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Famous and Fearless is a reality game show series in which 8 celebrities compete in extreme sporting events to win money for their respective chosen charity. It aired in January 2011 on Channel 4 and was presented by Chris Evans and Clare Balding with Jack Osbourne appearing alongside them as a guest in most shows.[1] The commentator of the events was Nick Fellows. The winner was Charley Boorman. The live part of Famous and Fearless was broadcast from the Liverpool Echo Arena, where all the Head-to-Heads and other events happened before an arena audience.
| Famous and Fearless | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Reality game show |
| Presented by | Chris Evans |
| Voices of | Nick Fellows |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 6 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 95–120 minutes |
| Production company | Princess Productions |
| Original release | |
| Network | Channel 4 |
| Release | 2 January – 7 January 2011 |
Celebrities
editEight celebrities competed, split into two divisions – boys and girls. On 7 January 2011, Charley Boorman won the boys' group and Kelly Holmes won the girls, with the former becoming the overall champion.
| Celebrity | Known for |
|---|---|
| Charley Boorman | Actor and TV adventurer, presenter of By Any Means, Race to Dakar, Long Way Round and Long Way Down |
| Jenny Frost | Singer, former member of Atomic Kitten and presenter of Snog Marry Avoid?, former I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! contestant |
| Jonah Lomu | Former rugby union footballer for the All Blacks from New Zealand |
| Kacey Ainsworth | Actress, played Little Mo Slater in EastEnders |
| Dame Kelly Holmes | Olympic gold medallist |
| Rufus Hound | Comedian and TV personality, winner of Let's Dance for Sport Relief |
| Sam Branson | Son of entrepreneur and Virgin Group owner Richard Branson |
| Sarah Jayne Dunn | Actress, played Mandy Richardson in Hollyoaks |
Events
editDay 1
- BMX (Boys)
- Streetluge (Girls)
- Car Flip (Head to Head)
Day 2
- Mini Moto (Girls)
- Powerboat (Boys)
- Monster Truck Assault Course (Head to Head)
Day 3
- Inline speed skating (Boys)
- Hovercraft (Girls)
- Demolition Derby (Head to Head)
Day 4
- Power Skateboarding (Girls)
- Enduro (Boys)
- Car Crash Dominoes (Head to Head)
Day 5
Day 6 (Finale)
- Powerbocking (Girls)
- Dirt Buggy (Boys)
- Demolition Derby (Head to Head)
Charley Boorman beat Dame Kelly Holmes in Demolition Derby to become the eventual winner of Famous And Fearless.
Reception
editFamous and Fearless received mostly negative reviews from British media outlets. Stuart Heritage of The Guardian stated that the contestants were not celebrities and the events were not extreme. He went on to say Celebrity Big Brother's successor may have been more successful if it had been 'a mindless Saturday evening ITV show.'.[2] The Independent claimed the show was too noisy and mislead viewers with its title, suggesting 'Vaguely Recognisable and Game for a Laugh' or 'Who's That and Why Is That Dangerous?' as more fitting titles.[3]
Ratings
edit| Episode | Date | Rating (Millions) |
|---|---|---|
| Episode 1 | 2 January 2011 | 2.27[4] |
| Episode 2 | 3 January 2011 | 1.73[5] |
| Episode 3 | 4 January 2011 | 1.63[6] |
| Episode 4 | 5 January 2011 | 1.70[4] |
| Episode 5 | 6 January 2011 | 1.30[7] |
| Episode 6 | 7 January 2011 | 1.44[8] |
Cancellation
editIn February 2011, it was reported that the series had been axed after one series due to poor ratings.[9]
References
edit- ^ Famous And Fearless Archived 7 January 2011 at the Wayback Machine Channel 4
- ^ Stuart Heritage (4 January 2011). "Famous and Fearless: scarily bad TV?". The Guardian.
- ^ Thomas Sutcliff (7 January 2011). "Famous? Fearless? A format too far?". The Independent. Retrieved 7 March 2011.
- ^ a b Top Weekly Programmes Broadcasters Audience Research Board
- ^ Andrew Laughlin (4 January 2011). "'Silent Witness', 'Suspicion' tie at 9 pm". Digital Spy. Retrieved 9 January 2011.
- ^ Andrew Laughlin (5 January 2011). "'Silent Witness' beats 'Above Suspicion'". Digital Spy. Retrieved 9 January 2011.
- ^ Andrew Laughlin (7 January 2011). "'Not Going Out' returns with 4.7m". Digital Spy. Retrieved 9 January 2011.
- ^ Paul Millar (8 January 2011). "BBC One's 'Hustle' back with 5.7m". Digital Spy. Retrieved 9 January 2011.
- ^ Ryan Love (21 February 2011). "Channel 4 axes Famous and Fearless". Digital Spy. Retrieved 7 March 2011.