Hosted by Dermot O'Leary and starring Katherine Ryan, U&Dave commissions Silence is Golden, Yes Yes Media's all-new comedy competition

Each episode begins with U&Dave giving the studio audience £250,000 to share. All they have to do to keep it… is keep quiet.

Thursday 4 July 2024, London: Dermot O’Leary will host U and Dave‘s Silence is golden (6×60′) a brand new entertainment show created by Richard Bacon, whose Yes Yes Media is set to produce the series for UKTV.

At the start of each episode, the network gives the studio audience £250,000 and all they have to do to keep it… is stay quiet. With each audience member equipped with a microphone, all hell breaks loose as a green room of 30 acts, led by three returning comedy captains, directed by Katherine Ryanare at war with the public, every sound that is forced on them lowers the total prize money. It’s the artists against the public – they are not on the same side. If the artists bring the prize money down to zero, they can donate money to charity. Silence is golden – the comic show that you can’t laugh at.

Dermot O’Leary “I’m really looking forward to seeing Silence is Golden. When a show like this falls into your hands, you can’t believe your luck. I’m looking forward to having fun with the audience, our actors and our diverse cast of regulars, all trying to make the audience laugh, gasp and giggle.”

Silence is golden is commissioned for UKTV by Mark Iddon, Programming Editor, Comedy and Entertainment, and Jason Dawson, Head of Programming. The series is commissioned by Cherie Hall, Channel Director and Hilary Rosen, Director of Programming. Silence is golden is produced by Yes Yes Media, with Tim Dean (fresh from Channel 4) Late Night Lycett) to produce the series, with executive production being handled by Richard Bacon and Yes Yes Media’s chief entertainment officer Mark Sidaway (former showrunner of The X Factor).

Mark Iddon says:

We are really excited to bring Silence is golden has U and Dave. Dermot is the perfect host to hold this ambitious and chaotic show together and we think our U and Dave The public will embrace this subversive and unpredictable format. Silence is golden This is the only show where staying silent is worth its weight in gold. It’s the quietest way to lose a fortune you’ll ever see and it’s time for our studio audience to put their money where their mouth is.

Cherie Hall says,

It’s a truly original premise for a show and I wish our audience the best of luck as they try to resist the temptation to break the silence – viewers at home will love watching the chaos unfold.”

Richard Bacon, founder of Yes Yes Media, says:

You know that feeling when you’re not allowed to laugh at a funeral? Well, that’s what it is: the game show. And I congratulate you. U and Dave for boldly commissioning a show that will cost them a quarter of a million a week – if the audience plays better than us.”

Silence is golden joins a series of comedy entertainment commissions on U and Dave this year, alongside Battle in the box hosted by Jimmy Carr, Follow the Leader with Jamali Maddixreturn series of The World’s Most Dangerous Roads, Mel Giedroyc: Unforgivable and scripted comedy Meet the Richardsons.

Silence is golden will be broadcast on U and Dave and broadcast on U next year, following the launch of U – a new master brand that will bring together UKTV’s family of free-to-air channels and its free streaming service. Launching in summer 2024, the move will see the current streaming service UKTV Play move to Youand the UKTV family of free-to-air channels will become U&Dave, U&DRAME, U&YESTERDAY And U&W.

ENDS

For further information please contact: Ben Duncan, Consumer Advertising Manager, UKTV [email protected]

For all Yes Yes Media inquiries: Alex Wells, Communications Manager, Sister [email protected]

About UKTV

UKTV has been at the forefront of branded television for over 30 years, entertaining the nation with the programming they love. Its core brands – Dave, Gold, W, Drama, Alibi, Eden and Yesterday – span comedy, entertainment, natural history, crime and drama, and are delivered to audiences across UKTV Play, Freeview, Sky, Virgin Media, BT, TalkTalk, YouView, Freesat and Amazon Fire. The broadcaster is a significant investor in British creativity and is committed to working with new and established writers, directors and programme makers.

UKTV is part of BBC Studios, the UK’s most awarded production company, a world-class distributor with international branded services and a commercial arm of the world’s leading public service broadcaster, the BBC. corporate.uktv.co.uk | press.uktv.co.uk | @uktvpress

About Yes Yes

Yes Yes Media is the television and technology entertainment company founded by broadcaster and format creator Richard Bacon in 2022. Backed by global entertainment group SISTER, Yes Yes continues to develop a portfolio of premium unscripted content, finding new and innovative ways to reach, engage and entertain global audiences. Silence is Golden is Richard’s fourth original entertainment format to air since 2021, following The Hustler (ABC), This Is MY House (BBC) and I Literally Just Told You (Channel 4).