Comics help revive 70s gameshow

Channel 5 is considering reviving Seventies gameshow Celebrity Squares.

A pilot edition has been made by Graham Norton's So Television, and TV bosses will now decide whether to give the go-ahead to a fill series.

In the new version, host Bob Monkhouse was replaced by DJ Tom Binns and comic Richard Blackwood, pictured, took the key centre square.

The other celebrties in the noughts and crosses grid were Joan Rivers, Ed Byrne, Mel and Sue, Tess Daly, Anneka Rice, Brigitte Nielsen, Coolio and Phil Tufnell..

The show's executive producer Graham Stuart told MediaGuardian: "Of course the show comes with a lot of baggage, but we thought we could do something with it for the Heat generation.

"It's not a retro show. We have made a show with a bit of edge and a lot of comedy."

The format is still going strong in the States, where it is produced by Whoopi Goldberg, who until recently occupied the coveted centre square.

It originally aired in the UK between 1975 and 1979 , making a brief comeback in the mid-1990s.

Published: 22 Jan 2003