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Splash!
Genre	Reality
Written by	Adam Bostock-Smith
Directed by	Julia Knowles
Presented by	Gabby Logan Vernon Kay
Starring	Tom Daley
Judges	Andy Banks Jo Brand Leon Taylor
Narrated by	Alan March
Original language	English
No. of series	2
No. of episodes	12
Production
Executive producers	Shirley Jones Darren Smith
Producers	Aaron Kidd Gyles Neville
Production locations	Inspire: Luton Sports Village, Luton, Bedfordshire
Running time	90 minutes (inc. advertisements)
Production company	Twofour
Original release
Network	ITV
Release	5 January 2013 (2013-01-05) – 15 February 2014 (2014-02-15)
Related
Celebrity Splash!

Splash! is a British reality television series that follows celebrities learning diving. The celebrities performed each week in front of a panel of judges and a live audience in an Olympic-size diving pool with the result each week partly determined by public vote. Gabby Logan and Vernon Kay presented the show, whilst Team GB Olympic Gold Medal-winning diver Tom Daley was the expert mentor to the celebrities. It was filmed at the Inspire: Luton Sports Village, which is based in Stopsley, Luton. The show premiered on ITV on 5 January 2013 winning the ratings battle for its 7:15–8:15 p.m. slot with an average audience of 5.6 million viewers, a network share of 23.6%, however, it was cancelled on 24 June 2014 after just two series.

The format for the show originated from the Celebrity Splash! franchise created by television production company Eyeworks in the Netherlands, and was broadcast on SBS 6 as Sterren Springen Op Zaterdag (Celebrities Jumping on Saturday).

Format

The show was broadcast live on ITV on Saturday evenings, and was presented by Gabby Logan and Vernon Kay. In the show celebrities competed against each other performing dives in order to impress a judging panel and the viewing public. The series consisted of heats where two celebrities from each go into the semi-finals, and then followed by a live final on successive Saturdays.

Series overview

Two series were broadcast, as summarised below.

Main series results

Series 1 (2013)

The first series began airing on 5 January 2013 and ran for 5 weeks ending on 2 February 2013.

The contestants for the first series were:

Series 2 (2014)

On 4 February 2013, a second series was confirmed and began airing on 4 January 2014 and ran for 7 weeks ending on 15 February 2014.

The contestants for the second series were:

Reception

The show received generally poor reviews from critics after its premiere, including "utterly awful", "a new low for television" and "probably the worst programme ever screened in primetime". Despite the critical drubbing, however, it achieved reasonable ratings and was recommissioned for a second series, before being cancelled in 2014.

Concern was shown for Daley's role in the show by the head of British Swimming David Sparkes, who claimed that he is in danger of putting his media work before his sporting career, and possibly hampering his chances of a gold medal at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. Andy Banks, Daley's coach at Plymouth Diving and British Swimming and judge on the show, hit back at Sparkes' criticism airing his concerns that such negative comments might take the fun out of diving for Daley and indeed drive him away from the sport altogether to pursue his media career. Daley eventually won a bronze medal in the men's synchronized platform dive in the 2016 Games.

Heat 3 contestant Tina Malone made negative comments in an interview with Liverpool radio station Juice FM several days before her appearance on the show. She called this and other reality shows "garbage" as well as stating that "It’s the big fat cheques that make me happy" in reference to the fact she appears in such TV shows only for the financial reward.

International versions

A US version, under the title Splash, premiered on 19 March 2013 from the Riverside Aquatics Complex at Riverside City College and Pasadena's Rose Bowl Aquatics Center on ABC television. The US version features 2012 Olympic 10 m diving champion David Boudia and American diving legend Greg Louganis as judges. The Seven Network in Australia have also commissioned Celebrity Splash! which aired in 2013. In 2015, a Lithuanian version of the show, called Šuolis, premiered on TV3.

References

1. "Olympic star Tom Daley launches celebrity diving show". Newsbeat. 31 October 2012. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
2. "Celebs making a splash with Tom". Luton Today. 4 January 2013. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
3. Sweney, Mark (7 January 2013). "Tom Daley proves he's chairman of the board with solid debut for Splash!". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
4. Walker-Arnott, Ellie (4 February 2013). "Splash! secures second series". Radio Times. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
5. "ITV's Splash! gets the axe after two series". Tellymix. Retrieved 25 June 2014.
6. "Celebrity Splash". Eyeworks. Archived from the original on 8 May 2013. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
7. "Sterren Springen Op Zaterdag" (in Dutch). SBS 6. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
8. Nissim, Mayer (4 February 2013). "'Splash!': Tom Daley reality show to return for second series in 2014". Digital Spy. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
9. ITV’s Splash! 2014 start date set for January 4 | Splash! | Telly Mix
10. Dowell, Ben (7 January 2013). "Splash! Some TV is so bad it's good". guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
11. Bryant, Tom (6 January 2013). "Tom Daley's belly flop: ITV diving show Splash! sunk by fans – yet 6.1m still tune in". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
12. Jardine, Stephen (9 January 2013). "Saturday night flop Splash has me diving bored already". Daily Record. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
13. Heritage, Stuart (5 February 2013). "Splash! returns for a second series - hurrah!". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
14. "TV show 'could cost Daley medal in Rio'". ESPN.co.uk. 8 January 2013. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
15. Hart, Simon (9 January 2013). "Tom Daley's coach fears diver may quit sport after latest row over his media commitments". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
16. "'Splash!' Contestant Tina Malone Calls Tom Daley's Show 'Garbage'". HuffPost. 9 January 2013. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
17. Grosvenor, Carrie (26 October 2012). "Stars in Danger: High Diving and Celebrity Splash – Upcoming Shows Full of Awesome". Unreality TV. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
18. Patrick Kevin Day (19 March 2013). "ABC, Louie Anderson take the plunge with 'Splash'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
19. Goldberg, Lesley (29 November 2012). "Olympian David Boudia to Judge ABC's Celebrity Diving Series (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
20. Knox, David (16 October 2012). "Seven set to Celebrity Splash into 2013". TV Tonight. Retrieved 19 January 2013.

External links

• Splash! at UKGameshows.com.

• 2010s British reality television series
• 2013 British television series debuts
• 2014 British television series endings
• British sports television series
• British television series based on Dutch television series
• British English-language television shows
• ITV reality television shows
• Television series by ITV Studios