Another week of TV highlights, including at least one that will be with us for the rest of the year, and plenty of new and returning dramas to wet your whistle. More below.

Red or Black?/The X-Factor/The Jonathan Ross Show (ITV1, Sat, from 7:15pm)
It does feel like the year is moving incredibly fast as we’re already looking at shows that will be with us till Christmas. First up is the surprising return of Red or Black? The programme that suffered from both critical backlash and low viewing figures while it courted controversy throughout its run yet it has been bought back. We’re told that the format has been altered slightly in order to increase interest however there are still two instalments either side of the reality juggernaut that is The X-Factor… Read more & comment »

Red or Black? hosts Ant and Dec have told TV Biz that they, and the show’s bosses, have learned from mistakes made in last year’s debut series.

As fans of the show may recall, last year the ITV show aired every night for a week, and was dogged by one controversy after another, such as the revelation that its first millionaire winner, Nathan Hageman, had previously been convicted for assaulting a woman.

The Geordie lads are of course currently filming the show’s second series – which has already seen one lucky winner landing TV’s biggest ever cash prize of £1.5million – but during a break in recording, Dec TV Biz, “We kind of figured it was a Saturday night show last year.

“We all got that wrong and hold our hands up to that… Read more & comment »

As we reported recently, during filming for this year’s Red or Black? game show, one lucky winner scooped TV’s biggest ever prize which was the whopping and very nice thank you sum of £1.5milllion…

However, it’s been reported today that the winner, lucky Graham Fletcher, may have had a friend upstairs overseeing his efforts on the show – in which contestants have to simply guess whether a particular challenge will be won by red or black; the colours representing the opposing sides – given that his mum and dad are called Mary and Joseph.

And freakily enough, Graham is a carpenter, as was the famous son of another Mary and Joseph.

However, the Sun, who reported the bizarre coincidence, haven’t noted any miracles being attributed to Graham, but I reckon it might be a plan to hand him a few loaves and sardines and see what happens… Read more & comment »

As fans of hit game show Red or Black? will probably know, rather than airing the series live, as was the case in its first outing last year, the show is now pre-recorded…

And during filming yesterday for an early round of the game show, one contestant scooped a massive £1.5million, which is the biggest cash prize in the history of TV game shows.

The contestant, named only as Graham, walked away with the whopping amount after six and a half hours of playing the game, and evidently showing some aptitude for guessing colours.

The Sun’s TV Biz reports, “The prize pot had rolled over after players on the two previous editions failed to land the £500,000 jackpot…” Read more & comment »