And his new show is produced by a famous face

Dermot O’Leary(Image: ITV)

Dermot O’Leary’s has said how he ‘couldn’t believe his luck’ as he landed a new game show, Silence Is Golden. which is coming to screens next month.

The 51-year-old broadcaster is hosting the new programme – which sees £250,000 up for grabs for the studio audience if they can stay quiet – which is arriving on U and U+Dave on Monday 5th May at 9pm.

Dermot will be joined throughout the series by three comedy captains, Katherine Ryan, Seann Walsh and Fatiha El-Ghorri.

He said of the show: “I’m so looking forward to ‘Silence Is Golden’. When a show like this falls into your lap, you can’t quite believe your luck.

“Looking forward to having lots of fun with the audience, our comedians and assorted cast of regulars, all trying to make the audience laugh, gasp and giggle.”

UKTV’s Mark Iddon added: “We’re really excited to bring ‘Silence Is Golden’ to U+Dave. Dermot is the perfect host to hold this chaotically ambitious show together, and we think our U+Dave audiences are going to embrace this subversive and unpredictable format.

“‘Silence Is Golden’ is the only show where staying silent is worth its weight in gold. It’s the quietest way to lose a fortune you’ll ever see, and it’s time for our studio audience to put their money where their mouth isn’t.”

Dermot is usually seen hosting This Morning with Alison Hammond(Image: ITV)

Richard Bacon is an executive producer on the programme for Yes Yes Media and likened the show to “the feeling when you’re not allowed to laugh at a funeral”.

The former Blue Peter presenter said: “Well, it’s that: the Game Show. And I commend U+Dave for boldly commissioning a show that will cost them a quarter million a week – if the audience is better at playing the game than we are.”

Dermot previously presented’The X Factor and defended the ITV singing competition from criticism about the treatment of contestants.

He told The Times newspaper: “If the show was made now, it’d be made differently. The culture is different, but it was pretty much always celebratory. Look, not everyone on the show is going to knock it out of the park. Not everyone is going to have the best experience.

“But most of the people we had on were treated really well, and a lot of people who have talked negatively about their experiences are talking about what happened after they left.

“I think 99 out of 100 actually missed the show – they missed the bubble. So if there is a duty of care to be looked at, it’s what happens afterwards.”