W is making a move into live programming for Halloween.
UKTV’s flagship channel has given the green-light to Celebrity Haunted Hotel Live – a five episode live series which follow celebrity guests staying at what has been described as “Britain’s spookiest hotel”. The series will premiere on Thursday October 27th and will be stripped over five days.
The series – which is being fronted by Christine Lampard, Matt Richardson and Jamie East – is being hailed as an “ambitious” project combining celebrity sleepovers, terrifying tasks, gripping ghost stories and edge-of-seat paranormal investigations, all set within a village famous for its ghostly goings-on. The celebrities will be under the control of viewers, who will vote to have them take part in live investigations, experiments and group events while exploring each episode’s gruesome ghost story theme.
A companion show, titled Celebrity Haunted Hotel Live: Do Not Disturb, has also been commissioned. Fronted by Matt Richardson, Do Not Disturb will air nightly from Friday October 28th at 6pm and gives viewers a chance to catch-up on the previous night’s eerie occurrences and challenges and set the scene for the evening show. Both series were commissioned by W General Manager Steve North and UKTV’s Director of Commissioning Richard Watsham. North One Television is producing, with Helen Nightingale and John Quinn executive producing.
“We are excited to be broadening the shows on W even further with a live, nightly entertainment event for Halloween Set in Britain’s spookiest village”, said Steve North, General Manager of W. “Celebrity Haunted Hotel Live combines interactive challenges with a ghostly setting. I can’t wait to see how brave our celebrities really are.”
“It’s a beautiful location, but does take on a very different feel by night”, added executive producer John Quinn. “Combining that setting with a strong cast of familiar celebrity faces, as well as some young, fresh talent, who’ll undertake some never-seen-before paranormal investigation using cutting edge technology, this appeals both to long-time fans of the genre and those viewers who just love entertaining reality TV.”
