The BBC has seemingly confirmed reports canned laughter was used on the upcoming reboot of ‘The Generation Game’.
The corporation said the “overwhelming majority of the laughter” was used from the studio audience at the recordings of the show, which is being fronted by former ‘Great British Bake Off’ duo Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins.
The Sun had claimed canned laughter was inserted in the edit after the the hosts struggled to recapture the banter previous host, the late Bruce Forsyth, had.
The BBC responded to this by releasing a statement that - in so many words - admitted this was the case.
“The show was filmed in front of a live studio audience and the overwhelming majority of the laughter was from the recording,” they said.
Originally, the broadcaster had ordered four new episodes of ‘The Generation Game’ with Mel and Sue at the helm. However, they cut this number in half during filming, at a reported cost of £400,000.
The BBC later defended this in a statement, saying: “During the production process, it’s not unusual for a new series to change length as the format evolves, and we’ve got a brilliant show for audiences on BBC One this Spring.”
Former ‘Generation Game’ host Jim Davidson previously questioned Mel and Sue’s suitability for the series, telling The Sun: “They’re not right, they won’t know how to ad-lib. They’re not there to teach them how to bake a f***ing cake.”
Bruce Forsyth first hosted ‘The Generation Game’ from its inception in 1971 to 1977, at which point Larry Grayson took over.
He later resumed his role as host in 1990 staying on the show for four more years. Jim replaced him in 1995, and continued at the helm until 2001.
‘The Generation Game’ returns on Easter Sunday at 8pm on BBC One.