Jeremy Clarkson is set to return for more episodes of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” and spinoff “Millionaire Hot Seat” following news he is in remission from cancer.
U.K. network ITV has ordered 15 episodes of the flagship quiz show as well as 20 episodes of the “Hot Seat” spin-off, which launched in January this year and is also hosted by Clarkson. The high-pressure game is given an added twist by requiring contestants to answer questions quickly in a fast-moving queue system or risk being replaced.
Both “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” and “Millionaire Hot Seat” are produced by Sony Pictures Television-backed Stellify Media for ITV and its streaming platform ITVX, commissioned by ITV’s Katie Rawcliffe, Kevin O’Brien and David Smyth. Kerri Reid exec produces for Stellify.
“The ‘Millionaire’ brand continues to deliver for ITV audiences and ‘Millionaire Hot Seat’ has brought an exciting new energy to the format,” Rawcliffe said in a statement. “The combination of Jeremy Clarkson’s hosting and the high-pressure gameplay has proved a winning formula, so we’re delighted to be bringing both ‘Millionaire Hot Seat’ and ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?’ back for more episodes.”
Clarkson will shoot both shows later this year. The journalist turned television personality recently revealed on the latest season of his Prime Video series “Clarkson’s Farm” that he had been diagnosed with an “aggressive” form of prostate cancer. In a Sunday Times interview last week following the revelation he updated fans that he was now in remission following surgery, calling himself “officially the world’s luckiest man.”