CelebAbility
CelebAbility is a British comedy game show hosted by Iain Stirling that aired on ITV2 from 15 June 2017 to 27 July 2023, featuring teams of members of the public competing against celebrities in physical challenges centered on the celebrities' unusual skills and abilities.[1][2][3] The programme, produced by Potato—the company behind shows like Ninja Warrior UK and The Chase—premiered with a format where a group of friends from the public faces off against a team of five celebrities across multiple rounds, aiming to eliminate opponents by demonstrating superior performance in quirky, skill-based tasks.[4][1] In the final round, the surviving celebrities are subjected to a quiz about their own lives, with correct answers building a cash prize for the public team, the amount depending on the number of celebrities remaining and questions answered correctly.[1] Over its run, CelebAbility produced seven series comprising 52 episodes, all recorded in studio settings such as The London Studios for early seasons and Elstree Film Studios for later ones.[1] The show underwent minor format adjustments, notably in series 3 when Scarlett Moffatt joined as team captain leading a team of three friends against four celebrities, while recurring performers like Stacey Solomon and Marek Larwood appeared as celebrity team captains or participants.[5] Known for its light-hearted, uproarious tone, CelebAbility highlighted a diverse array of guest celebrities from entertainment, sports, and reality TV, emphasizing physical comedy and unexpected talents in a multi-camera production style.[6][1]Show Format
Core Gameplay
CelebAbility is a comedy game show in which a team of non-celebrity friends, known as the challengers, compete against a team of celebrities in head-to-head challenges centered on unusual skills or abilities that the celebrities claim to possess.[3][1] The challengers aim to outperform the celebrities in these physical and skill-based tasks, with each round designed to test the celebrities' self-proclaimed talents in humorous and often absurd ways.[7][8] The format originally featured five challengers against five celebrities in series 1 and 2. From series 3 onward, it was adjusted to three challengers (led by a team captain) against four celebrities.[5][9] Episodes typically begin with introductions of the teams, followed by multiple rounds of challenges where the challengers' team captain selects a teammate to face off against a specific celebrity.[7] Winning a round eliminates that celebrity from further play, reducing the number of remaining celebrities and building toward a final showdown.[1] In the final showdown, the surviving challengers answer questions about the remaining celebrities to determine the prize, with fewer celebrities simplifying the questions and increasing the potential winnings.[1] The challengers win cash and other prizes if they eliminate enough celebrities to succeed in the final quiz, while the celebrities occasionally compete on behalf of charities in certain series.[6][10]Team Roles and Challenges
In CelebAbility (from series 3 onward), the challenger team comprises three members of the public who are friends, led by a team captain (such as Scarlett Moffatt) responsible for strategy and participation in challenges. This team competes against a panel of four rotating celebrities, each contributing their claimed unusual skill or ability as the foundation for the episode's competitions. The format emphasizes the challengers' attempts to outperform the celebrities in tasks tailored to these abilities, fostering a mix of physical, intellectual, and comedic elements. Earlier series featured five per team.[5] The gameplay structure revolves around multiple rounds per episode, each centered on one celebrity's specific talent. In the initial rounds, challengers select a teammate to face off against a celebrity in direct competitions, such as skill demonstrations where participants replicate or exceed the celebrity's performance. Subsequent rounds incorporate variety, including knowledge-based quizzes testing familiarity with the ability's nuances, practical applications like endurance or precision tests, and creative endeavors such as improvisation or mimicry. These challenges highlight diversity across episodes, ranging from balancing acts and speed-based feats to trivia on obscure hobbies or artistic recreations, without tying to particular series events. The competition culminates in a final face-off round, serving as a high-stakes tiebreaker or decisive contest where the challengers aim to secure prizes by collectively surpassing the celebrities. Adjudication is handled by on-set expert Marek Larwood, who evaluates outcomes using objective measures like digital timers for speed trials, physical measurements for accuracy, or verified expert input for subjective skills, ensuring impartial decisions throughout. The host announces transitions between rounds to maintain pace and engagement.Personnel
Host and Regular Contributors
Iain Stirling has served as the host of CelebAbility since its premiere in 2017, guiding the proceedings with his signature witty narration, episode introductions, and humorous interludes that poke fun at the contestants' mishaps.[3] A Scottish comedian renowned for his deadpan delivery and observational humor, Stirling rose to prominence through stand-up appearances and his role as the voiceover narrator on ITV2's Love Island, where his quick-witted commentary became a hallmark of the show.[11] Prior to CelebAbility, he contributed to ITV programming, including guest spots on panel shows like Russell Howard's Good News.[1] The regular challenger captain position for the non-celebrity public team was held by Scarlett Moffatt across Series 1–3 (2017–2019) and Series 5–6 (2021–2022), where she acted as the team's figurehead, offering strategic advice, motivational pep talks, and relatable commentary to rally the contestants.[1] Moffatt, a County Durham native who gained fame as a cast member on Channel 4's Gogglebox from 2014 to 2016 and won I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! in 2016, brought her down-to-earth personality and quick humor to the role, helping to bridge the gap between everyday participants and celebrity opponents.[12] She was absent from Series 4 (2020) due to scheduling conflicts with other commitments. Stacey Solomon served as the team captain exclusively for Series 4, stepping in as Moffatt's replacement and maintaining the role's focus on team encouragement and gameplay input.[13] In Series 7 (2023), due to illness during her pregnancy, Moffatt appeared only in the early episodes, leading to a rotation of guest captains for the remainder, including Katherine Ryan, Snoochie Shy, Will Best, Pete Wicks, and Donna Preston.[14] These changes were primarily driven by scheduling and personal commitments among the regulars.[15] Marek Larwood has appeared as the show's adjudicator in every episode since 2017, acting as the on-set referee to resolve disputes, verify challenge measurements, and enforce rules with impartial yet comedic flair.[1] An English comedian and actor with a background in improvisational comedy, Larwood honed his skills through early work in sketch groups and BBC Three's Rush Hour (2007–2008), where his spontaneous humor and character work stood out, making him a natural fit for the role's need for quick-witted interventions.[16] His improvisational expertise, developed in live theater and TV improv showcases, allows him to ad-lib rulings that enhance the show's lighthearted chaos.[17] Over the series, the core roles of host and adjudicator remained stable, with Stirling and Larwood providing consistent comedic anchors, while the captain position evolved to incorporate guest appearances in later seasons to adapt to participants' availability, ensuring fresh dynamics without altering the foundational team structure.[5]Celebrity and Contestant Appearances
