Richard Osman announced as host for new high-stakes ITV quiz show

By Rosie Shead, Press Association

Richard Osman said he has “never seen a quiz show quite like it” as he was announced as the host of a new ITV game programme.

The Pointless creator and author will host The Golden Elevators, a new high-stakes quiz show featuring questions with seemingly simple A or B answers.

Set in the lobby of a skyscraper, the show will involve 10 contestants who take on the game, two elevators and each other in a bid to reach the penthouse and claim a cash jackpot.

Osman said he is “absolutely thrilled” to be hosting the new show, adding: “I signed up the moment they showed me the game.

“It’s so simple, but it takes such skill to win — I’ve never seen a quiz show quite like it.

“I really can’t wait for ITV viewers to see The Golden Elevators. Or, as I call it, The Golden Lifts.”

In the game, each question presents two possible answers, represented by an elevator.

Before the doors close, players can confer, debate, persuade and mislead before they choose.

Those who have stepped into the correct lift move closer to the top whilst those in the wrong lift are plunged to the lobby and out of the game.

The jackpot is shared between all players who make it to the penthouse.

The new series will be produced by Studio Lambert, which has worked on The Traitors and Gogglebox, and John de Mol’s Talpa Studios.

Katie Rawcliffe, director of Entertainment, reality and daytime commissioning at ITV, said: “We are excited to bring The Golden Elevators, hosted by the exceptional King of gameshows, Richard Osman, to ITV.

“It’s fast-paced, full of twists and turns, and with play-along perfect for primetime.”

Osman, author of the hit Thursday Murder Club series, was made an OBE for services for literature and broadcasting and received his honour from the Princess Royal at a ceremony at Windsor Castle earlier this month.

The Rest is Entertainment podcaster quit as co-host of BBC One game show Pointless in 2022 after 13 years to focus on writing.

His six books follow a group of pensioners-turned-sleuths living in a retirement village in Kent, who join together to investigate cold cases and solve murders.

Last year, a film adaptation of the Thursday Murder Club, starring Pierce Brosnan and Dame Helen Mirren, was released on Netflix.

Osman announced his departure from the BBC’s House Of Games in March and will be succeeded by actor Michael Sheen.