Carol Vorderman’s ‘awful’ new game show under fire for ‘copying’ BBC favourite as Channel 5 viewers ‘switch off’
Carol Vorderman’s new Channel 5 game show has faced criticism during its first week on air as viewers issued complaints just a few minutes into the first episode – with many claiming the premise was very similar to another quizzing programme.
Presenter and former Countdown host Vorderman, 64, was back on screens as a team captain in Celebrity Puzzling for the show’s debut on Monday.
Presenter Jeremy Vine, 60, fronts the new show, with Coronation Street star Sally Lindsay, 51, serving as the opposing captain to Vorderman.
Monday saw TV presenter Ore Oduba, 39 and celebrity choirmaster Gareth Malone, 49, join the episode as contestants.
On Tuesday, former Gogglebox star Scarlett Moffatt, 34, joined the show alongside comedian Stephen Bailey, 39.
The new Channel 5 show is understood to be a re-working of the channel’s 2024 show Puzzling, which was hosted by Lucy Worsley, 51, and starred members of the public.
However, it didn’t take too long for those tuned into the new show to air their complaints online, and a notable criticism was that the show seemed to be a “copy” of Richard Osman’s House of Games.
Osman, 54, has fronted BBC Two’s House of Games since 2017, which sees a group of celebrities solving brain-teasing puzzles, with one crowned the winner at the end of the week.
A synopsis for Celebrity Puzzling reads: “Carol Vorderman and Sally Lindsay lead two celebrity teams into a battle of mind-bending puzzles and challenges.
“But who will crack the code and claim victory, and who will be left scratching their heads at the back of the class?”
Several viewers were unable to get past the similarity to House of Games, which prompted some to “switch off” from the new show.
“It’s trying so hard to be house of games. So basic #CelebrityPuzzling,” one X user penned.
“House of Games has questions, pictures, maps, songs playing, a nice cosy set and an easy going presenter. This show might not last very long. #CelebrityPuzzling,” a second shared, comparing the two.
Someone else wrote: “Is #CelebrityPuzzling on @channel5_tv a rip-off of Richard Osman’s House of Games? Certainly feels familiar. #HouseOfGames.”
“#houseofgames has great variety in its games, whereas Celebrity Puzzling was a bit samey, being mainly letter or word games. Only watched ep 1 but wasn’t thrilled,” another complained.
“God, this is awful. Goodbye. #celebritypuzzling,” another added, hinting they’d given up watching.
Others criticised Vorderman, with one writing: “Is Carol pretending to be slower than she is, so she doesn’t appear like a class swot? Do we think that was the brief? To give the celebrity a chance? #celebritypuzzling.”
However, some enjoyed the show, with one fan adding: “It’s not bad, a couple of the games have piqued my interest but at an hour it’s too long. At 30 minutes it would be much better.”
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“I like this new game Celebrity Puzzling on Channel 5,” another more positive comment read.