ITV’s teatime game show pairs Stephen Mulhern with three celebrity-parent duos who try to guess how the other half will answer questions about family habits, school nicknames and childhood secrets. Every match raises money for the star’s chosen charity, topping out at £15,000 if the pair stay in perfect sync. Rounds include ‘Little Star’s Secret’, where the child’s cryptic clue must be cracked by the parent, and ‘Who Knows Who?’, where contestants predict which embarrassing fact belongs to which family. The studio audience supplies the oohs and aahs while Jonathan Gould’s voice-over keeps the scoreboard ticking.
Produced by 12 Yard, the format debuted on 4 September 2013 and ran for five series and thirty-two episodes before closing on 1 September 2018. A one-off celebrity special under the title Big Star’s Bigger Star followed in December 2018 as part of ITV’s Text Santa appeal. The hour-long slot, adverts included, became a reliable Saturday-evening filler, regularly beating BBC One’s regional offerings in the ratings.
Guests ranged from sports pundit Robbie Savage and his football-mad sons to singer Jamelia and her two daughters, with EastEnders actor Nina Wadia, pop star Duncan James and comedian Will Mellor also trading family trivia for cash. The appeal lay less in the money than in watching polished celebrities flunk questions about their own offspring, a humiliation Mulhern milked with gentle mockery and the occasional custard-pie forfeit.
Production Details
ITV1 / 5 Seasons / 32 Episodes / 2013
Created by: Stefan Iriarte, Liz Gaskell
Main Cast
Jonathan Gould as Host (Voice)
Nina Wadia as
Will Mellor as
Jamelia as
Sinitta as
Duncan James as
