Supermatch

The news that BBC1 Controller Danny Cohen has commissioned a pilot gameshow hosted by a man dressed as a woman and featuring celebrities helping ordinary punters to answer questions and win prizes got me thinking.

The 40 minute pilot - apparently not for transmission - is being made by an ITV susbsidiary. This is another blow to in-house entertainment production teams, and odd because it uses Brendan O'Carroll, star of the BBC Scotland-produced Mrs Brown's Boys, in character as host.

In 1997, Lily Savage fronted a relaunched Blankety Blank, made for BBC1 by Grundy Productions. It ran for over a year, and then moved briefly to ITV. In 1997, Peter Salmon was Controller BBC1, succeeding Michael Jackson. Danny Cohen was 23.