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***New ITV Series***

Cannonball Starts in the Autumn on ITV

Legendary cricketer and broadcaster, Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff is to host ITV’s brand new adrenaline fuelled gameshow Cannonball. Produced by Potato, the international hit format from Talpa is a high-octane series, in which contestants face a host of incredible inflatable obstacles and water-based challenges. Joining Freddie as the pool side commentators are singer Frankie Bridge, presenters Radzi Chinyanganya and Maya Jama and comedian Ryan Hand who will be reporting on all the action as the contestants fly, fall or flop into the water. On each show, contestants of all ages will face supersized games in a custom-built water park that will test how high, how far and how fast they can fly through the air before they crash, splash, bang and wallop into the water on this adrenalin-fuelled fun-packed gameshow. The final will see contestants on a giant swing, launching themselves ‘cannonball-style’ at a huge moving target covering the surface of a gigantic deep-water tank as they attempt to become the winner of the coveted Cannonball Cup.

Each week 24 contestants will attempt all four water based challenges that will test their speed, accuracy, height and distance. The challengers will rotate around the Cannonball course as they battle to be the winner of each game, gaining medals for their achievement. The three people with the most medals at the end of the heats will then go head to head in the final. Filming for the series will take place in Valetta, Malta, and is due to commence in late April. Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff said: “What’s not to love about this show: Gallons of water and giant great inflatable slides are the perfect recipe for some spectacular comedy moments but also throw into the mix some truly incredible feats from the contestants. I can’t wait to get started!” Michael Kelpie, Managing Director of Potato, said: “Everybody loves a great waterpark when they’re on holiday and Cannonball is the gameshow version of the best waterpark in the world. At Potato, we love to make shows that we want to watch on telly. With Cannonball, we all want to have a go as well!” Maarten Meijs, Managing Director of Talpa, said: "We're thrilled that our exciting water battle has found a home at ITV together with Potato. The fun, summer vibe of the show has already made the format a great success in Australia and The Netherlands, and we're looking forward to announcing more territories where Cannonball will make a splash soon." Cannonball, which will air on ITV later this year, was commissioned by ITV's Head of Comedy Entertainment Peter Davey & Commissioning Editor Asif Zubairy. Executive Producers for Potato are Martin Scott and Michael Kelpie, while Eve Winstanley is Series Editor. The 10-episode series includes a Christmas special and a ‘Splash Hits’ highlights show. Notes to editors: The press pack contains interviews with the hosts and a brief description on each game.

FREDDIE FLINTOFF

Talk us through Cannonball, what is the premise of the show? I think the premise of the show is to make people smile. There’s a tacky trophy at the end of it, we can’t wait to get rid of it and the contestants don’t really want it! It’s just fun, the contestants enjoy taking part, everybody enjoys watching them and it’s for no real purpose whatsoever! Its bonkers. What was it about this show that appealed to you? It looked fun and I enjoyed the trip to Malta! It’s a show I can sit down and watch with my kids. Most of the stuff that I do I can’t really watch with them whereas with this show I can imagine us all sitting around on a Saturday night together watching it. The kids will be my worst critics, they’ll never say I was great, they’ll hammer me all the way through and that’s fine I expect that. The games look scary, how did the contestants fare? Some of the contestants couldn’t wait to get going and some of them were just enjoying their moment on TV. I think the ones who don’t think they’ll do well and then end up doing great are the best ones to watch as they really surprise themselves. You look at some of the contestants and you wonder why they are doing this but they just get on with it and are great fun to watch. Would you have a go on any of the games? I would like to have had a go at Skimmer or Blob but I’m not sure they would have had big enough Blobbers to catapult me into the air. Did you have a favourite game? I liked watching the end game, Swing To Win. It looks dramatic as its filmed at night but I wouldn’t want to have a go.

