Michael O’Sullivan of Tangerine is currently editing the show which was filmed at the Royal Irish Academy on Dublin's Dawson Street earlier this year. Dublin-based production company Sideline developed the ‘Mastermind’ television format for an Irish audience, with Billy McGrath of Sideline executive producing.
Former Fine Gael politician Nora Owen is hosting the Irish quiz show, which was originally developed by producer Bill Wright and Granada Studios in the UK.
Featuring young contestants, ‘Junior Mastermind’ is based on the well-known BBC One show ‘Mastermind,’ which first aired in 1972. ‘Junior Mastermind’ originally aired in the UK in 2004, with contestants aged 10-11.
The Irish format will follow the UK version for the most part, with five contestants given two minutes each to answer questions on a specialist subject. This round is followed by general knowledge questions, with the eventual winner the contestant with the most points. The show is famous for its large black chair and the catchphrase, ‘I’ve started so I’ll finish’.
A number of spin-off shows have been created in the UK, including a charity-based ‘Celebrity Mastermind’, which TV3 will air an Irish version of later this year, and ‘Sport Mastermind’, hosted by Des Lynam.
The show is licenced to TV3 in Ireland through BBC Worldwide. Sideline developed the concept for TV3, bringing the total of television formats produced by the company to air this year to three.
Sideline’s fourth series of Ireland’s ‘Take Me Out’, hosted by Ray Foley, will air on TV3 this autumn, followed by an Irish version of ‘Family Fortunes’, which is hosted by TV3 personality Alan Hughes.
As announced in TV3’s spring schedule at the beginning of this year, ‘Junior Mastermind’ is expected to air on Sunday nights upon post-production completion. Nora Owen was previously a regular on TV3 day-time show ‘Midday’.
