Jonathan Ross’s new Channel 4 game show Handcuffed confirms future

Channel 4’s hit experimental series, Handcuffed: Last Pair Standing, has reportedly been renewed for a second season following its successful launch.

The series, hosted by Jonathan Ross, challenged 18 strangers to remain handcuffed to one another for as long as they could manage, to be in with a chance to win £100,000.

In a divided Britain, the series set out with the hopes that pairs living in such close proximity with one another would force opposites to talk, listen and perhaps learn from each other – and it seems to have paid off as two polar opposites won the series.
And that isn’t all, with The Sun also reporting the series will be getting a celebrity spin-off.
Radio Times has reached out to Channel 4 for comment.

(L-R): Morag, Angie, Frank, Lin, Tilly, Anthony, Jonathan Ross, Rob, Charlie, Jo, Bob, Chris, Reuben. Colin Hutton / Channel 4

“There isn’t just an appetite for a second series of the ‘civilian’ show, there’s also the desire to make a celebrity version,” a source told the publication. “That’s because there are plenty of stars out there who have very contrasting views with other stars and the prospect of them being stuck with one another is just delicious.

“Producers know it will make for great telly, though how long they will actually last being handcuffed remains to be seen.”

Though Channel 4 are yet to respond to these renewal rumours, at a press Q&A earlier this year, the idea of a celebrity edition was posed to Ross, who had a few ideas of who he’d like to see handcuffed.

“We all know at the moment you can get Alan Carr to do anything,” Ross joked. “If they were doing [a celebrity version] I’d like to do it with celebrities who you wouldn’t normally see on things. So I think it would be wise to avoid reality show people… I’d quite like to see Alexander Armstrong, I’d like to see him handcuffed to someone who was from a very different kind of background and circumstances.

“I’d be interested to see Stormzy, so there are loads of people they could go for, but I can’t think off the top of my head.”

Handcuffed: Last Pair Standing is available to watch on catch-up on Channel4.com.

Check out more of our Entertainment coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what’s on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.