Talent Television

London 1 December 2004: Talent Television, a wholly owned subsidiary of Talent Group plc, and GAG Productions have won a re-commission of the original, co-produced dramatised game show 'Casino Casino' from Challenge TV.

Following the success of the original series when it aired on the channel last year, Johnny Webb, Controller of Challenge TV has commissioned a second series of 19 episodes, each now increased to an hour long, for broadcast early next year.

A co-production between Talent TV and Gag Productions, Casino Casino is an original format which takes place in the opulent surroundings of a Monte Carlo style casino. It was devised and created by Gag Production's Simon Goodman and Jerry Glover, who will also produce the series. Talent TV's Creative Director John Kaye Cooper and Challenge's Johnny Webb will executive produce.

The new series features 48 punters who will compete in a tournament, betting their chips on the spin of a roulette wheel or the turn of a card at the Blackjack table. The casino is staffed by actors and gaming professionals, each playing their role to perfection - like the Manager watching the action from his CCTV-wired den or William, the friendly and charming barman. In the final show of the series, the four most successful contestants will play each other with the winner claiming their prize of £10,000 and then being offered the chance to double their money in a final wager.

Tony Humphreys, Managing Director of Talent Television, said: "A key strategy for Talent TV is to be at the forefront of programming trends so we're delighted that Challenge TV has commissioned a new series of this unique dramatized game show, Casino Casino, which has proved to be a hit with viewers."

Talent TV are currently auditioning experienced, professional croupiers to appear in the series, which will be shot at The London Studios in late January 2005, as well as searching for the forty or so hopeful players themselves.

For further information:

Janet Balmforth/Aimee Norman
Blueprint PR
+44 (0) 208 868 0511
janet@blueprintpr.co.uk

Notes to editors:

Talent Television (part of Talent Group plc) is a leading independent UK format creator and producer of innovative television, video and interactive programming. The Company's reputation for prime-time entertainment programming is unrivalled. The "Test the Nation" series for BBC1 is now well established as a scheduling event which combines the excitement of live network television with state-of-the-art interactive television and web technology. Subjects covered so far include "The Nation's IQ", "Relationships", "General Knowledge" and "The End of Year Test". Talent was also a pioneer in reality television with "The Villa", which was first produced in 1999 for Sky One.

Talent Television also has strong ties with major Japanese broadcasters and indie production companies, having produced several HDTV documentaries for both NHK and TV Asahi networks. And, last October, the "Test the Nation" format was successfully launched on TV Asahi, in association with Japanese indie TV Man Union.

Talent Kids, the children's division, was established last year to develop high quality, innovative programming for kids. Its first commission was for the Disney Channel, with "Inside Clyde", an original adventure game show, the first 13 x half-hours of which was screened earlier this year. This was followed by a breakthrough reality entertainment format for 6-11 year olds called "Best of Friends". Produced for CBBC, the first series of 15 x half-hours appeared on The CBBC Channel in March 04.