{"id":4211,"date":"2025-11-13T02:55:39","date_gmt":"2025-11-13T02:55:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news2.watchtowatch.top\/contestants-can-panic-so-i-run-over-and-give-them-a-cuddle-amanda-holden-on-hosting-solo-for-the-inner-circle\/"},"modified":"2025-11-13T02:55:39","modified_gmt":"2025-11-13T02:55:39","slug":"contestants-can-panic-so-i-run-over-and-give-them-a-cuddle-amanda-holden-on-hosting-solo-for-the-inner-circle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news2.watchtowatch.top\/?p=4211","title":{"rendered":"“Contestants can panic\u2026 so I run over and give them a cuddle”: Amanda Holden on hosting solo for The Inner Circle"},"content":{"rendered":"

\""Contestants<\/p>\n

Amanda Holden stars as the BBC\u2019s new quiz queen in\u00a0The Inner Circle<\/em>. Matthew Bell finds her not in her trademark heels but a pair of furry slippers<\/p>\n

With a note of triumph and mischief, Amanda Holden, the host of new BBC One quiz\u00a0<\/p>\n

Whether judging\u00a0Britain\u2019s Got Talent<\/em>, which she has done for nigh on two decades, co-presenting the\u00a0<\/p>\n

But on\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, it is. It\u2019s easier presenting with somebody else because you can always turn to them, they\u2019ve got your back and you can have a bit of banter \u2013 take the mickey, share the load,\u201d says Holden, who is talking to\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I was lucky because there are a\u00a0lot of people in the studio \u2013 six contestants and 12 for the celebrity version \u2013 so there are loads of places for me to find jokes and fun things to riff on. Doing a breakfast show every morning live has given me the confidence to think on my feet and just talk.\u201d<\/p>\n

Holden is a gameshow natural: funny, quirky and empathetic, never forgetting that the contestants are new to TV and prone to freeze under the studio lights when posed even the simplest quiz question. \u201cThey can panic and I\u2019ve had to run off and give people cuddles,\u201d she reveals.<\/p>\n

\u201cWatching Ant & Dec on\u00a0Britain\u2019s Got Talent<\/em>\u00a0being easy and familiar, making it look like nothing \u2013 you learn a lot from that. It\u2019s better to be as natural as you can, rather than [Holden puts on a sonorous voice, which she does brilliantly] \u2018adopt a presenting voice, which lots of people do, talking like this\u2019, which really gets on my nerves.\u201d<\/p>\n

She recalls one BBC exec who admitted hiring her \u201cbecause they liked the fact I was unpredictable and dangerous. I took it as a compliment.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Inner Circle<\/em>\u00a0tests contestants\u2019 general knowledge and, like\u00a0The Traitors,\u00a0<\/em>which of their fellow players they can trust. It also encourages them to spin a web of deceit about their own motives. The quiz\u2019s finale sees the last remaining players opting to share the cash prize or backstab their opponent.<\/p>\n

Did the show teach Holden anything about human nature? \u201cIt was quite shocking. It will be an eye-opener for everybody watching,\u201d she says. \u201c[Viewers will] see people using religion or children to make themselves look pure, wonderful and nice, and then doing the exact opposite of that at the end of the show when they shaft somebody. But that makes great telly.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a real mix of heart, deviance and humour. It\u2019s got the best elements of lots [of quizzes], so it will feel familiar, even though it\u2019s all new. Hopefully, viewers won\u2019t mind a little mini-skirt and a heel in the afternoon,\u201d adds Holden, who hoots with laughter.<\/p>\n

She loved testing and tweaking the quiz in run-throughs and in a pilot show. \u201cBeing part of a process like that made it feel more organic than just walking out in high heels, reading the autocue and saying: \u2018Good afternoon, I\u2019m a quiz show host.\u2019 It felt personal.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe people in the suits came and watched every moment of it but seeing them laugh at the silly things I\u00a0was saying made me feel relaxed. I didn\u2019t have to stand on ceremony \u2013 I could be myself and be natural. So many people have put so much effort into it, so you want it to work for\u00a0everyone. I\u2019d be disappointed if it\u00a0didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

Would she be up for a second series? Absolutely, although she admits her unforgiving TV schedule would need to be \u201cspread out in a better way\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery job I do, I\u2019m thinking on my feet. On the radio, I have to make it up as I go along; I made\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cCan you imagine taking me seriously?\u201d she adds, accompanied by yet more hoots of laughter.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In 2023, BBC Entertainment and Daytime put out a tender for a new quiz, which Tern TV\u2019s Head of Entertainment David Marshall saw as the \u2018perfect opportunity\u2019 for the Glasgow- and Belfast-based indie to break into shiny floor shows.<\/p>\n

\u2018We put everything into it,\u2019 recalls \u00adMarshall, who says that the BBC had more than 120 pitches. \u2018It shows that an indie with no prior quiz track record can win with a strong idea, a willing team and a lot of belief in the format.<\/p>\n

\u2018We joke that it was a David vs Goliath effort \u2013 though there are two Davids, actually, myself and David Kerr, the development producer. We were up against big producers.\u2019<\/p>\n

The germ of the idea for\u00a0The Inner Circle<\/em>\u00a0came to Kerr from video game\u00a0Call of Duty<\/em>; in one part of which players have to fight their way into a circle. The steer from the BBC, recalled Marshall, was for a \u2018fun, family-friendly, play-along\u2019 game that whipped up viewers to \u2018shout at the telly\u2019. It had to have a standout twist \u2013 keep the prize pot and shaft the other player, or share it.<\/p>\n