Who do you think would come out best if you all took part, you, Maya, Radzi, Freddie or Ryan? Radzi, he’s competitive and he loves everything. He even had a go on one of the games. How did you find filming away from home? To be honest I’ve done it all my career whilst playing cricket. Of course you miss your family but I was only in Malta for a couple of weeks. I’m such a creature of habit the whole time I was there I had the same meal every night. How well did you all get on? Its good, I get on well with all of them, but it did make me realise how old I am. They are all so young, I sometimes had to take myself off and catch my breath for a few minutes. Which celeb would you like to see have a go at the course? Piers Morgan. I really like Piers, I’ve known him for about 15 years but I’d like to see Piers face plant and embarrass himself in the water. I reckon he’d be up it as well. Are you an adrenaline junky or do you have a fear of heights? As I’ve got older I’m not. Playing cricket, you lived on adrenaline. I did a TV show for ITV4 and I went through America and did extreme sports for six weeks from bull riding to cliff diving and I think I got my fix. Now I’m just happy at home with a cup of tea!

FRANKIE BRIDGE

Talk us through Cannonball, what is the premise of the show? It’s a fun show. The challenges are all water based and literally anyone can take part. You don’t have to be really fit, people of all shapes and sizes can give it go. What was it about this show that appealed to you? It looked so much fun. The games were on such a huge scale you just know that it’s going to make you laugh. The games look scary, how did the contestants fare? The contestants came off asking if they could do it again. They loved it. We had all different people taking part, our oldest contestant was a 73-year-old man and he was such an inspiration. You didn’t have to be sporty to do well, that’s what’s so great about this show, anyone can win. Would you have a go on any of the games? I like the look of Knockout because it looked the least scary. I’m a little claustrophobic so I may have found the half zorb the contestants have to wear a bit tough, but it’s a small price to pay compared to the other games. Did you have a favourite game? My favourite was definitely Blob. It was least predicable game and hilarious to watch. Who do you think would come out best if you all took part, you, Maya, Radzi, Freddie or Ryan? I think Freddie would struggle because he’s the tallest and being a sportsman he might over think things so I’d placed my bets on Ryan because he doesn’t think about anything!

How did you find filming away from home? It went so quickly and everyone there was lovely. We were out in Malta for just under three weeks, which was really fun but I couldn’t wait to get back home for cuddles with the boys. How well did you all get on? We all got on really well and had dinner with each other every night. We had this silly game that we played on our way home each night where we had to limbo the security gate in the hotel car park. Only Radzi managed it. Which celeb would you like to see have a go at the course? I would have to say Gemma Collins; I think she’d be entertaining. Are you an adrenaline junky or do you have a fear of heights? I’m the biggest wimp ever. It’s not heights that I fear so much it’s more the fear of not knowing what’s going to happen. During the final game Swing To Win, we were based on a tower that’s really high. Although I felt a little bad as whilst I’m standing there with my harness on, I’m telling the contestants that they have to jump!

RADZI CHINYANGANYA Talk us through Cannonball, what is the premise of the show? Cannonball is the most high-octane, adrenaline-filled, water based game show I think I’ve ever seen on television. It’s everything I would like to see on a Saturday night and it’s with people from every walk of life, every demographic, every race, every religion. They are all taking part not to win but simply to have a go and experience it. What was it about this show that appealed to you? This literally couldn’t be any more up my alley. As a ten-year-old if you’d said to me what is your favourite show on TV I’d be saying, Baywatch, Gladiators, Blind Date. Gladiators was THE show and for me Shadow, Cobra were the best. It was essentially what I’d play with my mates in the playground scaled up to an incredible proportion. Cannonball combines luck, courage and just good old fashioned British giving-it-a-go and it’s something where it has that ‘did you see that?’ and that to me is what TV is all about. TV is about moments and this has moments in abundance. The games look scary, how did the contestants fare? What amazed me is my mum has had her 60th birthday and she wouldn’t dream of doing this, but there were 73 year olds who took part in it. There were 18 years olds who took part in it. And the 18-year-old didn’t necessarily do as well as the 73-year-old. And everyone had different reasons for why they were taking part. For some it was to make their grandchildren proud, some it was to beat their brother who was in the same episode as them. For some people it was about being on TV but it is a leveler so it actually didn’t matter. If you ask all five presenters what's the perfect body type, what’s the perfect age, what’s the perfect occupation (for this programme) we’d all probably give you five different answers for each of those. With that in mind, the contestants were just top-draw and what amazed

