Format Focus: Panic
- Published: 08 October 2008 15:40
- Author: Will Hurrell
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- Last Updated: 08 October 2008 15:40
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Celebrities get to keep it in the family in this interview format from France.
The format
Panic is a new chatshow in which a celebrity is unwittingly interviewed by his friends and relatives through the show's presenter, who is prompted by four of the guest's friends or family members via an earpiece.
The studio audience and viewers at home can hear the questions and prompts, but the celebrity cannot.
The friends can be from the guest's past or present and their role is to provide the presenter, a well-known personality, with recollections and mischievous questions that would not normally come to light in a conventional interview.
Who's showing it?
Panic is known as Panique dans Ll'Oreillette in France and launched last month on terrestrial channel France 2. It was produced by French indies Tout Sur L'Ecran and Adenium.
Coming to the UK?
UK-based distributor RDF Rights has picked up the show for international distribution.
Could it work here?
It's an original idea and the tired interview format could do with some shaking up. Celebrities taken out of their comfort zones mean there's plenty of potential for embarrassing moments.