\u2018We\u2019re not reinventing the wheel \u2013 it has the best elements from a lot of successful formats, which we tried to make work in a nice, organic way.\u00a0The Inner Circle<\/p>\n

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<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/em>\u00a0is not just about answering questions correctly. Trust is the currency and that\u2019s what you\u2019re playing for. The format taps into a lot of universal themes \u2013 trust, deception, scheming \u2013 which everyone relates to. And no episode is ever the same \u00ad\u2013 it plays differently every\u00a0time.\u2019<\/p>\n

Marshall, who in a previous job produced the BBC One quiz\u00a0Impossible<\/em>, grew up on\u00a0Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0The Weakest Link<\/em>: \u2018Good quiz shows need jeopardy and drama at their heart. The big issue is keeping someone\u2019s attention for 45 minutes \u2013 you need twists and turns, which The Inner Circle has in abundance.\u2019<\/p>\n

The quiz is a double order; 25 daytime episodes for the week and six celebrity Saturday specials. \u2018We knew it had to appeal to a daytime audience and also be super-sized and scaled-up for the Saturday night version. I think we pulled that off \u2013 it doesn\u2019t look like a daytime show.<\/p>\n

\u2018When we were recording in Glasgow, we kept getting told off by the floor manager as the studio gallery would erupt in screams and cheers for that final share or shaft moment. We knew then, that if we were reacting like this, we had something special on our hands. It has been a joy to work on, so we\u2019d love to go again.\u2019<\/p>\n

Robert Duncan McNeill recalls not liking his character, Lieutenant Tom Paris, in the early seasons of\u00a0Star Trek: Voyager.<\/p>\n

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<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0McNeill played Tom Paris in all\u00a0seven seasons of\u00a0Star Trek: Voyager,<\/em> which celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2025.<\/p>\n

Lieutenant Tom Paris was the hotshot helmsman of the USS Voyager, but he had a unique origin. When\u00a0<\/p>\n

Appearing on\u00a0The Transporter Room\u00a0<\/em>podcast with Chris Garis, Allyson Leach-Heid, and Linda Paiges, Robert Duncan McNeill frankly recalls how much he disliked the way Tom Paris was written at the beginning of\u00a0Star Trek: Voyager<\/em>. However, McNeill also points out that Tom\u00a0“doing really jerky things”<\/em>\u00a0made his character’s gradual evolution more satisfying. Read Robbie’s quote below:<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t like him. I didn\u2019t like him the first season. They kept writing these things, and it wasn\u2019t just dialogue. I don\u2019t think they found his voice yet early on. But it was also action, what he did, the things they wrote that he did. It was like, \u2018Ugh, you\u2019re taking one step forward, two steps back.\u2019 You\u2019re doing some really jerky things. I don\u2019t like this guy, why would the audience like this guy if he\u2019s doing what he\u2019s doing?<\/p>\n

I was really happy that they let go of [Tom Paris\u2019 early characterization]. I think they had this idea that Tom was like a Han Solo or a Julian Bashir. Not even Julian, he was like sweet and earnest. Tom was\u2026 he\u2019d been around the block, he kind of had a chip on his shoulder, he was rude to people, he was self-absorbed and selfish, and didn\u2019t have a good relationship with women. Didn\u2019t talk about women nicely. Ugh, I didn\u2019t like him.<\/p>\n

But the fact that he evolved\u2026 If he hadn\u2019t been such a hard to like character early on, I think the satisfaction of where he ended up would not have been as good. So in the end, I think it was a good thing, but watching those early episodes\u2026<\/p>\n

Watch Robert Duncan McNeill on\u00a0The Transporter Room<\/em>\u00a0below:<\/p>\n

\u200b\u200bPart of the reason for Lieutenant Tom Paris’ early characterization as a jerk was that Tom was initially based on Nicholas Locarno, whom Robert Duncan McNeill previously played in\u00a0Star Trek: The Next Generation<\/em>.\u00a0Nick Locarno had a criminal past at Starfleet Academy\u00a0that\u00a0Star Trek: Voyager<\/em>‘s producers felt made him “irredeemable” and led to the creation of Tom Paris.<\/p>\n

Lieutenant Tom Paris was created with many similarities to Nick Locarno, including the actor who played him. As\u00a0Star Trek: Voyager\u00a0<\/em>continued, however, Tom became a better person, a trusted friend to the USS Voyager’s crew, and Paris started a romance with Lieutenant B’Elanna Torres (Roxann Dawson), which helped wash away his rotten early characterization.<\/p>\n

Tom Paris is now looked upon fondly by\u00a0Star Trek: Voyager<\/em>\u00a0fans, and he’s better known as\u00a0Ensign Harry Kim’s (Garrett Wang)\u00a0best friend and the co-designer of the Delta Flyer, as well as being one of Starfleet’s most celebrated pilots. When Robert Duncan McNeill voiced Lt. Tom Paris on\u00a0Star Trek: Lower Decks<\/em>, he was treated as a true Starfleet legend with his own collector’s plate.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Amanda Holden stars as the BBC\u2019s new quiz queen in\u00a0The Inner Circle. Matthew Bell finds her not in her trademark heels but a pair of furry slippers With a note of triumph…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4210,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4211","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hot-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t