REVIEW – Popmaster on TV: Ken Bruce and his radio favourite make leap to small screen

All over the land, there are people who tune into Ken Bruce’s radio version every day to play along. I can imagine plenty of them feeling the same about the small-screen version and not wanting to miss a moment.

Thankfully it seems we’re going to get the TV version in short bursts, and again I say that because if we were handed too much, it would take over our lives! Well it would over mine.

It made its debut on More 4 on Monday night and we are going to get an initial burst of six hour-long shows.

So the million dollar question – does Popmaster convert to TV? After my first struggle – to find More 4 on my telly box – I can deliver my early verdict. And it’s a yes from me. Not all radio quizzes work on the telly – and not all TV formats work on radio. But some do – and Popmaster is such a simple and popular idea, that it was always likely to move across well.

The day everything stopped for Popmaster – and Popmaster stopped too.

Ken Bruce on Greatest Hits Radio – how are he and Popmaster faring after their switch?.

There is more to a TV Popmaster episode than its radio forerunner. There has to be, because as the millions who have been a fans in all its years on Radio 2 and now with its switch – with Ken – to Greatest Hits Radio will know, it lasts only 15 minutes or so in it’s 10.30am slot. And that’s not enough for a TV show.

For the hour-long version we begin with five conestants who tackle a variety of rounds – such as links, intros and middles, Video Ga-Ga and questions oabout lyrics and years.

The five players are knocked out one at a time – and I must say I felt sorry for a couple of them because the general standard of questions felt tougher than we get on the radio. Five become two and they end the programme with the traditional Popmaster format, answering around of 10 questions including three bonus teasers – with the winner going on to ‘3 in 10’ for the star prize.

I was a little unsure about the show at first. It looked and felt a little low-budget. Or maybe ‘no frills’ is a nicer way to put it.

But the longer it went on, the more I warmed to it.

Is an hour too long? It will be for some, and if it were a programme we were going to see long-term in a weekly slot I’d say a 30-minute version perhaps with three or four players, not five, might do the job. But it’s early days and I imagine it will evolve over time.

Ken is, to put it simply, Ken. Exactly the same warm and easy-going presenter on TV as he is, and has long been, on the radio. He puts contestants at ease with his gentle chit-chat and the odd bit of ribbing, and keeps the questions ticking over at a good rate – possibly a little faster here than on the radio. There are no five-second timers – the answers are either forthcoming or they’re not.

Highlight of show one was surely all three remaining contests being one out with their attempts in the ‘guess the year’ round. It gave Ken the chance to deliver his ‘ohhh you’re one year out’ line that is a staple of the radio quiz. You wouldn’t have put it past the players to deliberately guess wrong so as to hear him say it.

The set is bright – quite orange and purple, in fact, in keeping with the Popmaster brand we have come to know and love – and there are no co-hosts or over-the-top prizes or teasers going into ad breaks. Which is good in my book. No-one’s going to win £1m here.

Some years ago Ken trademarked Popmaster, and that’s what has enabled him to take it to TV, having recently left the BBC, who presumbly were not interested in taking it to the telly themselves. Their loss, I reckon.

Being the Popmaster addict I am, I am sure I shall be tuning in again for show two (8pm Tuesday, More 4) and this time keeping my own score – which some others seem to have already started doing.

If you’re never heard Popmaster, or weren’t sure it would work on TV, give it a go. And have a pen and paper to hand, because you will inevitably think you can do better than some of those who have made it on to the show.

Miss the opening show? You can watch here on More 4 catch-up.