© Bandicoot TV Joel Dommett: I want to host Family Fortunes!
Comic angling for Gino D’Acampo’s old job
It’s been less than two weeks since Gino D’Acampo’s career crashed down amid multiple claims of sexually inappropriate behaviour.
But Joel Dommett has wasted little time putting his hat into the ring to take over one of the cancelled Italian presenter’s high-profile jobs.
‘I would love to do Family Fortunes,’ he said. ‘Family Fortunes, for me, is the best show on telly.’
The format was revived in 2002 with D’Acampo – who has ‘emphatically and unequivocally’ denied the allegations against him– hosting two series.
It had previously been fronted by Bob Monkhouse, Max Bygraves, Les Dennis and, briefly, Andy Collins. But 39-year-old Dommett says he would want to make the show more like the US version, Family Feud, hosted by comedian Steve Harvey, who leans more into the comedy.
Masked Singer host Dommett told the Always Be Comedy podcast: ‘I would love to do the Family Fortunes gig, but I think I’d want it to be a different show because the English version was turned into a much more "family" version of the show.
‘The American version leads people down a really fun garden path with each answer. You know, they do all that classic stuff: "Name a race," and they want you to say the 100 metres, the 400 metres, the heptathlon. But obviously, everyone goes "Chinese people," and everyone laughs. That’s what you need in it!
‘The perfect quiz show for me is one where the right answer is satisfying, but the wrong answer is also really satisfying. That is the most pure format, where it’s leading them down this amazing garden path, and it’s so funny. I would say take it away from 5pm and make it 9pm, let it breathe a bit, and make it look a bit different—just change the vibe of it.’
He added: ‘I’m obsessed with old quiz shows with the likes of Bob Monkhouse and [Michael] Barrymore. Barrymore would talk to an old person, they’d say something, and he’d look at the audience and let it breathe.’
Dommett was speaking to the podcast on the eve of his new tour, Happy Idiot, and revealed he’s filming another mystery project for ITV this summer. ‘It’s really exciting,’ he teased. ‘It feels like a really new, interesting thing. And I feel so lucky to be in the ITV bunch because they’re really making interesting fun stuff.’
Published: 17 Feb 2025
