With Jimeon and Andrew Maxwell

Adam Hills is to host a new BBC panel show celebrating Northern Ireland, with Andrew Maxwell and Jimeoin as team captains

A non-broadcast pilot of Monumental was made in October and six episodes of the quiz, made by Belfast production company Green Inc., who also make Ask Rhod Gilbert, have now been commissioned for BBC One Northern Ireland. Recording starts next month.

Michael Smiley, new So You Think You’re Funny winner Aisling Bea and newcomer Micky Bartlett will also appear, alongside guests from the worlds of comedy, sport and entertainment. Each show conclude with the guests receiving a special comic tribute from the panel to mark their Monumentalstatus.

Likening the show to Spicks and Specks, the irreverent music quiz he hosted on Australian channel ABC 1 until last year, Hills will be ‘the independent observer in the middle who moderates the whole thing’.

Meanwhile, a Radio 4 pilot of the Australian’s unscripted, audience interaction show Mess Around is currently being developed. The comic brought a shortened run of the show to the Edinburgh Fringe before returning to London to prepare for hosting Channel 4’s Paralympics highlights coverage.

Hills spent several years living in Ireland and shot a pilot episode of Adam Hills: Comedically Challenged in Belfast last year, a half-hour programme about the humour of disability featuring 3ft 6in tall Canadian comedian TanyaLee Davis. He will also be one of Channel 4’s presenters for the Paralympics

Green Inc’s managing director, Stephen Stewart said: ‘Monumental is a feel-good comedy panel format … and we’re really excited to be making the series for BBC One Northern Ireland with such a talented host and line up of regular comics.’

Free tickets for Monumental’s recordings are available here

Published: 28 Aug 2012