome return for Paddy, who has seen his big BBC One shows cancelled.
Those range from Top Gear and A Question Of Sport to I Can See Your Voice and Catchpoint.
A TV insider said: “He’ll be breathing a deep sigh of relief that Tempting Fortune did well when it first aired and that it’s been deemed worthy of a sequel.
“Paddy went from being on our screens regularly to virtually disappearing in 2023, with this show the one exception.
“Notably, it also saw him come full circle by returning to Channel 4, which is where his career started out on comedy Phoenix Nights.
“But it remains to be seen where and when any second series of Tempting Fortune ends up airing.”
The six-parter, which started last March, involved a dozen strangers embarking on a trek in South Africa with the hope of winning £300,000.
Along the way they had to resist a series of temptations to get the jackpot.
It has been 20 years since the presenter and comedian appeared opposite Peter Kay in Channel 4’s Max And Paddy’s Road to Nowhere as doorman Paddy O’Shea.
Following that he fronted ITV’s dating show Take Me Out from 2010 to 2019, which was essential viewing most weekends.
After being snapped up by the BBC five years ago, his only job with the corporation now is Inside The Factory, which usually airs on weekdays on BBC Two.
It seems a long time since he was Mr Saturday Night.
Singmaster Joel
THE Masked Singer turns into a complete circus this weekend.
Host Joel Dommett takes the role of ringmaster and the panel dress up as performers when the ITV1 studio becomes a big top for tomorrow’s show.
It’s an extra-special night for Olly Murs, who will be dropping in as a guest to replace Rita Ora.
He is guessing the masked acts alongside Mo Gilligan and Evel Knievel-inspired Jonathan Ross.
But Olly was particularly chuffed to be sitting next to panelist Davina McCall, who will be seen wearing a daring leopard-print crop top and mini skirt in the style of a circus strongman.
Olly has already admitted how he feels about the former Big Brother host.
He said: “I’ve had that awkward moment of telling her that I just absolutely fancy the pants off her.
“I said, ‘Oh, you’re my guilty pleasure.’
“She’s like, ‘What?’ And I was like, ‘Well, I had a massive crush on you when I was growing up watching Big Brother.”
But viewers’ eyes are more likely to be on Joel as one of his outfits, a striped, old-fashioned performer’s get-up, leaves little to the imagination.
Even Olly will struggle to steal the limelight from that.
Our man sick lad
JAMES May has always enjoyed a tipple – so long as it’s not vermouth.
The Our Man In . . . host, who has just returned from a tour across India with Prime Video, still can’t touch a bottle of Martini.
James, 60, was 14 when he got drunk for the first time, downing two bottles of it.
He told the Spooning With Mark Wogan podcast: “I was violently sick in somebody’s garden and I felt terrible for two days.
“Then in my days as a magazine car journalist, I went to the launch of a car at the Martini factory in Italy.
“I couldn’t even look at the building.”
Sue and Anna Ex appeal
SUE Perkins and Anna Richardson have proved that exes can still be friends.
The presenters, who ended their romance in 2021 after seven years, are back to being really close – and continue to use pet names for each other.
Naked Attraction’s Anna, who calls Perfectly Legal host Sue “Maggot”, is joined by her ex on the latest episode of her podcast, It Can’t Just Be Me.
Sue said: “We didn’t speak for a long time, to sort of detonate the parts that were familiar to grow new things.
“We’d gone to see someone when things were difficult, and they said, ‘Don’t do history lessons’ like back-tracking about things in the past that were inflammatory.
“We can forgive and, in time, all that love can be repurposed into a friendship.”
Anna said: “Ultimately, our core is love and really good fun, and we understand each other.”
TV for tots
CBEEBIES has two new shows starting this month.
Vida The Vet arrives on Monday, treating animals via a magical door with hamster Popcorn.
Meanwhile, ladybird character Lu and her friends navigate pre-school life in Lu & The Bally Bunch, which begins on January 29.
Ant & Dec crown around
TV royalty Ant & Dec give a shout out to the King on tomorrow’s Limitless Win.
The presenters recall being guests at the Westminster Abbey Coronation in May on their ITV1 game show.
After asking the contestants about how many horses are on the Gold State Coach, Dec says: “We were in the abbey, we were actually inside there.
“Though we don’t like to talk about it.”
Ant adds: “When I watched it back on the telly, I only watched us, I was bored with the rest.”
Dec then says: “Good evening, Your Majesty, we hope you’re enjoying the show.”
Post Office drama gets rerun
ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office will be shown in full again after it’s huge impact covering the Horizon computer scandal.
The four-parter, which began on January 1, was such a big ratings hit that the schedule has been changed to give it another run from Monday over four nights.