Hat Trick-backed Strong Watch Studios has produced a 6 x 15 minute digital series for BBC iPlayer and BBC YouTube. Called Ranked, the new short form series asks strangers to put their egos to one side and accurately rank themselves out of five based on a series of questions. Competitors, who include reality TV stars, chefs, athletes and football fans, are given the chance to win a cash prize.
The first episode is a special for Comic Relief, and features reality TV stars Tomara Thomas from RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, Rochelle Raye Anthony from The Apprentice series 17, Jacques O’Neill from Love Island series 8, Kerry Riches from 2023 series of Big Brother, and Connie Talbot from the 2007 series of Britain’s Got Talent – who must rank themselves on questions such as which of their shows is the hardest to win.
In other episodes, athletes must decide who has the strongest punch, and football fans have to debate which of their club’s most legendary players is the greatest.
The chefs must rank themselves on questions such as whose food people would most likely go for after a night out, while a doctor, lawyer, tradesman, funeral director, and a social media influencer must decide which of them would be most useful in a zombie apocalypse. Finally, superfans of Marvel, DC, Harry Potter, Doctor Who, and Pokémon, must choose which of them is the most nerdy.
Kalpna Patel-Knight, head of entertainment at the BBC says: “This show is a fantastic watch, light and fun even as it asks people to do something very difficult – put their egos aside. And the casual viewer will find themselves playing along at home, agreeing with the group’s picks or screaming at them to change the order.”
Strong Watch co-founders Thom Gulseven and Ben Powell-Jones added: “Ranked takes the simplicity of digital ‘blind-ranking’ trends and adds gameshow entertainment. It was great fun working with the BBC on getting that mix right, and even more fun watching the World’s Strongest Woman go head-to-head with a boxer and darts player.”
Ranked launched on BBC iPlayer on Friday 12 July, and episodes are released weekly on BBC YouTube, with the first two dropping on YouTube on 12 July.
