Viewers thought they were tuning in to a good ol’ Lee Mack quiz show when a contestant’s head quite literally exploded on TV.
Usually, the comedian, 56, is considered to be the go-to guy to make his contestants feel comfortable while keeping the audience and viewers at home equally engaged.
I mean, a quiz show paired with a nice takeaway, what else do you want on a Saturday night, eh?
That being said, if you were one of the viewers who watched the Would I Lie To You panelist in a one-off episode of 3 by 3 in May last year, then you’ll know what I’m talking about.
In the final round of the quiz remained mother and daughter team, Margaret and Catherine Oakwood, who had already beaten off stiff competition from quiz teams The Three Tenors and Quiztopher Biggins for a place in the final.
For the last round, Margaret found herself locked in a soundproof booth to allow both her and Catherine to answer independently of each other.
However, after Margaret failed to get the final question correct, the Oakwoods failed to win the big money and that’s when things went weird, as Margaret appeared to become trapped in the booth.
Viewers thought they were tuning in to a standard Lee Mack quiz show when a contestant’s head quite literally explodes on TV (BBC)
Seconds later, confusion turned to horror as the mum began screaming and banging on the glass to be let out, before all of a sudden… her head explodes.
No, that’s not a phrase to say she was confused or stressed.
Her head literally exploded off her shoulders, spattering blood all over the glass booth in the process.
It really does make for quite horrifying viewing but for those not in the know, you’ll be pleased to know it wasn’t actually from a real quiz show, and was in fact an episode of Inside No 9, the marvellously macabre series from Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton.
While fans had been expecting an On The Buses tribute episode titled ‘Hold On Tight’, they instead got ‘3 by 3’, the first episode of Inside No 9 not to feature Shearsmith or Pemberton on camera.
Viewers didn’t know what was coming (BBC)
As the episode progressed, it became clear that something was ever so slightly off with the Oakwoods, or more specifically Margaret (Gemma Page) and Catherine (Saskia Wakefield), as cricket-loving dad Stephen (James Tucker) was frozen out early on and never returned.
Catherine seemed to know the answer to every question despite revealing she’d basically no experience with entertainment or much of the outside world.
It’s really to everyone’s credit that Inside No 9 managed to keep up the pretence for so long, while weaving in so many brilliant clues as to what was really going on.
At the end of the episode there was a homage to the likes of Matilda and Carrie, with Catherine blowing up her mother’s head after it was heavily implied her parents had kept her locked up as an experiment.
Mack didn’t notice for a bit before all hell broke loose and the film crew fled the studio, with Catherine finally free of Margaret – even if she had to blow up her head to do it.
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The BBC has responded to whether or not new MasterChef episodes featuring Gregg Wallace are set to air.
This comes after the co-host was announced to be leaving the show after 19 years following allegations that he made inappropriate sexual comments in previous series.
13 people have reportedly made allegations against the presenter, including BBC’s Kirsty Wark.
The BBC released the following statement to PA after the production company behind MasterChef, Banijay UK, announced he would be leaving the show: “We take any issues that are raised with us seriously and we have robust processes in place to deal with them.
The MasterChef co-host will leave the show after 19 years (BBC)
“We are always clear that any behaviour which falls below the standards expected by the BBC will not be tolerated.
“Where an individual is contracted directly by an external production company, we share any complaints or concerns with that company and we will always support them when addressing them.”
Many will be questioning whether, in light of the severity of the allegations, MasterChef will continue to air as normal.
The next episode of the current season is scheduled to air at 8pm tonight (November 28).
A spokesperson for the BBC confirmed that this was still the case despite the allegations, saying: “All recorded episodes will TX (broadcast) as planned.”
Wallace presented alongside co-host John Torode (SOPA Images via Getty Images)
The news is sure to be a shock to viewers, who will be tuning into the show knowing that the episodes airing will be Wallace’s last after 19 years.
Bainjay UK released the following statement in which they announced the departure of Wallace, who joined the show in 2005: “This week the BBC received complaints from individuals in relation to historical allegations of misconduct while working with presenter Gregg Wallace on one of our shows.
“Whilst these complainants have not raised the allegations directly with our show producers or parent company Banijay UK, we feel that it is appropriate to conduct an immediate, external review to fully and impartially investigate.
“While this review is underway, Gregg Wallace will be stepping away from his role on MasterChef and is committed to fully cooperating throughout the process.
The presenter’s last MasterChef episodes will air as normal (Ben A Prunchie via Getty Images)
“Banijay UK’s duty of care to staff is always a priority and our expectations regarding behaviour are made clear to both cast and crew on all productions, with multiple ways of raising concerns, including anonymously, clearly promoted on set.
