It was mooted as BBC1’s next big Saturday night hit. But a reinvention of gameshow classic The Generation Game presented by Miranda Hart is “very much on hold” a year after it was first unveiled.
The modern take on the show once presented by Bruce Forsyth, Larry Grayson and Jim Davidson, has been shelved, with Hart – one of the BBC’s biggest stars – focusing on acting and writing, the BBC1 controller Charlotte Moore said on Wednesday.
Moore unveiled plans for the remake 12 months ago, but appeared immediately to run into trouble after Hart said on Twitter it was the first she had heard of it and wanted to “shut that door” on its return.
Moore said a pilot had been made but it is unlikely to be on BBC1 any time soon.
“We piloted before Christmas and had a really great, fun time making it. Miranda really, really enjoyed it,” Moore told the Guardian Edinburgh International Television Festival.
“Miranda wants to focus on acting and writing. She is at the heart of the idea and the time has got to be right for Miranda.”
Moore said she was “absolutely still in discussions about it” but added it was “very much on hold”.
BBC1 has tried several different formats to fill its early evening Saturday entertainment slot, but neither Tumble nor Prized Apart made it beyond one series.
Moore said they were both “really bold ambitious projects, superbly produced” but “didn’t reach the audience we wanted”.
