The Bubble (game show)
Three comedians spot real news after four days isolated.
The Bubble, a BBC Two quiz show hosted by David Mitchell, tasked three comedians each week with spotting real news stories among fakes after four days of isolation. Hat Trick Productions made the six-episode first series, which began on 19 February 2010. A second series was scrapped due to Mitchell's work on 10 O'Clock Live.
Quick Facts
- Runtime
- 30 minutes
- Creator
- Armoza Formats
- Presenter
- David Mitchell
- Channel
- BBC Two
- First aired
- 19 February 2010
- Last aired
- 26 March 2010
- Series
- 1
- Episodes
- 6
Facts from the source article.
Concept
Three contestants are placed in 'The Bubble', a place of isolation without news access. Frank Skinner speculated the name derives from 'boy in the bubble' medical cases. After release, contestants identify real news stories from fake ones. The format was devised in Israel by Armoza Formats and had already aired in Israel, Poland, Denmark and Sweden. The British version was the first to use celebrity contestants.
Format
Each episode begins with contestants brought from The Bubble to the studio. Mitchell presents real and fake stories across three consistent rounds: a news clips round (one real clip, two faked with actors and journalists such as Quentin Letts), a newspaper headlines round (one genuine article, two mocked up), and a final buzzer round where contestants buzz to guess if stories are true. Correct guesses in the first two rounds earn a point; incorrect guesses in the final round deduct a point. Two rounds appeared only in the first episode: one where contestants guessed why video footage was news-related from three options, and another where Mitchell described a newspaper picture and contestants guessed its news relevance.
Production
Hat Trick Productions, producer of Have I Got News for You, made the show for the BBC. A pilot was filmed in February 2009 but not broadcast, featuring Katy Brand, Miranda Hart and Frank Skinner. Episodes were filmed the day before broadcast, airing at 10 pm on Fridays except episode 5. The Bubble was a large remote country house in the East Midlands where contestants lived with two production team members, with phones confiscated and no access to newspapers, radio, television or internet. ITV News and Sky News assisted in filming fake stories; the BBC refused, allowing only archive material. Ian Burrell of The Independent called this double standards, noting BBC presenters took part in the pilot and the show aired on the network. A BBC spokesman said 'We are sure The Bubble on BBC Two will be extremely funny but BBC journalists will leave it to the comedians to do the comedy.' The BBC boycott was featured as a news story in the first episode, with nobody picking it as real. Mitchell and the BBC were keen for a second series, but Mitchell chose 10 O'Clock Live, whose 15-week live run clashed with the intended filming period. Repeats began airing on Dave in January 2011.
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