Through the Keyhole
Through the Keyhole is a British comedy panel game show created by TV Producer Kevin Sim and originally presented by Sir David Frost and Loyd Grossman. It features the host going around celebrities' houses and then getting a panel of other celebrities to try to guess who the famous homeowner is.
The show was originally produced by Yorkshire Television and aired on ITV from 3 April 1987 to 1 May 1995, then it aired on Sky 1 from 22 February to 23 December 1996 before moving to BBC1 from 7 April 1997 to 2004 and then its sister channel BBC Two from 26 February 2006 to 4 June 2008.
In 2013, the show was revived for ITV with Keith Lemon as the host. In February 2020, it was reported that the programme had been cancelled after six series.
History
Original series
Through the Keyhole originally started as a segment on TV-am, first being broadcast on its launch day on 1 February 1983. The idea was created by Kevin Sim as a chance to look around some of the most influential homes with Loyd Grossman at the helm as the tour presenter. Grossman was mistakenly given the job after someone confused him with a journalist. It became a regular feature of TV-am throughout 1983.In 1987, Frost transferred the concept to Yorkshire Television and produced a full half-hour programme for ITV where a celebrity panel tries to guess whose house is being looked at. It ran in primetime on Friday nights for eight years on ITV and was rarely out of the top ten entertainment programmes on TV. The executive producers were Kevin Sim and Chantal Rickards. From 1996, it was produced by Frost's own production company, Paradine Productions, at Yorkshire Television. That same year, the show also moved to Sky 1 for one series. It then moved to BBC1 Daytime in 1997 until 2004. The final three BBC series aired on BBC Two from 2006 to 2008, when it was finally axed by the BBC. However, a special aired in March 2011 for Red Nose Day 2011 as part of marathon panel show 24 Hour Panel People.
Revival
The programme returned in 2013 on its original broadcast channel ITV with Leigh Francis as Keith Lemon taking up the role of presenter and house detective. The new series was filmed at Pinewood Studios until 2018, with series 6 filmed at the BBC Elstree Centre's Studio D in the latter half of the year. Dave Berry is a regular panellist. He appeared in all the episodes of the first series and has also made numerous appearances in following series. Celebrity guests on the show are a closely guarded secret until transmission. The first episode of the revived series aired on the same day that former host Sir David Frost died, although the news did not break until the following morning.Before his death in August 2013, Frost gave his backing to ITV's remake saying "I am delighted that the Keyhole format is now entering its fourth decade on TV. I know the pilot show went down very well with the studio audience and I wish Keith and his team the very best of luck for the series."
Format
At the start of each episode, Frost introduces a panel of three celebrities, with the catchphrase "And what a panel they are ..." and some gently humorous or mocking descriptions. He then hands over to the location presenter who gives the panellists a guided tour of the property, noting particular items, though there is typically a large amount of involved as the items pointed out by the presenter are not necessarily the most pertinent clues to the person's identity. Items not specifically mentioned may provide much more useful clues. Once completed, Frost reveals the identity of the guest to the audience and the panel are given turns at guessing their identity. The audience participate with varying degrees of clapping according to the accuracy of the panellists' guesswork.The panellists are either successful at identifying the guest or Frost has to reveal their identity, after which they are interviewed and given a key-shaped trophy as a memento. Starting during Loyd Grossman's reign as location presenter, the geographic spread was extended with one of the properties on each show being located in the US and one in Europe. When Stefanie Powers joined in 2007, she was based in the US and conducted the US property tours, while UK-based Lisa Snowdon conducted the European property tours.
Celebrity panellists and homeowners
ITV
Series 1
Series 2
Series 3
Series 4
Revival
Series 1
- Note: Episode 7 was a Christmas special
Series 2
- Note: Episode 8 was a Christmas special
Series 3
- Note: Episode 8 was a Christmas special.
