Quiz with a twist makes welcome return
I Literally Just Told You with Jimmy Carr Channel 4, 10pm
THE idea of a game show in which the contestants already know the answers sound bonkers. It shouldn’t work, right?
Jimmy Carr certainly thought that would be the case when he first learned about I Literally Just Told You, describing it as “the most ludicrous pitch I’ve ever heard for a TV show.”
Now, roughly four years later, he’s pleased its creator, former Blue Peter presenter Richard Bacon, persuaded him to get on board.
“The more Richard told me about it, the more I thought it might work,” says Carr. “It reminded me a little of one of the first things I’ve ever did on TV called Distraction, which featured me and four members of the public – it was crazy, and it felt like it was the most exciting thing I could possibly do.
“I sort of like to think of TV being like a trainset: you’ve got this incredible trainset and these brilliant producers that all help you play, and you’ve got to come up with the most fun game to play with. It’s such an unusual, weird and wonderful show. I think it’s the best thing I’ve ever done.”
Seeing as his other projects have included a successful stand-up career and numerous appearances on QI, as well as fronting 8 Out of 10 Cats and …Does Countdown, The Big Fat Quiz of the Year and Your Face or Mine? that’s some statement.
“It is genuinely a joy to make,” he affirms. “My main job is I’m a stand-up comedian, I go out there on my own and decide what I say, what I don’t say, that’s how it goes and that’s great. TV is more like a team sport.”
For those who have missed the previous three series, the idea is simple – participants are given the answers to the questions beforehand, but face the tricky task of remembering them once asked. For some, it’s more difficult than it sounds, although to be fair, Carr does throw the odd curve ball in there.
“Random things happen – we’ll show them a film and I’ll say ‘Dave, roll VT’ and then the question ends up being ‘what was the name of the VT operator?’” he grins. “It’s tangential, weird, wonderful stuff – we messed around a lot. It feels like a really fair, level playing field for everyone playing the game.”
It does, however, occasionally go wrong. A mistake made during filming meant that one contestant, Eddy from Glasgow, went away empty handed. Carr rectified the matter during a gig by calling Eddy on stage and handing him a cheque for £18k.
Hopefully such drastic (but entertaining) action won’t be needed again after the fourth series, which begins this week with a celebrity edition.
See if you can do better than the participants – Chico Slimani, Jonathan Ross, Josie Gibson, Oti Mabuse and Rylan – when they take to the stage by shouting out the answers at home. That won’t help them win up to £25k for their chosen charity, but it might make you feel a whole lot better.