CelebAbility features a rotating cast of celebrities drawn from a mix of television personalities, comedians, and reality stars, chosen for their broad appeal and ability to engage in the show's comedic challenges. In early series, the lineup often included soap opera actors like Mikey North from Coronation Street alongside reality television figures such as Vicky Pattison from Geordie Shore, Pete Wicks from The Only Way Is Essex, and Olivia Buckland from Love Island.[18] Later seasons incorporated more influencers and entertainers, exemplified by Olivia Attwood, a prominent reality star and television presenter known for her witty on-screen presence.[19] Notable trends in celebrity appearances include a growing emphasis on diversity, with increased representation of varied ethnic backgrounds and gender balances in subsequent series; for instance, Series 5 highlighted this through guests like Melvin Odoom, a Black British radio presenter, and comedian Katherine Ryan, contributing to a more inclusive ensemble by that point in the show's run.[20] Across its seven series, the program showcased a wide array of celebrity appearances, with many unique participants emphasizing humor and relatability to fit the lighthearted competition. Contestants consist of teams of three friends recruited from the general public via open casting calls, forming the challenger side against the celebrities in ability-based games.[1] These participants, often highlighting personal quirky or exceptional skills like speed-eating or contortion, compete to outmatch the stars in rounds tailored to the celebrities' claimed talents.[3] In Series 7, the format introduced guest captains, allowing select celebrities to double as leaders for the contestant team, thereby blending guest appearances with strategic roles; examples include Katherine Ryan in the premiere episode and Donna Preston in later installments, enhancing the crossover dynamic between celebrity and challenger sides.[21][22]Production
Development and Commissioning
CelebAbility was developed by the production company Potato and commissioned by ITV2 as a physical comedy entertainment game show. The series originated from an original idea and was greenlit for a six-part first run, with production handled by Potato under executive producer Phil Mount. The commission was announced on 22 May 2017 by ITV executives Paul Mortimer, Director of Digital Channels and Acquisitions, and Saskia Schuster, ITV's Head of Comedy.[23] Following the success of the initial series, which premiered on 15 June 2017, CelebAbility received annual renewals from ITV2, leading to a total of seven series broadcast between 2017 and 2023. These renewals were overseen by the same key commissioners, including Mortimer and Schuster, reflecting the show's alignment with ITV2's focus on youthful, entertainment-driven programming. The series ultimately comprised 52 episodes across its run.[1][24][25] The format saw minor evolutions over time, including the addition of the host's name to the title starting with Series 3 in 2019, and the introduction of guest team captains in Series 7 in 2023, such as Katherine Ryan and Pete Wicks, to vary the team dynamics. No major structural overhauls occurred during the run.[26][1] ITV confirmed the axing of CelebAbility on 5 November 2023, stating there were no plans for an eighth series after its seven-season tenure, citing the format as having become "tired" despite its prior success. The decision aligned with broader shifts in ITV's programming priorities toward new entertainment formats.[25][27]Filming Locations and Process
CelebAbility was primarily filmed in studio environments using a multi-camera setup to capture the live audience interactions and challenge segments. The first two series (2017–2018) were recorded at The London Studios in central London, a facility known for hosting various ITV productions.[1] From series 3 onward (2019–2023), production shifted to Elstree Film Studios in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, for series 3, 4, 5, and 6, before moving to Versa London Studios for series 7; this transition allowed for larger set builds suited to the show's expanding challenge formats.[1] Episodes were produced as self-contained studio recordings, typically lasting 45 to 60 minutes including commercial breaks, with post-production focusing on editing highlights, adding graphics for scores and ability reveals, and incorporating audience reactions.[5] The format emphasized efficient workflows, enabling a full series of eight episodes to be completed within a few months of principal photography.[3] Set design was handled by production designer Paul Houston across all seven series, creating custom layouts tailored to each episode's theme of unusual skills and abilities, including areas for physical tasks, quiz elements, and panel interactions to facilitate the contestants' and celebrities' performances.[28] These sets incorporated modular elements like partitioned zones for isolated challenges and elevated platforms for visibility, ensuring seamless transitions between rounds while adhering to studio safety standards for participant activities.[28] Direction was led by Ollie Bartlett for series 1, Ben Hardy for series 2, and Mick Thomas for series 3 through 7, with production teams emphasizing coordinated cueing for the host, panelists, and audience to maintain the show's high-energy pace.[28] Lighting designer Martyn Rourke contributed to the visual consistency by illuminating challenge areas to highlight actions and expressions throughout the run.[28]Series and Episodes
Series Overview
CelebAbility is a British comedy game show that premiered on ITV2 on 15 June 2017 and concluded with its seventh series on 27 July 2023, spanning a total of seven series and 52 episodes across its run.[1][3]| Series | Episodes |
|---|---|
| 1 (2017) | 8 |
| 2 (2018) | 8 |
| 3 (2019) | 8 |
| 4 (2020) | 6 |
| 5 (2021) | 7 |
| 6 (2022) | 7 |
| 7 (2023) | 8 |