Series 4
| # | Celebrity panellists | Celebrity homeowners | Original air date | Viewers |
| 1 | Shayne Ward Kelly Brook Johnny Vegas | Kimberley Walsh Wayne Sleep Tony Mortimer | 24 December 2016 | Under 3.51 |
| 2 | Will Mellor Fearne Cotton Judge Rinder | Pamela Anderson Sid Owen Lady Colin Campbell | 7 January 2017 | Under 3.42 |
| 3 | Eamonn Holmes Emma Bunton Jonathan Ross | Gok Wan Adam West Andrea McLean | 14 January 2017 | 3.87 |
| 4 | Marvin Humes Kate Garraway Jimmy Carr | Jo Whiley Jamie Laing Abz Love | 21 January 2017 | 3.58 |
| 5 | Paddy McGuinness Caroline Flack Dave Berry | Tony Hadley Dominic Littlewood Macy Gray | 28 January 2017 | 3.74 |
| 6 | John Thomson Kym Marsh Stephen Mulhern | Harry Redknapp Gemma Collins Antony Worrall Thompson | 4 February 2017 | 3.65 |
| 7 | Fay Ripley Steve Jones Rochelle Humes | John Barrowman Paul Burrell Cheryl Baker | 11 February 2017 | 3.74 |
| 8 | David Haye Samia Ghadie Dave Berry | Dennis Rodman Ian "H" Watkins Melinda Messenger | 18 February 2017 | 3.39 |
- Note: Episode 1 was a Christmas special.
Series 5
| # | Celebrity panellists | Celebrity homeowners | Original air date | Viewers |
| 1 | Jimmy Carr Myleene Klass Tony Blackburn Stacey Solomon | Vicky Pattison Derek Acorah Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag | 9 December 2017 | Under 3.46 |
| 2 | Ben Shephard Frankie Bridge Jonathan Ross | Denise Richards Peter Stringfellow Su Pollard | 13 January 2018 | 3.63 |
| 3 | Gregg Wallace Scarlett Moffatt Paddy McGuinness | Professor Green Caprice Bourret Jesse Metcalfe | 20 January 2018 | |
| 4 | Stephen Mulhern Rochelle Humes Louis Walsh | Gloria Hunniford Bobby Davro Janice Dickinson | 27 January 2018 | |
| 5 | Shane Richie Rachel Riley Alex James | Russell Watson Katie Price Jenny Powell | 3 February 2018 | |
| 6 | Jimmy Carr Scarlett Moffatt Eamonn Holmes | Vinnie Jones Ore Oduba Carol Decker | 10 February 2018 | |
| 7 | Paddy McGuinness Catherine Tyldesley Chris Kamara | Ricki Lake Jamie Theakston Danielle Armstrong | 17 February 2018 | |
| 8 | Jonathan Ross Melanie Sykes Ashley Banjo | John Barnes Martin Roberts Ross King | 24 February 2018 |
- Note: Episode 1 was an I'm a Celebrity special.
Series 6
| # | Celebrity panellists | Celebrity homeowners | Original air date | Viewers |
| 1 | Jimmy Carr Lorraine Kelly Jonathan Ross | Julian Clary Sally Lindsay Kate Thornton | 14 December 2018 | |
| 2 | Danny Dyer Sally Phillips Chris Kamara | Michael Owen Lesley Garrett Emily Atack | 12 January 2019 | |
| 3 | Paddy McGuinness Dani Dyer Martin Kemp | Shirley Ballas Linda Barker Ollie Locke | 19 January 2019 | |
| 4 | Rob Beckett Alfie Boe Lucy Fallon | Carmen Electra Charlie Brooks Peter Duncan | 26 January 2019 | |
| 5 | Johnny Vegas Caitlyn Jenner Craig Revel Horwood | Dean Cain Mariella Frostrup Toby Anstis | 2 February 2019 | |
| 6 | Stacey Solomon Beverley Callard Joel Dommett | Melissa Joan Hart Richard Blackwood Aldo Zilli | 9 February 2019 | |
| 7 | Jimmy Carr Carol Vorderman Kriss Akabusi | Steve Guttenberg Joey Essex Rebecca Adlington | 16 February 2019 | |
| 8 | Rob Beckett Janet Street-Porter Krishnan Guru-Murthy | Shane Lynch Fatima Whitbread Scott Mills | 23 February 2019 |
- Note: Episode 1 was a Christmas special.
Transmissions