EXCLUSIVE: Channel 4’s Craig Charles-hosted daytime format Moneybags has become the network’s first show from its £30M ($40.6M) Global Format Fund to be recommissioned for a second season.
The fund is intended for international-facing formats that will appeal to both UK and global audiences and can be sold around the world.
Four have been commissioned so far, of which Moneybags, from former Endemol execs Lucas Church and David Flynn’s Youngest Media’s northern English hub, is the first to be given a second series and will air another 30 episodes later this year.
The high-stakes quiz tests contestants’ ability to think quickly as they answer each question by grabbing a moneybag with the correct answer when it passes along a conveyor belt. Those who grab the right answer earn that bag’s value, which can be anything from £1,000 ($1,350) to £100,000 ($135,000). Contestants risk losing everything if they pick up the wrong bag. Charles, the flamboyant host, is a UK cult favorite, having presented Robot Wars for many years and starred in Red Dwarf and Coronation Street.
The other shows to have been commissioned from the Global Format Fund are Joel Dommett-hosted dating format The Love Trap and quiz shows Open (working title) and One And Six Zeros, the latter two of which are yet to air.
“After such a well-received first series we’re so glad to be bringing the drama, fun and jeopardy of Moneybags back to Channel 4,” said Flynn. “With £1M ($1.35M) on the line once again every week, Craig Charles will challenge more contestants to grab themselves a fortune and change their lives.”
The Fund is a priority for Channel 4 Chief Content Officer Ian Katz and has been used as evidence by the broadcaster that it shouldn’t be privatized, as it aims to generate investment from abroad for TV production companies around the UK.
Moneybags is commissioned by Channel 4 Head of Daytime and Features Jo Street and Jayne Stanger, Commissioner, Daytime and Features. Executive producers are Michelle Woods, Aaron Rosenthal, Shaun Parry and Flynn.