Wisdom Of The Crowd | Preview (BBC One)

John Bishop hosts the new quiz show from the makers of The 1% Club inspired by a remarkable scientific discovery. Over 100 years ago, scientist Francis Galton visited a farmers' fair where a competition was being held to guess the weight of an ox. Over 800 people entered, and the person with the best guess won the ox.

Galton looked at all the guesses and what he saw blew his mind: the average guess of everyone put together was so accurate that it was even better than the best individual guess. He called his discovery the wisdom of the crowd, and the theory transformed the worlds of politics, economics and philosophy. But now this science is about to be put to its most important use yet - in a big-money game show.

In each show, individual contestants take on the might of the audience. Who will win up to £30,000? The science says the audience should win and share the money between them. But will any of our contestants manage to take all the money for themselves by beating the wisdom of the crowd?

Each contestant gets three chances to beat the the crowd. The whole studio is asked a question, and if the contestant’s guess is better than the average guess of the crowd, then they win £10,000.

If the crowd wins, then the contestant gets another chance. If the contestant doesn’t manage to beat the crowd on their third attempt, they’re out of the game and leave with nothing. The £10,000 is then put in the crowd fund, and at the end of the show, anything left will be shared equally by the crowd.

And that gives our contestants a dilemma: before they’re knocked out, they can give in, forfeit the £10,000 and take a seat in the crowd in the hope of taking a smaller share of the winnings at the end of the show. So, who will have the courage to go it alone even though the odds are stacked against them?

John Bishop says: "I'm delighted to be back on the BBC on Saturday nights to host Wisdom of the Crowd. This big new entertainment format gives an interesting take on group dynamics - not only testing what the individual contestants know, but also testing what the crowd knows (or what they think they know!) I can’t wait for audiences to see it."

Kalpna Patel-Knight, Head of Entertainment Commissioning for the BBC says: “We’re delighted that John Bishop is back on the BBC; his quick wit and natural charm make him the perfect host for this fascinating new entertainment quiz show. Wisdom of the Crowd is the perfect game for viewers to play along with at home, and if you like The 1% Club, then you’re in for a treat!”

The Wisdom Of The Crowd begins Saturday 19th September at 9:15pm on BBC One.