INTERMEDIATE: The 1% Club it has sold to Sweden and Italy, cementing its position as the UK’s best-selling new format of the last decade, according to BBC Studios.
According to a new documentary made in Britain, ITV’s The 1% Club, which sees 100 contestants in the studio compete to reach the end and answer a question only 1% of the world can answer, has sold more than any other in the last eight years.
The Swedish version of pubcaster SVT, which will be produced by BBC Studios Sweden Productions, and the Italian version of Mediaset, from Blu Yazmine, brings the number of international versions to 15 on the day before the BBC Studios Showcase. The 1% Club will be a key player in the BBC Studios catalog this week as the distributor looks to shop the hot spot for consumers in the UK capital.
Sumi Connock, BBC Studios’ EVP Global Creative Network and Formats, which is marketing the “game-changing” programme, said. The 1% Club proved that questions can rule prime time like the old days. The UK and Australian versions in particular, hosted by Lee Mack and Jim Jefferies respectively, have become a staple of the Saturday night programme.
“Venues often feel that they should have an entertainment program as big as this Voice or Dancing with the stars but not many put the game show at the heart of the schedule,” he added.” “Thank you to Australia’s Seven Network for doing that. It wasn’t just their biggest show of their inaugural year, it was the biggest show of any network in an area dominated by reality TV.”
Connock hopes that Swedish and Italian versions will follow as well The 1% Club likewise it can be the cornerstone of the system. You believe 1% of the group The secret sauce comes from its versatility in different environments and the nature of play, as well as how the hosts channel its power.
“The set gives you a very powerful look,” Connock said. “Obviously the UK version is a very big studio but we’ve changed it over time which means we can shoot in different, smaller studios, which has opened up the doors to more locations.”
Andy Auerbach, who co-created the ITV show with Dean Nabarro and their production company Magnum Media, said there was a “craving for a brain-teasing quiz style” that was popular. The 1% Club and in everyday games like Wordle. “It was almost like an addiction,” he added. “People say, ‘Go ahead, give me another one,’ and they want to show their friends the question.”
Auerbach has always been fascinated by how people of all generations can respond The 1% Club teasers and how it used to be young people who do very well. “There was one question we came across that really frustrated me and my business partner and he showed it to his 12-year-old son, who got it within two seconds,” added Auerbach. “It required a kind of visual thinking that we didn’t have. We were overthinking the question. And we thought, ‘Well, if a 12-year-old can beat his parents at this game, this would be great’.”
1% of the group success has been notable of late as UK broadcast formats in recent years have been dominated by non-British shows, such as Traitors again Married at First, from the Netherlands and Denmark respectively. To combat this, the next show from BBC and NBC’s historic partnership will be an original British IP. Connock thinks this development may depend on budgets.
“Sometimes international places have done something very economical,” he added. “When a format starts in the UK it means it’s more expensive and harder to get it out.”
There is no such problem The 1% Club, what Connock said has a “pretty good” return rate in almost every area. Only one, Mexico, was canned after one season and that was after the first telenovela-length episode. In the UK, the show is already into Season 5 and with star ratings it shows no signs of slowing down.
An interesting trip to the States
Photo: Tom Griscom/FOX. ©2025 FOX MEDIA LLC
In the US, the group yesterday was given the light of Season 3 with a show that had an interesting journey. The original series was hosted by Patton Oswalt and aired on both Fox and Prime Video, with the former licensed under the latter. The second race came from Prime introducing a new presenter, Fox’s Animal Control star Joel McHale, that season aired exclusively on the network. The third will do the same.
Connock said that BBC Studios is happy to repeat this model in other areas as having formats on streamers and networks does not mean that it does not prevent viewing. You use it Dancing with the stars for example, which recently had its most successful run on ABC and airs on Disney+.
The 1% Club relies heavily on a host of international comedians, such as Mack, McHale and Jefferies who bring wit and flair to the proceedings, although Connock insists new venues can think beyond comedy when considering hosts. Sweden and Italy are yet to announce who will present their versions.
Spin-offs and product extensions
The team is now busy thinking about spin-offs and product extensions. The UK version has recently aired Christmas and Valentines specials and has a children’s special in development, which should work well considering Auerbach’s obsession with how kids take to the format. BBC Studios, meanwhile, has just launched digital 1% Group an extension to Game.City, a smart TV platform, with Nintendo Switch experience is coming soon. In the UK, The Telegraph recently launched a daily 1% Group game for its subscribers.
Next up for Auerbach’s Magnum Media is the BBC’s entertainment format Wisdom of the Crowd. Hosted by John Bishop, the 1% Club-esque show was inspired by scientist Francis Galton’s discovery from more than a century ago that crowds are better at guessing than individuals. Notably, this is a UK original that was recorded faster in Spain and Germany than in its homeland.
Auerbach believes The 1% Club again Wisdom of the Crowd show that UK commissioners are still very risk-averse.
He added: “The 1% Club it may not be dangerous in the sense that it’s revolutionary but ITV has taken a risk on a small company and commissioned a new paper show and put it in the best position for next year. Britain’s Got Talent, I mean, that seems dangerous in retrospect.”
