The Switch with Sanjeev Bhaskar starts on Monday.

If you can’t be bothered to read the press release (and you should for some classy #hostholdingaquestioncard and top notch Boring Press Release Quote from Bhaskar), it sounds basically like the Cashbuilder from The Chase, followed by three questions in the style of 101 Ways to Leave A Game Slow, with a final that’s a little bit like Bother’s Bar Alternate Timeline Favourite The Fuse. We’ll have a Show Discussion post ready on Monday morning. Bhaskar seems like a good choice, the sort of name you wouldn’t have really considered but now it’s happening you think “yeah, why not?”

Speaking of Switches, there was a BBC press release a while ago suggesting there was a Nintendo Switch adaption of Pointless coming in November. What happened to that? Might well have been a decent family round the telly Christmas thing.

EDIT: In other news:

We’ve been alerted to the fact that tonight’s ITV Election debate’s set looks rather like the Cash Trapped one. But I’ve also seen it compared to that of High Stakes with Jeremy Kyle. I quite liked the set. I thought Kyle was quite good. I don’t remember liking much else (you can read our comments at the time here).

Thanks to Youtube Celebrity Tom Scott for alerting me to this, a series from Collegehumor (in fact a subscription series, but there are a few “free” episodes up on Youtube) called Game Changers.

It has quite an interesting premise, in that the contestants aren’t aware of the rules (the game is different each week) and have to figure them out themselves (not too difficult, as you’ll note). Amusement comes in when the game gets increasingly more complex, or the game reveals its secrets to the viewer (such as a machine purporting to be a lie detector but actually secretly their real-life partners are pushing buttons from another room).

What I would say, going into it cold, is that you’ll likely find it funnier if you’re previously aware (and like) the people involved, and that for me it takes too long before kicking up a notch, but there are some fun ideas flying about.

In other news, on Wednesday night FOTB Ash The Bash premiered Winning Lines on his Twitch Channel. What I’ll suggest is that if this is the first version, I can’t wait to see what the finished version looks like.

Watch [S03E09] Winning Lines Hype!! Also, part 6 of Only Connect Tournament as well! ~ !tournament #QuizNight from AT_Bash on www.twitch.tv

Ash runs a Wednesday night Quiz Night on his Twitch channel every week from 8pm, featuring things like Duel, Only Connect and 1 vs 100. You play along in the Twitch chat. Do check it out.

Thanks for all your submissions, I’m now going to try and make sense of them all. Hopefully an element of truth to some of them in between the gags and obvious lies, we’ll try and judge which are which but please bear in mind the only people who know the truth are the anonymous writers and the people involved. So without further ado…

