Bullseye has made a comeback after a 30-year hiatus, with a festive special hosted by former cricketer and presenter Freddie Flintoff to mostly positive reviews, but some feel changes need to be made
Fans of Bullseye have made their concerns known as the show returns after a 30-year hiatus, with a festive special hosted by former cricketer and presenter Freddie Flintoff.
The darts-themed game show is the latest to join the trend of revamped classics, following in the footsteps of Blockbusters, Catchphrase, and The Price Is Right.
Freddie Flintoff, known for his role in A League of Their Own, is stepping into the shoes of original host Jim Bowen. He'll be guiding three teams of two, comprising amateur darts players and quiz enthusiasts, as they compete to win points and prizes.
However, viewers of the show had criticisms of the format, with one user accused the show of adding fake laughter.
On X (Formerly Twitter) they said: "Why do gameshows these days add in the fake audience reactions/laughter and enhanced applause? Nothing more annoying, just let it play out natural. Is there an actual reason?"
Another said: "The only tweak I would make is a less noisy audience...no need for applause every 30 seconds. Loved it other than that."
Most fans of the show were delighted with the episode.
One user posted: "I’ve totally enjoyed the Christmas special and the fact that everything was near the same as the good old Jim Bowen days, we now need a new series for a Sunday evening."
Another user said: "I enjoyed the special Christmas edition of #bullseye, it stayed faithful to the original with just a couple of minor tweaks but felt it dragged out a bit though during the prize board section. Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff is a good host as well. I hope they’ll now be a full series."
Darts sensation Luke Littler, 17, joined Flintoff and throw for charity during the Christmas special of the show. The teen sensation has shot to superstardom after he was beaten out in the Paddy Power PDC World Championship final by Luke Humphries.
ITV commissioned a one-hour Christmas special, in which each playing team will be made up of an amateur dart player, known as the thrower, and their team partner, the knower. They will combine their skills, throwing darts at different game boards while answering questions correctly for points and prizes.
Katie Rawcliffe, director of entertainment and daytime commissioning at ITV, said: "Bullseye is back, and we can’t wait to welcome Freddie Flintoff back to ITV too. It’s a real treat to have both as key parts of our Christmas schedule on ITV1 and ITVX this year."
Michael Mannes, managing director of 12 Yard Productions, said: "We are delighted to have acquired the rights to Bullseye, one of the most iconic game shows ever. And the timing could not be better considering the popularity of darts. Freddie is the perfect host for it, and we can’t wait for the show to be back on ITV."
Bullseye is available to watch on ITV and ITVX.
English (US) ·