“Whilst these are historical allegations, incidences brought to our attention where these expectations are not met, are thoroughly investigated and addressed appropriately.”
The statement added: “If anyone would like to talk to us or raise any issues or concerns, then they can contact speakup@banijayuk.com in confidence.”
LADbible Group has contacted representatives for Gregg Wallace for comment.
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For those of us who, shall we say, have the same kind of ‘allergies’ as Tracy Beaker, there’s some TV shows that will always get the tears flowing.
And let’s be honest, Race Across The World is practically a guarantee for that.
The most recent series came to an end on Wednesday (29 May) with a neck-and-neck final after eight weeks of the BBC show hooking viewers.
Among this year’s teams were brother and sister duo Betty and James. The pair grew much closer on the show and had people in tears in the penultimate episode with the ‘TV moment of the year’.
After the finale, they gave a positive update that soon had viewers ‘crying again’.
As the siblings began to open up to one another more and more throughout the race, episode seven saw Betty talking about her health condition.
The 25-year-old explained she had been diagnosed with Mayer Rokitansky Küster Hauser syndrome (MRKH) at 16 after discovering she didn’t have a uterus or womb and only had one kidney.
It was a pretty emotional heart-to-heart for the siblings as Betty told her little brother she struggles with his ‘everything happens for a reason’ mindset because of it.
He had viewers in tears. (BBC)
The pair hadn’t really chatted to one another before and James broke down in tears as he spoke to the camera.
Having viewers ‘sobbing’, the 21-year-old struggled to carry on talking about it as he asked: “Can someone just come and hug me please?”
One of the Race Across The World crew could then be seen appearing before the camera, comforting James as he cried into his shoulder – something we don’t normally see happening on the show.
Reflecting on the ‘difficult’ moment during a special reunion episode, Betty also gave an update on her fertility plans as the condition means she cannot carry a baby.
Betty shared her decision. (BBC)
“I’ve decided to freeze my eggs,” she shared, “which is a big thing.”
James chimed in, looking very happy for his sister: “I only knew cos mum and dad told me – well, they were talking about it and I asked because I was nosy.”
And Betty continued as they both fought back tears: “It’s exciting, and I think before I would have been quite scared about that.
“But it’s about saying, ‘there’s an opportunity there and I’m going to take it because I’m worthy of having that opportunity and I’m capable of doing that’.”
Viewers said they’re ‘so happy’ for Betty as they were left moved by the sibling’s journey on the show.
Sorry, guys, crying again now.
There are some shows that have become absolute staples of British TV and because of that, so have their stars.
Last weekend saw the end of Ant and Dec’s legendary Saturday Night Takeaway after 20 seasons and viewers were recently gutted to hear a popular comedy will not be returning.
And now it seems there’s another popular show we won’t be getting to watch more of for a while. That’s because Lee Mack has revealed he’s taking a year off his popular BBC show but has admitted ‘it’s not his decision’.
The comedian is undeniably one of those staples of British telly, hosting the likes of The 1% Club and being a key star of the long-running Would I Lie to You?
Lee Mack. (Jed Cullen/Dave Benett/Getty Images)
And Mack is also the star of one of the longest-running British sitcoms, Not Going Out.
The 55-year-old was one of the initial writers of the show and is the only actor to have appeared in every episode. Originally cancelled back in 2009, it was renewed quickly with a fourth series airing in January 2011.
There have now been 13 series of Not Going Out but Mack has said the recent Christmas special in 2023 will be the last episode for some time.
When asked about what’s to come for the comedian this year, he said : “More 1% Club, more Would I Lie to You? and, for the first year in a long time, I won’t be doing Not Going Out.
“If we do bring it back, we’re looking at early 2025.”
Not Going Out is a staple of British TV. (BBC)
Mack added to the Sun that the decision wasn’t his and that he’d ‘love to do more’ and finds the hit BBC sitcom ‘great fun’.
The actor continued: “I just wait for someone to say, ‘There’s a bag of money, get on with it’.”
Not Going Out also stars Sally Bretton with the likes of Deborah Grant and Hugh Dennis.
Over its many series since 2006, the popular sitcom has also features Miranda Hart, Tim Vine, Katy Wix and Bobby Ball.
Reacting to the news, fans said Not Going Out is probably one of the BBC’s ‘best comedies’ and said it’s ‘baffling’ it won’t be carrying on this year.
Others agreed: “Love this show, hope they make one next year then.”
Another wrote: “It has taken breaks before and came back strong. It can do it again. Maybe move things on a bit, new house maybe, new friends etc.”
Featured Image Credit: Joe Maher/WireImage/Karwai Tang/WireImage