me was how well they got on. So they’d only met each other the night before and within each show the 24 contestants just jelled. Some wanted to win but most were cheering each other on and it was lovely to be part of because for me. The presenters all got on, the crew got on and the contestants got on and when that triumvirate of greatness happens that’s when you see the magic. Would you have a go on any of the games? I’d have a go on every single one of them. I would want to have go on all of them. Did you have a favourite game? So the one I’d most want to have a go on is Skimmer because I used to do skeleton bobsleigh. Skeleton bobsleigh for the uninitiated is headfirst, tea tray, going down a bobsleigh track. Skimmer is headfirst, boogie board, going down a massive inflatable slide. Finally, when you come out of the slide, that’s when you realise who is in the lead and then some people depending on their position on the board, pick up speed, lose speed, some people nose dive and flipped over the board. You have no idea what’s going to happen. Who do you think would come out best if you all took part, you, Maya, Radzi, Freddie or Ryan? I think that Freddie Flintoff would come out on top but I think Maya and Frankie could be dark horses if they decided it wasn’t scary and they could do it. How did you find filming away from home? I’m from Wolverhampton so Malta was nothing like Wolverhampton - it was just absolutely gorgeous. Being in a really hot sunny exotic country, there is nothing bad I can say about it. It was just faultless. How well did you all get on? We got on well. Most mornings as we would arrive on set the girls were already there as they took longer in hair and makeup so I would arrive and Ryan would be stood there on a chair in his boxer shorts having a spray tan applied to him. And I apologies for that image that I have just created but that for me pretty much sums up my friend Ryan. Which celeb would you like to see have a go at the course? I would like to see Boris Johnson have a go at Blob. I want to see those blonde locks flying through the air. Are you an adrenaline junky or do you have a fear of heights? Yes, definitely. I’ve done a solo skydive, I’ve bungee jumped, I’ve whitewater rafted, I’ve done skeleton bobsleigh. I love speed, I love risk, I love danger.

MAYA JAMA Talk us through Cannonball, what is the premise of the show? Cannonball is a contestant based show where you literally try your best on all these inflatable obstacles to get to the final and win a trophy. There’s no money to be won just a Cannonball trophy. It’s exciting and fun! What was it about this show that appealed to you? Pretty much everything, I was like ‘yes this is dream!’. When I was younger I dreamed to be on a show like Takeshi Castle so to get to present Cannonball that’s on prime time television I’d probably do it for free!! It didn’t feel like work most of the time. It was three weeks but it only felt like a week and half as you do so much during the day. The games look scary, how did the contestants fare? I think when the contestants first saw the size of the obstacles they were a bit like ‘argh my gosh this is way bigger than I thought’. The height you reach playing Blob and Jump is a big deal but once they saw other people having a go, they saw it was ok. Would you have a go on any of the games? I didn’t but I really wish I did. I didn’t because we really didn’t have time to but I want to. I sky dived recently and I feel that if I can do that I can do Blob or Jump. Did you have a favourite game? My favourite one to watch was Blob. You literally can’t prepare for it you just wait for a person or persons double your size to jump onto the inflatable and fly you into the air. Who do you think would come out best if you all took part, you, Maya, Radzi, Freddie or Ryan? Probably Radzi because he’s like a human action man! He’d also probably feel the worst if he didn’t win! But you never know though, Frankie could be the surprise one.

How did you find filming away from home? I travel so much with work it just feels kind of normal at the moment. I think if you’d ask me that a year or two ago I would have thought that three weeks seemed such a long time. How well did you all get on? We all got on really well. You always get a little bit nervous when you’re doing a job with someone new, especially when its four new people. As soon as we met it was clear that we were on all the same level and I could tell that everyone was going to be completely fine with each other. Which celeb would you like to see have a go at the course? I really hope that one day there is a celebrity special because I think it would be really entertaining to watch. I’d like to see Vanessa Feltz, I think she’s entertaining and would be fun to watch and someone like Jerry Springer! Are you an adrenaline junky or do you have a fear of heights? I’ve never been like, ‘yes I’ll do anything’ when it comes to waterslides and rides and things. I never thought I would have done a sky dive and I did. It was nuts. The guy who I jumped with made me feel safe, he said, ‘I have done thousands of jumps think of this as my office!’

