Play to the Whistle is a British comedy panel game television programme which premiered on ITV on 11 April 2015 and is produced by Hungry Bear Media. In each regular episode two teams of three members – one member being a regular captain – compete in sports knowledge rounds and physical games to earn points, the team with the most points at the end is declared the winner. The show is presented by Holly Willoughby and the teams are captained by Bradley Walsh and Frank Lampard; the latter is joined by Romesh Ranganathan as a regular panelist. Seann Walsh has been the resident scorekeeper from the first series and also became the host's assistant from the second series. Jimmy Bullard was the host's assistant in the first series. As of 4 April 2017, nineteen regular episodes and a compilation special have been aired across three series; 20 episodes in total. Willoughby promoted the third and final series as a guest on The One Show on 27 February 2017.
Series overview
| Series | Episodes | Originally released | Series ratings (in millions) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First released | Last released | ||||
| 1 | 8 | 11 April 2015 (2015-04-11) | 6 June 2015 (2015-06-06) | 2.53 | |
| 2 | 7 | 16 April 2016 (2016-04-16) | 28 May 2016 (2016-05-28) | 2.66 | |
| 3 | 6 | 28 February 2017 (2017-02-28) | 4 April 2017 (2017-04-04) | 1.60 | |
Key
- The background colours indicate the result of the episode
- – indicates Walsh's team won
- – indicates Lampard and Ranganathan's team won
- – indicates the game ended in a draw
- A score in red (−n) indicates negative score
Episodes
Series 1 (2015)
| No. | Episode | First broadcast | Bradley's guests | Frank and Romesh's guests | Scores | Ratings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1x01 | 11 April 2015 (2015-04-11) | Rob Beckett Peter Crouch |
Paddy McGuinness | 8–7 | 2.92 |
| 2 | 1x02 | 18 April 2015 (2015-04-18) | Sean Lock Alex Scott |
Graeme Swann | 8–10 | 3.24 |
| 3 | 1x03 | 25 April 2015 (2015-04-25) | Alex Brooker Piers Morgan |
Harry Redknapp | 8–9 | 3.13 |
| 4 | 1x04 | 2 May 2015 (2015-05-02) | Christine Bleakley Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain |
Dermot O'Leary | 7–5 | 2.59 |
| 5 | 1x05 | 9 May 2015 (2015-05-09) | Carl Fogarty Jon Richardson |
Niall Horan | 8–8 | 2.95 |
| 6 | 1x06 | 16 May 2015 (2015-05-16) | Jonathan Ross Brooke Vincent |
Tony McCoy | −3–9− | 2.70 |
| 7 | 1x07 | 23 May 2015 (2015-05-23) | Natalie Anderson Bob Mortimer |
Pat Cash | 8–8 | 1.83 |
| 8 | 1x08 | 6 June 2015 (2015-06-06) | Compilation episode – "Extra Time" | — | 0.87 | |
Series 2 (2016)
| No. | Episode | First broadcast | Bradley's guests | Frank and Romesh's guests | Scores | Ratings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 2x01 | 16 April 2016 | Rob Beckett Tom Daley |
Richard Osman | 6–9 | 3.44 |
| 10 | 2x02 | 23 April 2016 | Anthony Joshua Jon Richardson |
Kevin Bridges | 6–5 | 3.36 |
| 11 | 2x03 | 30 April 2016 | Chris Kamara Jack P. Shepherd |
Jonathan Ross | 7–5 | 2.20 |
| 12 | 2x04 | 7 May 2016 | Wilfried Zaha Funmbi Omotayo |
Rochelle Humes | 3–8 | 2.58 |
| 13 | 2x05 | 14 May 2016 | Peter Jones Sara Pascoe |
David Haye | 6–7 | 2.04 |
| 14 | 2x06 | 21 May 2016 | Danny Cipriani Katherine Ryan |
Piers Morgan | 6–4 | 2.34 |
Series 3 (2017)
| No. | Episode | First broadcast | Bradley's guests | Frank and Romesh's guests | Scores | Ratings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | 3x01 | 28 February 2017 | John Terry Rachel Riley |
Jonnie Peacock | N/A | 1.98 |
| 16 | 3x02 | 7 March 2017 | Jimmy Carr Alan Shearer |
James Anderson | 8–8 | 1.57 |
| 17 | 3x03 | 14 March 2017 | Samantha Quek Rob Beckett |
Jake Humphrey | 9–5 | 1.47 |
| 18 | 3x04 | 21 March 2017 | Kevin Bridges Ashley Cole |
Ore Oduba | 9–6 | 1.43 |
| 19 | 3x05 | 28 March 2017 | Joel Dommett Judy Murray |
Michail Antonio | 9–7 | 1.57 |
| 20 | 3x06 | 4 April 2017 | Rob Beckett Andrew Johnston |
Scarlett Moffatt | 9–7 | 1.58 |
Scores
| Bradley | Frank and Romesh |
|---|---|
| Series wins (2 drawn) | |
| 0 | 1 |
| Episode wins (2 drawn) | |
| 8 | 9 |
Notes
- The scores were not revealed at the end of the episode.
- As a tiebreaker the teams participated in a football penalty shoot-out against former England international goalkeeper David Seaman. Lampard's team won the shoot-out 2–1.
References
- Lee, Ben (9 April 2015). "Holly Willoughby, Frank Lampard for ITV panel show Play to the Whistle". Digital Spy. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
- ^ "Holly Willoughby to host new ITV panel show". British Comedy Guide. 26 March 2015. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
- Allott, Britt (2 April 2015). "Holly Willoughby is joined by Bradley Walsh and Frank Lampard in Play To The Whistle". ITV Press Centre. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
- Jones, Tudur Huws (25 April 2015). "Holly Willoughby, Bradley Walsh and Frank Lampard star in Play to the Whistle". Daily Post. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
- Crawford, Carena (16 April 2016). "Saturday's TV pick: Play to the Whistle". Reveal. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
- "Seann Walsh lands role in ITV sports quiz". Chortle. 2 April 2015. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
- ^ "Weekly top 30 programmes". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board. Retrieved 12 September 2016.