The BBC has landed a starry booking to replace Richard Osman fronting House of Games, with Good Omens star Michael Sheen taking up the mantle.
Osman revealed he was stepping down earlier this month after nearly a decade at the helm of the BBC quiz show he created.
Sheen, whose credits include Good Omens, Tron: Legacy and Midnight in Paris, will preside over the recording of 100 episodes that will be broadcast later this year. Sheen has not hosted a quiz show before but played Who Wants to be a Millionaire? presenter Chris Tarrant in the ITV drama about the notorious Coughing Major scandal.
In House of Games, which was previously titled Richard Osman’s House of Games, celebrity contestants compete against each other in different tasks across episodes through the week, accruing double points on Friday. It is produced by Banijay label , which also makes Pointless, another show that Osman created and fronted but has since stepped back from. Osman is the award-winning author of the Thursday Murder Club novels that were recently made into a Netflix movie, while he hosts the popular Rest is Entertainment podcast.
Sheen said: “Quite literally very large shoes to fill but as a huge fan of the show I’m incredibly excited to be able to move into the House and at long last see my silhouette on a fondue set.”
BBC commissioner Caroline O’ Neill added: “Michael’s charisma and passion for playfulness will be a joy for audiences and we’ve no doubt he’ll relish throwing himself into a fiercely fought Answer Smash.”