±«Óãtv

±«Óãtv Northern Ireland is on a mission to welcome the weekend with a brand new entertainment show for Friday nights.

The Friday Show, a Green Inc production for ±«Óãtv Northern Ireland, begins on Friday 23 October on ±«Óãtv One NI at 9.00pm.

Presented by Eamonn Holmes with Rachel Tucker (We Will Rock You and finalist of ±«Óãtv One's I'd Do Anything), the show looks set to feature an energetic mix of entertainment, with music performances from some of today's biggest chart acts, surprise audience games, some of the finest stand-up comics from across the UK, comedy stunts and characters, a dramatic gameshow finale and one very special star guest studio appearance.

There will also be a chance for one lucky member of the studio audience to win up to £5,000 on each week's show.

Eamonn Holmes said: "It's the end of everybody's week, including mine. It's not a serious show at all. It's about having a laugh. I'm being given a chance to let my hair down and be the mischievous guy that I am.

"It's a real people's show – the audience at home, the audience in the studio, and quite often the unsuspecting audience out there on the streets of Northern Ireland.

"We are keen to get lots of faces on the box – not just famous ones and because of the production team we have I have a feeling that the joke will be on me a good few times! All we ask of people is to sit back and enjoy."

Rachel Tucker said: "I am so looking forward to coming back home to Northern Ireland to do this show with Eamonn. I can feel that something very different and exciting is coming our way and that this new show will really help people really kick start their weekend.

"So why not put your feet up at the end of a long hard week and enjoy the show, or better still why not come along and be part of the fun in the studio audience!"

Each week's show will include a regular feature – Heart In A Spin, where an unattached viewer looking for a date and romance is sent "in a spin" by The Friday Show production team on Belfast's Big Wheel, matching them up with three hopeful suitors who are filmed in the confines of one of the Big Wheel bubbles, trying to charm our singleton and win them over.

Every week, Eamonn and Rachel present The Weekly Awards, given to those people who have made it into the news in a very unique and amusing way.

Rounding off each show will be Scan-Tastic, where one member of the studio audience will play for the chance to win £5000 at the end of the show. The show's computer generated program will randomly select three players to play a quick fire general knowledge round.

The winner of this will then have the chance to win up to an incredible £5,000 in cash and possibly a luxury mini break.

Mike Edgar, Executive Producer for ±«Óãtv Northern Ireland, said: "It's great to be back in studio with a big show for local people, presented by such a true professional, popular figure and friend as Eamonn and a superb new talent from these shores in Rachel Tucker.

"Friday night is a point in the week when everyone, no matter what age, is ready to sit down, kick back and have a laugh. Hopefully, The Friday Show will satisfy that itch, with something for everyone – great music, comedy, more than a few famous faces and an exciting surprise or two for those in the studio audience and those at home.

"We have always enjoyed helping the weekend start with some great craic and as in the past with Patrick Kielty and John Daly, we hope The Friday Show will give us all something to smile about at the end of a hard week."

Stephen Stewart, Executive Producer for Green Inc Productions, added: "Big shiny entertainment shows are something Green Inc loves making and they are always exciting to work on. This one should be special, with our broadcasting 'royalty' in the form of Eamonn Holmes and the exciting West End talent of Rachel Tucker.

"This marks a return to Friday Night studio shows for ±«Óãtv Northern Ireland so we really hope that the public will watch it with the same enthusiasm that we have in making it.

"Green Inc is delighted by this huge commitment from the ±«Óãtv and continuing our good and long established working relationship which has produced studio shows such as PK Almost Live and more recently, Panic Attack."

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