RYAN HAND Talk us through Cannonball, what is the premise of the show? It’s a water based game show, filmed in Malta. It’s a show that doesn’t take itself too seriously. It’s a very fun, silly programme that welcomes all people of all shapes and sizes. Literally anyone can win from an 18-year-old to a 73-year-old - it’s anyone’s game. What was it about this show that appealed to you? On paper the show looked so exciting and it’s a massive show for me to be a part of. It’s my first big TV break and is the opportunity I’ve been looking forward to for years. The games look scary, how did the contestants fare? I think its 50% skill and 50% luck. You might have an eighteen-year-old contestant whose very muscular and should technically do well up against a 50-year-old lorry driver who’s not as fit and the elder gentleman ends up wiping the floor with the younger one. There are a lot of times when a young man is sitting beside me next to an older lady thinking ‘yes I’ve got this in the bag’ and sometimes people had to eat humble pie. Expect the unexpected you don’t know who’s going to win. Would you have a go on any of the games? I would like to have a go. I’d like to challenge Radzi because Radzi’s very competitive. I’d like to do a one on one battle with Radzi and maybe Freddie as well. Did you have a favourite game? I liked The Blob, the one where the contestants were lying on a big inflatable cushion and they didn’t know what was really happening. Two professional Blobbers would jump and land on the inflatable and the contestants would rocket into the air. You get to see the build-up as the contestants are sitting waiting for it to happen. Then you see their faces as they fly through the air - it’s hilarious!

Who do you think would come out best if you all took part, you, Maya, Radzi, Freddie or Ryan? If we all took part if I’m honest I think it would be Radzi. He’s very athletic, he’s so up for anything and I don’t know if you’ve seen Radzi with his shirt off but he’s in pretty good shape. I think Frankie would be a little lamb before getting onto any of the games, she’d be prettified. Freddie’s just too big! But Maya might be a dark horse so I’d say between Maya and Radzi. How did you find filming away from home? I got really home sick, joke! It didn’t feel like work and on occasion we all called it a holiday by mistake and then realised one of the big bosses was sitting behind us at the time! Coming from Ireland it was good to get some sunny weather and Malta’s gorgeous. It was a great place to film. How well did you all get on? (this could be a way to tell any funny stories from filming) We all got on really well. We’d go out for dinner every night and on our way back to the hotel came up with this game where we would do limbo on a car park barrier. We all took turns and would do this specific chant. That was the ritual before we went to bed every night. When we met for dinner usually myself and Maya met first so we’d often have a dance to the pianist who would be playing in the hotel reception. Which celeb would you like to see have a go at the course? I’d like to see someone like Piers Morgan in a pair of tight speedos and rubber ring around his belly. Or maybe Katie Price. Are you an adrenaline junky or do you have a fear of heights? I haven’t really got a fear of heights, I’ve done a sky dive before. When we were filming the final game it’s called Swing To Win, the presenters are based on top of this tower that’s 9 metres high and you have to get harnessed to this pole. I’m into adrenaline fuelled things, I’m not afraid to make a fool of myself.

THE GAMES

• JUMP Aim: To achieve the greatest distance. One at a time the contestants ride an inflatable boogie board down a 14-metre-high slide. Picking up speed on the slide, they’ll reach a huge ramp which will send them into the air and into the water.

• KNOCKOUT Aim: To knock down the highest number of pins One at a time the contestants are sent flying down a huge slip and slide ‘Airtrak’ ramp whilst wearing an inflatable suit. The contestant hurtles towards the pins where they have to try and knock over as many as they can. There is no gutter on this course just a swimming pool waiting for their inevitable splash.

• BLOB Aim: The aim is to get as high as possible The contestants sit and wait on the end of a giant inflatable called ‘Blob’ as two and a half times the contestant’s weight will come crashing down from a large tower. The air pressure will send them soaring high in the air.

• SKIMMER Aim: A race to see who is the fastest to the finish. The contestants take to body boards and race down the 14-metre-high slide. This time there isn’t a ramp at the bottom and the end of the slide levels out with the water. On the sound of an air horn the contestants will shoot down the slide and skim 40 metres along the water’s surface towards a finishing line.

FINAL GAME

• SWING TO WIN Aim: To get the closest to the bullseye located in the water, 9 metres below. The winning score will win the coveted Cannonball Trophy. The show’s final is shot at night with the three winning contestants now take it in turns to Swing To Win from our 9 metre high tower. The pool they will be swinging into is filled with ping pong balls of various colours. Each colour is worth points. The contestants have to try and reach the bullseye to win maximum points. Over three rounds, the game gets steadily harder as the target moves. The contestant who gets the most points wins.