EXCLUSIVE: Channel 4 is piloting a celebrity prank show on linear that emerged via its YouTube channel.
Tapped Out Prank Stars is a supercharged version of the format that originated on Channel 4.0, with rapper ArrDee, comedian Fatiha El-Ghorri and JLS singer Aston Merrygold set to take on extreme challenges watched by a studio audience.
The move marks the first time a Channel 4 YouTube format has transferred to linear and the pilot will likely air around Christmas.
In Tapped Out, which is hosted by Nella Rose and has featured the likes of Love Island star Chloe Burrows, celebs are pushed to their limits with tricky prank challenges that feature chaotic twists. The longer they can last before deciding to “Tap Out,” the better they do, as the celeb competitor who endures the most time in the increasingly embarrassing tasks thrown at them will be crowned champion. The loser will face one final forfeit.
The first ep of Tapped Out on YouTube has accrued 1.5 million views on the 600,000-subscriber Channel 4.0, which launched in 2022.
Channel 4’s Cimran Shah and Evie Buckley called Tapped Out “one of the most boisterous and brave shows on Channel 4.0 with millions viewing across our YouTube and social platforms.” “It’s so exciting to take all the wildest ingredients of this series to create an unpredictable all-star edition for Channel 4,” they added.
Channel 4.0 comprises a key part of the Gogglebox network’s digital strategy, with other shows including Worst in Class, Baddest in the World and 20K Play. COO Jonathan Allan recently said Channel 4 “thinks about YouTube as a distribution channel, like Sky or Virgin Media, and we think its incremental to streaming and linear.” The news comes in the week that Netflix greenlit a second season of The Sidemen’s reality series Inside, with YouTube seen more and more as a breeding ground for formats.
Tapped Out Prank Stars is produced by Wall of Entertainment with GroupM Motion Entertainment as co-producers. Wall of Entertainment’s Tafara Makopa, Percelle Ascott, Joivan Wade, and Christopher Barbour are the show’s executive producers, with Ben Hardy as director. Martin Oxley, Head of Formats & Entertainment (UK), is the Executive Producer for GroupM Motion Entertainment. It is commissioned for Channel 4 by Cimran Shah, Commissioning Editor for Reality & Entertainment, and Evie Buckley, Digital Commissioning Editor & Channel 4.0 Lead.
The programme was funded by Channel 4 and GroupM Motion Entertainment’s Diverse Indies Fund. The Diverse Indies Fund was set up to support small and medium-sized ethnically diverse-owned independent production companies to produce new projects. The fund is overseen by Vivienne Molokwu, Senior Commissioning Editor at Channel 4, with Deep Sehgal, Head of Creative Diversity at GroupM Motion Entertainment.
