London - 4th October 2016
W, UKTV's premium entertainment channel, today announced an ambitious live show fronted by Christine Lampard (Dancing On Ice, The One Show), Matt Richardson (Xtra Factor, Virgin Radio) and Jamie East (Thronecast, Big Brother's Bit on The Side), Celebrity Haunted Hotel Live. Celebrity guests will check in each night to what's been dubbed Britain's spookiest hotel starting on Thursday 27 October at 9pm and culminating with a finale on Halloween.
Celebrity Haunted Hotel Live is a brand new entertainment show stripped over five nights combining hilarious celebrity sleepovers, terrifying tasks, gripping ghost stories and edge-of-seat paranormal investigations, all set within a village famous for its ghostly goings-on.
Christine Lampard with co-hosts Matt Richardson and Jamie East, check in a new batch of celebrities nightly. Guests brave enough to stay in the ghost-ridden lodgings will be under the control of viewers. Celebrities will be voted to take part in nail-biting and riotous live investigations, experiments and group events while exploring each episode's gruesome ghost story theme. Jamie will be updating live from the interactive hub, within the hotel grounds.
Christine Lampard said,
Five nights in the UK's spookiest hotel with some great celebrity guests over Halloween - what could possibly go wrong?!
Matt Richardson will also host companion show Celebrity Haunted Hotel Live: Do Not Disturb, at 6pm nightly from Friday 28th October, giving viewers a chance to catch-up on the previous night's eerie occurrences and challenges and set the scene for the evening show.
Celebrity Haunted Hotel Live is ordered by W's general manager Steve North, and UKTV's director of commissioning Richard Watsham and is produced by North One Television. Helen Nightingale is executive producer for UKTV along with John Quinn, executive producer for North One Television.
Matt Richardson said,
What better way to spend Halloween than in a Haunted Hotel, I'm looking forward to checking in our guests and seeing how they cope with a stay in Britain's spookiest hotel. With Christine as Jack Nicholson and Jamie and I as the twins, it'll be like an English shining.
Jamie East said,
A completely new, exciting format is an extremely rare thing in TV. I can't wait to work with Christine - she's one of the biggest and best names in presenting and I'm a huge fan. I see Matt Richardson every day at Virgin Radio, so the novelty has worn off there I must admit.
UKTV executive producer, Helen Nightingale said,
This is a spooky addition to W's growing slate of original content - an entertainment event set in the darkest of places; perfect for Halloween. With a whole host of celebrities to frighten, W viewers will be gripped by the unfolding nightly action.
Steve North, W's general manager, added,
We are excited to be broadening the shows on W even further with a live, nightly entertainment event for Halloween. Set in Britain's spookiest village, Celebrity Haunted Hotel Live combines interactive challenges with a ghostly setting. I can't wait to see how brave our celebrities really are.
North One executive producer John Quinn added:
It's a beautiful location, but does take on a very different feel by night. Combining that setting with a strong cast of familiar celebrity faces, as well as some young, fresh talent, who'll undertake some never-seen-before paranormal investigation using cutting edge technology, this appeals both to long-time fans of the genre and those viewers who just love entertaining reality TV.
Celebrity Haunted Hotel Live joins an impressive slate of UKTV Originals hitting screens on W in the Autumn, including John Bishop: In Conversation With..., I've Got Something To Tell You with Amanda Holden, and fixed rig show Inside The Ambulance. Hit US shows Code Black, Secrets and Lies, and The Strain will also complete W's jam-packed schedule from September.
Celebrity Haunted Hotel Live launches on Thursday 27th October at 9pm for five nights until the grand finale on Halloween - 31st October. Evening catch up show Celebrity Haunted Hotel Live: Do Not Disturb will air at 6pm from Friday 28th October for 4 nights. Watch the action unfold across W's social channels - @LiveOnW, #CelebHauntedHotel.
For more information and interview requests contact:
Kerry Parker, Head of Network Communications
About W
Sky 109/245, Virgin 124/191, BT & TalkTalk 407 On demand on Sky and Virgin W is UKTV's premium entertainment channel, offering audiences a dazzling mix of original factual entertainment formats - ON, Get Me To The Church, Honey I Bought the House - alongside the gold standard of shows from the US including Code Black, Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders, CSI:NY, and Grimm plus jewels from the very best of the BBC and Channel 4.
About UKTV
UKTV is the biggest multichannel broadcaster in the UK.
The award-winning independent has eleven imaginative brands - UKTV Play, Dave, W, Gold, Alibi, Yesterday, Drama, Really, Home, Eden and Good Food. These include the two most popular non-PSB channels in the UK and account for 9.31% of the British commercial TV market. The company's most recent financial results showed record-breaking year-end revenue of £319m and EBITDA of £82m. It invested £148m in programming and related launches last year, and is becoming an increasingly significant investor in UK creativity.
UKTV has a truly innovative model, curating brand-defining commissions, high-profile acquisitions and the very best of BBC, alongside programmes originally shown on ITV and Channel 4. The network embraces technology to deliver inspired channels to audiences through Freeview, Sky, Virgin Media, BT, TalkTalk, YouView, Freesat, Amazon Fire and UKTV Play, and distributes its highly valued original programmes to 200 territories.
Now celebrating its 23rd year at the forefront of digital television, UKTV - an independent commercial joint venture between BBC Worldwide and Scripps Networks Interactive, Inc. (SNI) - is proud to be the only British television broadcaster in The Sunday Times top 100 companies list.