Series producer reveals all about The Wall as Danny Dyer gameshow seeks Scots participants

Fronted by EastEnders star Danny Dyer, Saturday night gameshow The Wall is the ultimate combination of strategy, knowledge and luck.

Now, with a second series on the horizon, the team behind the show are looking for Scots contestants to take on the challenge.

They’ll be in Glasgow on March 12 to audition applicants who fancy their chances against The Wall.

“We don’t really have a particular image of what we want, we basically just want people who want to give it a go, are up for a bit of fun but can hold their nerve and play the game and hopefully win a life-changing amount of money,” says series producer Stephen Lovelock.

“It’s a gameshow where there are questions and strategy but you don’t need to be a hardcore quizzer to have a go at it.

“You just need to keep your head, think about what the question’s asking you. At the same time, you need to plan your game and think about what The Wall’s going to do and not panic. There’s a lot of money up for grabs but anyone could win.”

Across The Wall’s production company and the BBC, showrunners are keen to increase the number of applicants from the disabled community.

Stephen says: “We’ve found from research that a lot of people in those communities feel that gameshows aren’t for them, so we’re trying hard this series to let them know that if they want to have a go, all they need to do is apply. It’s a level playing field.

“I work for the company that makes Pointless and over the years they’ve worked really hard with that area of representation and they really succeed.

“We’ve reached out to a lot of organisations and they understood where we’re coming from and hopefully we’ll have members of that community come and try to beat The Wall.”

Last series, there were over 9,000 applicants and, now that the show has had a successful first series on TV, there are 17,000 so far hoping to have a go this time round.

Stephen, who has also worked on a number of other gameshows, reckons its success is down to its unpredictability, with programme makers always having to react to what’s happening as the balls fall.

Coupled with that, the presence of Dyer and the voice of Angela Rippon has put the show onto a winner.

“Danny totally lives it, and is so invested in it,” Stephen says. “That’s the thing that people like, feeling that the host cares.

“I’ve been with this show since the pilot and we didn’t know what to expect with Danny, because he’s never hosted anything like this before.

“He did his homework and got the game quite quickly. I’ve done a lot of gameshows with hosts who are brilliant at pieces to camera and having conversations but they didn’t always necessarily understand how the games work on the floor.

“Danny got it really quickly and was really enthusiastic because he was new to it. He really cares about the people. He plays it with them and gets very involved with the contestants on their journey.

“Last series there was a couple that crashed out in the first round and that’s the only time I’ve seen him really upset. He was gutted for them.”

It’s not just a quick voiceover job for Rippon either, with Stephen revealing that she has her own input on the questions.

“Angela is an absolute professional, she’s very hands-on and doesn’t just come in and read the questions, she gives us notes.” he laughs.

“Our questions producer has to keep his wits about him. She’s amazing.

“It’s a lovely show. We work hard to find the right contestants and the right questions.

“Although it seems straight-forward, multiple choice, there’s quite a lot of skill in them.

“It’s really fun, and really nice when people win! Because you can’t control it you can’t do anything about it so you just have to buckle up and go with it.”

Those lucky enough to be selected to audition will get to play a version of The Wall on the simulator the production team used to get Dyer up to speed on how to play the game.

“It’s a fun day out and a lot of people have really enjoyed coming along, playing the game and getting a feel for what it’s like,” Stephen says.

“Everyone can’t resist shouting at the balls, even if they’re only on a computer screen in a hotel conference room they can’t help but getting excited and cheering. There have been some very strange reactions in the room…”

You can apply to be a part of the show at https://www.bbc.co.uk/showsandtours/take-part/the-wall