Play to the Whistle is a British comedy panel game television programme which premiered on ITV on 11 April 2015 and is produced by Hungry Bear Media.[1][2] In each regular episode two teams of three members – one member being a regular captain – compete in sports knowledge rounds and physical games to earn points, the team with the most points at the end is declared the winner.[3] The show is presented by Holly Willoughby and the teams are captained by Bradley Walsh and Frank Lampard;[4][2] the latter is joined by Romesh Ranganathan as a regular panelist.[5] Seann Walsh has been the resident scorekeeper from the first series and also became the host's assistant from the second series.[6] Jimmy Bullard was the host's assistant in the first series.[citation needed] As of 4 April 2017, nineteen regular episodes and a compilation special have been aired across three series; 20 episodes in total. Willoughby promoted the third and final series as a guest on The One Show on 27 February 2017.
Series overview edit
Key edit
- The background colours indicate the result of the episode
- – indicates Walsh's team won
- – indicates Lampard and Ranganathan's team won
- – indicates the game ended in a draw
- A score in red (−n) indicates negative score
Episodes edit
Series 1 (2015) edit
| No. | Episode | First broadcast | Bradley's guests | Frank and Romesh's guests | Scores | Ratings[7] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1
|
1x01 | 11 April 2015 | Rob Beckett Peter Crouch |
Paddy McGuinness | 8–7 | 2.92 |
2
|
1x02 | 18 April 2015 | Sean Lock Alex Scott |
Graeme Swann | 8–10 | 3.24 |
3
|
1x03 | 25 April 2015 | Alex Brooker Piers Morgan |
Harry Redknapp | 8–9 | 3.13 |
4
|
1x04 | 2 May 2015 | Christine Bleakley Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain |
Dermot O'Leary | 7–5 | 2.59 |
5
|
1x05 | 9 May 2015 | Carl Fogarty Jon Richardson |
Niall Horan | 8–8 | 2.95 |
6
|
1x06 | 16 May 2015 | Jonathan Ross Brooke Vincent |
Tony McCoy | −3–9 | 2.70 |
7
|
1x07 | 23 May 2015 | Natalie Anderson Bob Mortimer |
Pat Cash | 8–8 | 1.83 |
8
|
1x08 | 6 June 2015 | Compilation episode – "Extra Time" | — | 0.87 | |
Series 2 (2016) edit
| No. | Episode | First broadcast | Bradley's guests | Frank and Romesh's guests | Scores | Ratings[7] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
9
|
2x01 | 16 April 2016 | Rob Beckett Tom Daley |
Richard Osman | 6–9 | 3.44 |
10
|
2x02 | 23 April 2016 | Anthony Joshua Jon Richardson |
Kevin Bridges | 6–5 | 3.36 |
11
|
2x03 | 30 April 2016 | Chris Kamara Jack P. Shepherd |
Jonathan Ross | 7–5 | 2.20 |
12
|
2x04 | 7 May 2016 | Wilfried Zaha Funmbi Omotayo |
Rochelle Humes | 3–8 | 2.58 |
13
|
2x05 | 14 May 2016 | Peter Jones Sara Pascoe |
David Haye | 6–7 | 2.04 |
14
|
2x06 | 21 May 2016 | Danny Cipriani Katherine Ryan |
Piers Morgan | 6–4 | 2.34 |
Series 3 (2017) edit
| No. | Episode | First broadcast | Bradley's guests | Frank and Romesh's guests | Scores | Ratings[7] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
15
|
3x01 | 28 February 2017 | John Terry Rachel Riley |
Jonnie Peacock | N/A[a] | 1.98 |
16
|
3x02 | 7 March 2017 | Jimmy Carr Alan Shearer |
James Anderson | 8–8[b] | 1.57 |
17
|
3x03 | 14 March 2017 | Samantha Quek Rob Beckett |
Jake Humphrey | 9–5 | 1.47 |
18
|
3x04 | 21 March 2017 | Kevin Bridges Ashley Cole |
Ore Oduba | 9–6 | 1.43 |
19
|
3x05 | 28 March 2017 | Joel Dommett Judy Murray |
Michail Antonio | 9–7 | 1.57 |
20
|
3x06 | 4 April 2017 | Rob Beckett Andrew Johnston |
Scarlett Moffatt | 9–7 | 1.58 |
Scores edit
| Bradley | Frank and Romesh |
|---|---|
| Series wins (2 drawn) | |
| 0 | 1 |
| Episode wins (2 drawn) | |
| 8 | 9 |
Notes edit
- ^ The scores were not revealed at the end of the episode.
- ^ As a tiebreaker the teams participated in a football penalty shoot-out against former England international goalkeeper David Seaman. Lampard's team won the shoot-out 2–1.
References edit
- ^ Lee, Ben (9 April 2015). "Holly Willoughby, Frank Lampard for ITV panel show Play to the Whistle". Digital Spy. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
- ^ a b "Holly Willoughby to host new ITV panel show". British Comedy Guide. 26 March 2015. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
- ^ Allott, Britt (2 April 2015). "Holly Willoughby is joined by Bradley Walsh and Frank Lampard in Play To The Whistle". ITV Press Centre. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
- ^ Jones, Tudur Huws (25 April 2015). "Holly Willoughby, Bradley Walsh and Frank Lampard star in Play to the Whistle". Daily Post. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
- ^ Crawford, Carena (16 April 2016). "Saturday's TV pick: Play to the Whistle". Reveal. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
- ^ "Seann Walsh lands role in ITV sports quiz". Chortle. 2 April 2015. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
- ^ a b c "Weekly top 30 programmes". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board. Retrieved 12 September 2016.