The ultimate game of detection returns!

0:00News talk breakfast with Anton Savage in association with air. Now there is a new season of the celebrity traders and a brand new cast and a whole new dynamic. Joining me now to discuss this is BBC TV critic Scott Brian. Scott you're so welcome to the program. There were two absolute highlights on my TV calendar that came from the UK last night. One was rivals and the other was celebrity traders. I adored that season. Please tell me this isn't going to be the difficult second album. I mean, this is the thing. I have seen the first episode, but I would be murdered literally. I think by the BBC if I actually reveal any detail, I think I would say that it is worth your time. I think I would also say that it retains, I think the elements that made the first series of the celebrity traders such a gancho on here, nearly 14.80 million.

1:05So 14.8 million people watched the finale episode, which is I think the highest of pretty much any live TV for not just that year, but for quite some time. And I think it's a rarity in TV in which I think it gravitates pretty much to all demographics, all from all different backgrounds to the TV all on at the same time. I think no other TV show managers to have that hold. But it's, I would say, sort of slightly different in tone. They've not tried to recreate the first episode from last year. They're doing things a little bit differently. But I mean, some of the names attached to it, Joe Lysit, Rommis and Ranganepher and Michael Horshin, Sebastian Croft, I mean, Jerry Hall, you know, people who are really well known. I mean, it's quite unlike any celebrity show when you see them all on together. And you're mind a lot of the time when you see the stars with still episode.

2:06Does anyone of two people you recognize? I think here is probably one or two people you don't. Well, that was the thing that really caught my attention was the lane up. When you mentioned some of the names there, there's also Richard E Grant, James Blunt, our very own Joanne McNally. I mean, none of these people are short of Bob. They're all really well established in their career. So what's the attraction for them and taking part in a program like this? I think part of it is just this once in the lifetime opportunity, you know, the fact that you are able to participate in a game and these people who do participate are genuine fans. I mean, they all come along with tactics. There's no confused facial expression or the kind of the idea in their mind that they have to ask their agents what enough they've signed up for. They all know what it is. But I do think that appearing on this program can still be fairly transformative for your career, even if you are already really well established.

3:06I mean, you only have to look at the success of some of the last years. Participants Nick Mahamid is, I think he's appearing in war. I mean, he's already had a good act in career. But he has gone from strength to strength in terms of this new CNN, a Dominic West drum and that's out on Sky on Friday. He's also appearing on the stage in another performance not long after. Joe Marla, the former professional rugby player, he's now got a very successful podcast. That launched pretty much immediately after a stint on the celebrity traitors. Of course, I think some people probably don't need any more work because they've already household names like Celia and Marie from last year. But I think they've been introduced now to a whole new generation of audiences or be known to be slightly different than maybe people had sort of thought that they would be. I mean, I think the iconic moment where Celia and Marie farted, I think we're now beefed and closely associated with the career as much as an active work for Good Up for Bad.

4:11So I think it's a varies factor, really. But I think it's just a fact that unlike a lot of other celebrity TV formats, you just get a sense of genuine enthusiasm from the participants who take part rather than a lot of other British TV shows, celebrity TV shows, where you can kind of sense that they're just there for the money or just in the hope that they get onto someone else. Yeah, or that it revives their career because let's face it on a lot of these programs. They are maybe influencers or zealisters who've found fame, but perhaps have lost it in terms of the faith that the BBC has in this series. I think it's really telling, isn't it, that it is going out now on the Thursday and a Friday night it has been extended. They are putting it out as prime entertainment. Yes, they are. Yes, so they've added two more people onto the series than the previous one. I mean, it was on this weekly sort of by weekly rotation last time, in which two episodes a week, that it being on the, what's the fortnight.

5:13So it certainly at the heart of their sort of TV schedules and it will be of course now every two episodes a week for sort of the next five weeks. So I think it has the possibility of being the highest TV most watched TV show off the year so so far. But of course, this comes at a sort of critical time for the BBC's future, along with a lot of other public service broadcasters who are all having to deal with a reduction in the amount of income that they receive. Orgents who are possibly fleeing to streaming services, shows like these, shows like the traders are kind of key in terms of maybe introducing the rest of the shows that the broadcaster has, but also trying to find for its relevancy in a very different age than only a few years ago, particularly to the younger generations. I think the BBC must be sort of feeling right now very, very thankful, then it has probably the most what it has, the most what show on TV at the moment, whether they're able to

6:17do this and that this show is not any other commercial rival. All right, BBC TV critic Scott Bryan, we will leave it there. I for one will definitely be tuning in to celebrity traders tonight. I'm just praying it is entertaining as funny as Alan Carr was last year because I really did enjoy that.