Recording Monday evening in London. I expect someone will write a recording review later.

Stephen Mulhern hosts the revival of the classic, and an all-new exciting endgame is promised.

OK, I’m back. Here’s what you want to know:

• The theme is a rather jolly remix of the original 80s Walker era theme. I think it’s better than what it mutated into actually. Although I’m second guessing myself a little actually but I’m wondering if it might actually have been the later Walker era theme now. Argh. Anyway, it was jolly. EDIT: no definitely the original, I can hear it in my head now.
• Set is kind of a mixture of how the show looked when it was updated, but with the moodier blacks and purples of the original Walker era show. Quite nice actually, but no moving parts. The stage is a effectively a giant speech bubble. You’ll be pleased to hear that coloured lights lead from the buzzers across the floor and up to the screen, the surround of which turns the colour of the player that buzzed.
• The graphics. Hoo boy, they’re going to take some getting used to, I think they’re a bit charmless myself. They’re all 3D rendered and it all falls rather uncomfortably into the uncanny valley for me especially…
• …Mr Chips, who is back and I think I will be having nightmares about this evening. He looks faintly psychopathic in his new rendered form. It’s his grin and gait. I now think I understand people’s fear of clowns.
• Stephen Mulhern is the very definition of perfectly competent.
• OK, the big changes – this is apprently a 45 minute show as there are two ad-breaks throughout. THREE contestants begin round one, and two will go through to the main game proper, so there will be a Bit Of A Wasted Journey qualifier. Simply, the first two to get three right move on to the next bit, the loser leaves. You will be pleased to hear the Catchphrase buzzer sound has returned. You can buzz in once for each puzzle, get it wrong and you’re locked out, there’s no bell for anything in the show.
• Part two and the two remaining contestants play three rounds of “proper” Catchphrase. No money chase (boo!). In round one, contestants earn £100 for a correct answer and the Bonus Catchphrase (trad. arr.) is worth a straight £500. £200 and £1,000 in round two and in round two all the catchphrases are themed (although you’re not told what the theme is, it’s something to use to your advantage if you’ve worked it out, although it was not a particularly outre theme this evening.). There’s no “X, you’re back in play” at any point. There are occasional spot prizes.
• Round three is effectively the Ready Money Round, you can keep pressing and guessing and this time all puzzles are worth £500. And there’s no bonus, so it’s effectively a lengthier lightning round.
• Losers get to keep the money. The spirit of Catchphrase, everyone has a fun time and takes home decent amounts of cash for solving fairly simple puzzles, is alive and well here.
• The Super Catchphrase has £50,000 riding on it. On the board a pyramid of numbers 1-15 – five squares on the bottom, one on the top. The idea is to climb the pyramid in 60 seconds – you don’t need to have a continuous route, just one correct answer to move on to the next level. The higher you get, the more money you win – £2,500, £5k, £10k, £25k and finally £50k. This is entirely risk free. You can also pass and come back, and the puzzles get a bit more cryptic the higher up you go.
• Behind the very central room on level three is a star. And if you solve that one you win a car, and why you wouldn’t choose it given a free pick of squares I don’t know. I think it’s a bit of a lousy throw back to the M Square, to be honest.
• However the rendered catchphrases take so much time building a scene before getting to the actual meat of the puzzle winning the £50k is going to be a very big ask I think. But you also get to keep your money from the front game, so you should still get to leave with a pretty decent amount of cash.
• That’s it really. The spirit of the show is there but I think people are going to find the graphics offputting. Any questions?