Michael McIntyre reveals changes he made to The Wheel from US version
The British comedian will be hosting The Wheel's American cousin over on NBC.
While fans of The Wheel can't wait for it to return for season 3, Michael McIntyre will also be crossing the pond for an American remake of the gameshow – but he's had to make a few changes.
The comedian, who began hosting the show back in November 2020, has revealed that he was chosen to present the US version and subsequently had to make some amendments to the show – such as making the titular wheel smaller.
"The difference was we had a smaller wheel," he told RadioTimes.com and other press. "It's a six person wheel because there are ads. I quite like the ads to be honest – it was quite nice to be able to have a little break. I quite like doing that big spiel like Chris Tarrant, setting the game up and giving high drama going into breaks."
He added that the team also had to "really edit" the shutdowns on the US show and refer to "the prize pot" as "the bank".
"In the UK people tend to just go, 'I’m going to shutdown them.' In America, it was 45 minutes of apologies and reasons. They felt so, so bad about everything," he said.
"Fans of the show will notice that you don’t fill the prize pot anymore. We used to have a prize pot but the Americans were like, 'We’re filling the bank, it’s the bank, right? And then you cash out surely.' And that does make a lot more sense. So now we’re cashing out."
As for the contestants on NBC's The Wheel, McIntyre said that they are "so full on" in comparison to their UK counterparts.
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"We had contestants bursting into tears when they were selected by the contestant wheel. They were like, 'I’m just so happy to be here.' They give you so much. The experts give you so much. It was very full on, which gave me more to work with."
He continued: "When everyone gets it right on The Wheel, there’s a bonus £1,000. I would just say that here, I would just go, 'Oh, everyone's got it right.' But in America, huge graphics come up on the screen and it goes 'Perfect Wheel' and everything goes gold and spontaneously, everyone shouts, 'Perfect Wheel!'"
The upcoming season of The Wheel will see a new raft of celebrities help contestants answer questions on a variety of quiz topics, including Strictly Come Dancing's Anton Du Beke, Love Island's Iain Stirling and athlete Kadeena Cox.
The Wheel returns later this year. Seasons 1 and 2 are available to watch on BBC iPlayer. If you’re looking for more to watch, check out our TV Guide.
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