The Chase star Paul Sinha and Fay on TV Showdown
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Paul Sinha’s TV Showdown: Host defends show as it’s branded ‘worst of lockdown telly’

Some viewers really loved the 'harmless' fun format though

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The Chase star Paul Sinha took centre stage as the host of his very own quiz programme, TV Showdown, last night.

The entertainment series sees a bunch of celebs test their knowledge on all things, er, telly!

What’s not to love about that, right? Noel Edmonds and his Telly Addicts show kept millions of viewers entertained for years on BBC One…

Unfortunately, not everyone tuning in enjoyed the first episode, but Paul’s already put them in their place!

The Chase star Paul Sinha is a host in his own right now on Paul Sinha’s TV Showdown (Credit: Livewire Pictures / ITV)

Viewer reviews of Paul Sinha’s TV Showdown?

The 10pm show could be the latest televisual Marmite, with some Twitter critics going so far as to say it was the “worst” TV  (presumably they never watched Splash!).

“TV Showdown may just be the worst show I’ve ever seen,” moaned one.

Another described it as “lockdown TV at its worst”, adding that it was “dire… not Paul Sinha’s gig at all”.

A third rather harshly predicted TV Showdown would be short-lived, sniping: “Think it’s safe to say that Paul Sinha’s TV Showdown won’t be getting recommissioned for another series.

The Sinnerman had obviously noted the criticism, as he tweeted: “Everyone starts somewhere.”

But he shouldn’t feel disheartened as there was also a lot of love from other viewers.

“Loved TV showdown…” wrote one, while another praised it for being “harmless fun”.

What happens in Paul Sinha’s TV Showdown?

In case you missed last night’s debut, the half-hour show has two team captains – Cold Feet’s Fay Ripley and comedian Rob Beckett.

They have two new celebrity team members each week – last night Faye was joined by Denise Van Outen and Josh Widdicombe; Rob had Catherine Tyldesley and Adil Ray on his side.

ITV has called it a ‘quiz show with a difference’ (the exec producer’s presumably too young to recall Telly Addicts, then…)

The teams must answer TV trivia questions: in round one, contestants answer questions based on a clip; in round two, they have to identify a TV star based on clues provided by a celebrity guest.

Last night Corrie’s Sally Ann Matthews provided hints about a certain TV assassin, for example.

Read more: The Chase: Paul Sinha admits Parkinson’s is beginning to take a toll on his quizzing

In the third round, team members choose a category and each answers a question based on that.

The fourth round makes each panellist face their own set of questions, in a quick-fire Q&A round similar to Mastermind.

Afterwards they total up the scores to announce a winning team.

Paul Sinha
Paul’s ITV quiz programme is all about TV (Credit: Brett D. Cove / SplashNews.com)

Which other celebrities are on the series?

Over the course of the run, Paul will be joined by actress Emilia Fox, funnyman Melvin Odoom and presenter Laura Whitmore.

Also appearing are Loose Women’s Janet Street-Porter, radio host Roman Kemp and Strictly’s Shirley Ballas, among others.

Fay Ripley is a team captain on the show (Credit: Livewire Pictures / ITV)

Who is TV Showdown captain Fay Ripley?

Fay is an actress who has appeared in shows including Cold Feet, Reggie Perrin and Monday Monday.

Asked if she is a TV buff, she told ITV: “I think I didn’t understand the premise of the show… I understood I would be quizzed on the television that I watched last Tuesday.

“But apparently, it’s a back catalogue. My back catalogue, due to menopause, is not what it was.”

Comedian Rob Beckett will also captain a team (Credit: Livewire Pictures / ITV)

Who is team captain Rob Beckett?

Stand-up comic Rob’s credits include team captain on 8 Out of 10 Cats, and voiceover man on Celebs Go Dating.

He has also appeared on Taskmaster.

Read more: Anne Hegerty reveals The Chase stars all look after each other

Rob is also a self-professed TV buff, as he said: “I love telly. I love it all. I’ll watch a documentary on BBC4 about Woody Allen, but then I’ll be watching Diva Forever with Gemma Collins. I watch anything and everything.”

Paul Sinha’s TV Showdown will initially run for six episodes (Credit: Livewire Pictures / ITV)

When is Paul Sinha’s TV Showdown on next?

It will continue to air on Saturdays on ITV at 10pm, across its initial six-episode run.

If you want to take a look at episode one for yourself, it’s available on ITV Player.

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Nancy Brown
Associate Editor

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