Matt Edmondson hosts this ITV2 panel game that pits two teams against each other in a battle of suppressed reactions. Regular captains Joe Swash and Ellie Taylor lead their teammates through three rounds of escalating discomfort, where the cardinal rule remains: no flinching, grimacing or laughing whatever the provocation.
Production company STV Studios filmed the first series at Riverside Studios in 2013, moving to BBC Elstree Centre for the second run. The 45-minute format, written by a team including Kevin Day and Dan Swimer, tested contestants' composure through fake autopsies, surprise custard pies and other elaborately staged humiliations.
The show began life as a BBC Three pilot in April 2012 before ITV2 commissioned an eight-episode series, broadcast from January to February 2013. A second series of ten episodes followed in early 2014, but ratings failed to justify further investment and Edmondson confirmed the programme's cancellation that September. Eighteen episodes exist across two series, making it a brief but memorable entry in the network's comedy slate.
Production Details
RTL II / 1 Season / 2 Episodes / 2016 - Present
Created by: James MenziesChristopher DaviesPhil KerrDan SwimerSimon BullivantDominic EnglishKevin DayWill Ing
Writer(s): James MenziesChristopher DaviesPhil KerrDan SwimerSimon BullivantDominic EnglishKevin DayWill Ing
Producer(s): Tommy Panays
Main Cast
Simon Gosejohann as Self - Host
