A Channel 4 quiz show that has been compared to The Apprentice has been cancelled after just one series, despite having a big name presenter
Channel 4’s quiz show Double The Money, hosted by actress and comedian Sue Perkins, has been axed after just one series. The show, which was often compared to BBC’s The Apprentice, saw pairs of contestants compete to win a potential £20,000 by doubling their cash throughout the six episodes in any way they could.
Each episode saw the teams gather in ‘The Vault’ – a gilded banking hall where they were given a starting sum of money and a time limit. They then had to race against the clock to double that sum of money within the set time. If they returned to the Vault with double the amount, they remained in the game. However, if they came back with even £1 less, they were out.
The rules allowed them to use any money-making schemes they could think of to double their money, as long as they didn’t repeat the same idea. The contestants’ strategies included bingo nights, cocktail classes, a food festival and even an erotic art workshop as the 13 pairs, including sisters, a father and son, married couples and best friends, all battled to stay in the competition and win the grand prize.
Quiz show fans had polarised reactions to Double The Money, which aired in May 2024. A viewer said, “Really enjoying this. I’d love to play it #doublethemoney,” while another commented, “Loving a bit of #DoubleTheMoney – like the good bits of The Apprentice, without the idiots and plastic wannabes! Always makes a show watchable too,” and another chimed in, “I loved watching this show, it is absolutely brilliant! I hope that it will be back next year!” Yet, not everyone was wowed as one commented, “I’m enjoying #doublethemoney but I don’t buy some of the results. Seems edited. Also, the way the show has been set up means a certain number of teams need to succeed every week or it’s game over,” reports the Mirror.
Echoing the sentiment, another remarked, “This #DoubletheMoney show is a bit of a weak concept. If they all fail to double their money one week, that’s it. Show’s over, folks.”
It seems “Double The Money” might not grace our screens for another run according to TVZone. Sue Perkins, aged 55, renowned for her stint on The Great British Bake Off, is currently delving into travel programmes, making shows in Thailand and Alaska for Channel 5 in 2024, and crafting Sue Perkins’ Big Adventure: Paris to Istanbul for Channel 4.
Sue is also set to return to our screens later this year as the host of Chess Masters, a new BBC Two competition series centred around the classic board game that has seen a resurgence in popularity following the 2020 TV series The Queen’s Gambit.