ITV1 announces the prime-time commission of Penn & Teller: Fool Us, an original TV magic show – starring magicians Penn & Teller.
Hosted by Jonathan Ross (pictured below), this 90-minute spectacular throws down the gauntlet to every aspiring magician in the UK to perform their most mystifying trick to fool Penn & Teller.
Las Vegas legends Penn & Teller will have no prior knowledge of either the performers or the planned trick. They’ll be sitting in the audience just like everyone else, watching every move the guest magicians make. And, if any illusionist comes on and fools the professionals – they will win a five star trip to Las Vegas to perform as the opening act in Penn & Teller’s show at the Rio Hotel & Casino.
Every magician will be performing for the high stakes. Whether it’s a grand stage illusion or a tiny trick of sleight of hand, whether it uses tigers or toothpicks, if they are good enough to fool Penn & Teller then they get to perform in Vegas with the iconic duo.
“Nothing would give me or Teller more pleasure than to hand over Vegas tickets to someone – anyone – who has the nerve to stand in front of us, monkey with us, leave us baffled and ultimately blow us away with their brilliance," Penn says. "That would be a dream. We SO want that to happen! Magic is always evolving with different performers constantly innovating. We believe there are performers out there who can do it so we've sent out this challenge. And if they can fool us we're taking them to Vegas to perform!”
The show is commissioned by John Kaye Cooper, Controller of Entertainment, ITV. “Penn & Teller are legendary and have been performing together for over 35 years. They know trickery but can the world’s foremost experts on deception still be fooled?" says Cooper. "This exciting new format gives talented magicians the chance of a lifetime to open for headliners Penn & Teller in Las Vegas. Together with Jonathan Ross it makes terrific talk about TV and the ideal show for all the family to enjoy.”
Peter Davey serves as Executive Producer for the show which is produced DCD Media-owned September Films/117 Production