• Hearing that Rylan has signed up as the new Chaser. (Looking at his husband, don’t think Rylan’s the chaser type.)
• Rylan has signed up to replace Richard Ayoade on Crystal Maze. (Again, so much crossed wires with Rylan news! He’s not hosting, he’s in talks to play a new character called Dadsey.)
• I don’t have a scoop this month, just wanted to say i hope you have a great holiday, and make sure to watch EPIC GAME SHOW premiering really soon! <3 (Thanks very much. I’m not going on holiday though.)
• I don’t have any gossip, but I like filling in boxes, and it seems more honest not to make something up. I like you, you’re all right. (Oh, you guuuys.)
• Very Hard Questions is going to be on More4. Hosted by either Gyles Brandreth or Jon Snow, unclear at this point. (EDIT: Understand it’s going to be Jon Snow.)
• Very Hard Questions, Channel 4. Not much to go on. (Intrigued by More 4’s content strategy if indeed that’s where this is going, this and Celebrity Countdown trying to carve a niche? Perhaps we were all wrong about IQTV after all.)
• There was a junior version of Pointless in development. (Ageless.)
• ITV is aiming high for the celebrities for their version of the masked singer. Potential celebrities include two members from one direction and a spice girl. (Actually mildly surprised that it was filmed two months ago and none of the names have been leaked yet.)
• One of the new Masked singer costumes for our series in Jan is a bumble bee queen. (Bumble Bee Queen, Queen Bee… BEYONCE CONFIRMED.)
• ITV insider here – I can confirm that we really want the taskmaster format and we have the ideal season 10 lineup all ready to commit. We did put a strong 6 figure sum up for a three-year commitment however we will only run the series once a year compared to UKTV’s current 2 a year. However, we have pitched a Christmas edition idea into the pitch to Avalon & Alex Horne. Avalon was keen however Alex did have a few concerns in how this would work. I can also confirm that we will not ditch Greg for another host if we achieve the purchase. We do not know the plans of the other parties involved but can confirm that both the BBC & Channel 4 have requested pitches. (Obviously we can’t just look at the phrase “ITV insider here” and assume they’re actually an insider, but this feels interestingly plausable. My biggest concern is that for better or worse Alex Horne is just not very ITV (he’s more Radio 4) and that is a worry, but you also can’t not do it without him (or Greg) and I can’t see a typical ITV audience taking to it. Would be very happy to be proved wrong though.)
• Ninja Warrior’s main casting site is now accepting applications until the 31st December, so I wouldn’t write it off just yet.
• Ninja Warrior UK will return in Winter 2020, but not on ITV…. (Hope it goes to Dave.)
• Channel 4 have lined up the following panel for Taskmaster, assuming they win the rights race: Alex Brooker, Big Narstie, Sandi Toksvig, Steph McGovern, Harry Hill. (Brooker, Toksvig and Hill are plausable, Steph would be too busy doing her new daily show to film it, Big Narstir is probably exactly the sort of thing people are worried about. So I think this is made up.)
• When The Wall was filming, Remarkable hadn’t planned for anyone to lose on Freefall, so when Rhys and Callum did, they didn’t have backup contestants ready that day and had to send the audience and crew home early. (I’m surprised that this would be the case, you’d have one back-up team in Poland for the duration, surely?)
• The Wall has been recommissioned for a second series. (Not surprising. They probably ought not to stick it out on its own though.)
• Been active talks recently about a UK adaption of the Japanese game show Documental, which would be known as Last One Laughing. (Oh now that’s really interesting, I’ve been meaning to watch the Japanese one on Netflix (or Prime, I forget which) for ages. Ten comics put up a large amount of money and enter a house, they’re eliminated if they laugh, last one left wins all the money. Some ITV2 potential I think.)
• Seems like Family Brain Game is not coming back. (Well it’s time for the A Word In Your Ear revival we’ve been crying out for, then.)
• Have it on good record that the new Chaser is the Telminator- though what a shitty nickname!
• Further to the announcement of a new Chaser, Paul Sinha said that “I hope that people respect [the new Chaser’s] choice of pronoun”, indicating someone like Emma Laslett, perhaps? (I fear Paul Sinha has never used Social Media. I don’t know many people in the LGBTQuiz+ community and I don’t know many quizzers called Terence, but perhaps you do and you can work out who the new Chaser is from that if, indeed, either are true. I look forward to everyone overearnestly declaring how lovely they are.)
• Trinity Broadcasting Network have made a pilot of What Would Jesus Do?. Apparently a Taskmaster style programme where the contestants (non-celebrities) are awarded points based on how closely their solutions to various challenges and scenarios match with what Jesus would have done in the same situation. Presented by Dan Walker and Rev. Kate Bottley. (I was totally ready to accept this as fact right up until Dan Walker.)
• Can confirm here that Anton Du Beke will not be returning to Strictly next series, nor will Karen Hauer or Graziano Di Prima. (Strictly survived the death of Brucie, but Anton Du Beke? Crikey. Look forward to seeing how many turn up in the Jungle next year if true.)
• Pointless will be filmed at MediaCity from next autumn. (Another show not filming in London. Shame.)
• Rylan to front a revival of Channel 5’s Night Fever. (Of all the Rylan rumours, this one’s the most plausable.)
• ITV are considering bringing back either Beat the Star or Gladiators for summer 2020 (Really not sure they’d have the budget to do Gladiators justice. Beat the Star would feel like a really random show to bring back.)
• CM USA could be put on netflix next year. (Suspect Channel 4 might have something to say about that in the UK.)
• You should post a link to that Venn diagram, that’s the best thing I’ve seen all week. (Pity about the ‘h’ in ‘wacky’ though. Do give @UndeniablyAlex a follow.)

Phew.

Saturday, 7:15pm (UK)/8:15pm (Germany)
ProSieben or your naughty alternative of choice.

Join us for another exciting edition of Schlag den Star where once again two celebs will be battling it out over 15 mystery events for €100,000.

If you’ve got a microphone you’ll be welcome to join us and hangout in the Hangout – here’s the link – remember it’s a privilege not a right. (Edit: Hangout closed.)

This episode it’s music star vs screen star as musician VANESSA MAI (not that one) takes on LUNA SCHWEIGER (that one) battling it out for Elton’s briefcase. And none other than SIMPLY RED and AVA MAX are the musical turns.

The link to the commentary stream will be live here from 7:15pm until end of broadcast.

This stream is commentary only. You will need to have a naughty stream running at the same time for the visuals. We are likely to be about 15-20 seconds behind the visual stream (and about a full minute behind if you’re watching an actual satellite feed), sorry.

The Opera VPN has apparently stopped being useful for SdS. Bother’s Bar recommends shelling out for a proper VPN service. Bother’s Bar uses Tunnelbear, other VPN services are available. Matt Clemson recommends Windscribe as a free alternative. We cannot take responsibility for anything you do to your system, so be careful and use some common sense.

To watch it would be useful to sign up for ProSieben’s catch-up service – it’s pretty simple to work out, don’t click the box if you don’t want e-mail messages. You will need to put in a proper e-mail because it will send you a confirmation. 

If anyone knows of any relatively safe livestreams, do feel free to share.