New Pointless celebrity guest hosts announced

BBC One’s hit daytime series, Pointless, has unveiled a new line-up of celebrity co-hosts who will be joining host Alexander Armstrong on the upcoming series of the show.

Some of the famous faces set to appear on Britain’s beloved quiz show include Mel Giedroyc, Liza Tarbuck, Chris Ramsey, Gok Wan, Anita Rani, Gabby Logan, Josh Widdicombe, Phil Wang, Hugh Dennis, Ellie Taylor, Rob Rinder and Desiree Burch.

Pointless host Alexander Armstrong says: “I can’t wait to get my teeth into a new run of Pointless with all these brilliant people. I’m so enjoying glancing over to the desk to find so many fabulous faces looking back and furnishing me, and our lovely viewers, with facts.”

Mel Giedroyc says: “Alongside the Roosevelt desk, The News at 10 desk and that of David Brent, the Pointless desk is iconic, and I feel beyond privileged to get to take a seat behind it as co-host for the new series of Pointless. The chance to quiz with Xander just makes the whole thing the epitome of perfection – I cannot wait.”

Liza Tarbuck adds: “I love a quiz and I think Pointless is a brilliant concept…we have quiz hour at Tarby Towers, sit down with a cup of tea to play along, so I wanted to amuse Mum and Dad and be on it. I’m really looking forward to working alongside Xander, he’s effortlessly charming and generous, which is one of the reasons we let him into our homes every afternoon. I think I’m going to love it.”

Chris Ramsey says: “I’m very excited to be part of such an iconic game show and even more excited to be the guy who already knows all the answers to the questions… like some kind of game show Neo. No pressure, just correcting people’s wrong answers. Absolute dream come true.”

Gok Wan says: “Having appeared on the show as a contestant, and doing so painfully badly, I am hoping by going on and filling those notorious shoes behind the desk, I can redeem myself. I am very excited to be joining the Pointless team in this landmark show.”

Anita Rani adds: “I’m usually at home with my cup of tea and my favourite biscuits watching Pointless and now I’ll be in the studio sitting next to Xander and playing along with the contestants (and hopefully some tea and biscuits). It’s like some kind of dream come true. I can’t wait.”

Gabby Logan comments: “I’m very excited for my turn in the Pointless co-hosting chair! I’ve been a fan for years, can’t wait to join Alexander, learn a few things and cheer on the winning team!”

Josh Widdicombe adds: “I am thrilled to be given the chance to pretend to be Richard Osman for a couple of weeks, and to any publishers watching, yes, I will write you a murder mystery.”

Phil Wang comments: “Having won two (2) Pointless trophies myself on the famously much harder Celebrity version of the show, I’m thrilled to have an opportunity to dominate from behind the desk as well. I literally have ALL the answers.”

Hugh Dennis says: “I am very pleased to have been invited to co-host Pointless. I’ve been practicing reading the answers from a laptop, while looking like I knew them all anyway…”

Ellie Taylor comments: “What a privilege to finally be able to sit behind the Pointless desk and not be removed by security. I can’t wait to work with Xander to see how the Pointless sausages are made and crucially, what the laptop password is.”

Rob Rinder comments: “Pointless is the quiz show of all quiz shows, especially for someone like me who loves their facts and stats. This is the role I was born for, gatekeeper to all the obscure trivia we love on Pointless and I couldn’t be more ready.”

Desiree Burch adds: “There are a select few friends back in America for whom my appearance on Pointless will be, possibly, the standout achievement of my career. As for myself, I just feel lucky to have stumbled upon a chance at redemption. Having been caught as dumbfounded as anyone whilst on Pointless Celebrities, I somehow find myself fortunate enough to have made it to the side of the stage with all the answers? Here’s to failing upwards and onwards, folks!”

Neil McCallum, BBC’s Commissioning Editor, Daytime & Entertainment adds: “We have another amazing line-up full of TV personalities and comedians to help Alexander co-host Pointless this year.

“It is great to see the excitement with which each of our co-hosts were welcomed on the show by the audiences, and I hope we can keep surprising them with some great names in the future.”

Laura Turner, Executive Producer, Remarkable Entertainment, says: “We’re so excited to welcome more incredible names to this new era for Pointless. With Xander at the helm and all these new co-hosts we are in for a real treat. I can’t wait to see these guys get comfy behind the desk and deliver some top-notch facts to the nation.”

You can watch Pointless on weekdays on BBC One from 5.15pm, all episodes are available on BBC iPlayer.

Pointless is a Remarkable (a Banijay UK company) production for BBC One. It is commissioned by Rob Unsworth, Head of BBC Daytime and Early Peak, and Neil McCallum, Commissioning Editor. Remarkable Entertainment MD Tamara Gilder is executive producer alongside Laura Turner.