Dermot O’Leary to host new game show on UKTV

Dermot O’Leary will present U&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 member of the audience equipped with a microphone, all hell breaks loose as a green room of 30 performers, led by three returning comedy captains, directed by Katherine Ryan, declare war on the audience, with every sound ripped from them lowering the total prize money.

It’s a duel between the artists and the audience: they’re not on the same side. If the artists manage to reduce the prize pool to zero, they can donate money to charity. Silence is golden: the comedy show that doesn’t make you laugh.

Dermot O’Leary says: “I’m really looking forward to Silence is Golden. When you get a show like this, you can’t believe it. 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.”

UKTV’s Mark Iddon said: “We’re really excited to be bringing Silence is Golden to U&Dave. Dermot is the perfect host to host this ambitious and chaotic show and we think our U&Dave audience will embrace this subversive and unpredictable format. Silence is Golden 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 our studio audience put their money to work.”

UKTV’s Cherie Hall said: “This is a really original concept 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, said: “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 applaud U&Dave for having the audacity to commission a game show that will cost them a quarter of a million a week – if the audience is any better at playing it than we are.”

Silence is Golden will air on U&Dave and stream 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.