Sundays, 5:40pm,
ITV1
It began in Mozambique last Autumn and somewhere between then and now it sounds like it got lost in Editing Hell – we’ve heard a number of interesting stories on the grapevine, our favourite being that ITV decided after filming that obscure TV host Alexander Armstrong turns out is a bit too posh for the ITV audience so they’ve tried to edit him out a little – I reckon the reason he turned up on fellow Endemol show Your Face Sounds Familiar was to try and ITV him up a little bit so they could actually broadcast this. I love these sorts of stories and would be fascinated to see what the original edits looked like. Oh and hey look, the brilliant Emma Willis is here as well, it’s not like the show is lacking talent. But despite this it’s not being advertised but it also doesn’t have much in the way of competition for the first episode, other than an American Football game and the first twenty minutes of Countryfile.
We may never get to find out the full story behind the development of Prize Island but that it’s been treated so badly seems rather a shame because on the face of it it’s Exactly The Sort Of Thing We Like. The press release:
Hosted by Alexander Armstrong & Emma Willis, Prize Island is a new, action-packed gameshow set on a sun-baked tropical island. Here, ordinary couples arrive in an extraordinary place to participate in incredible games and challenges to win prizes. The island is a magical place, remote and untouched by the modern world – it is exactly the kind of paradise where we all dream of being marooned, filled with wildlife, sweeping landscapes, the odd vast shipwreck and tons of prizes.
The entire island is the show’s set, with over-the-top stunts and colourful games scattered across the landscape. A surprise lurks round every corner… fitted kitchens appearing from the ocean, TVs in the undergrowth, even hairdryers with very modern technology that lock in moisture dug from the prize seams beneath the abandoned Old Gold Mine. There is even the wreck of a half-submerged pirate galleon in one of the bays across which the contestants must race to stay in the competition.
In this episode four couples arrive on Prize Island to compete in games like ‘Coconut Superstore’, ‘Shipwreck’ and ‘Swiss Family Plumbing’. After each round a team is eliminated, leaving only one couple to compete in the final located at the remote and mysterious Moonfish Bay. In ‘Buried Treasure’ the finalists will attempt to locate and win the ultimate prize buried in the sands – a new car and £50,000.
What’s not to like? It’s difficult to do action adventure in a way that a big mainstream audience will buy into, so I guess we’ll find out. It wouldn’t be the first show that channels have tried to bury but turned out to be quite entertaining – the BBC’s Drop Zone with Steve Jones comes to mind, so keep an open mind.
Edit: For balance, Richard Osman is suggesting the editing hell stories are nonsense.
Edit Edit: Thanks to Ashley, to everyone asking where it’s filmed, it’s believed to be Bazaruto Island off Mozambique.
