Channel 4’s big money afternoon quiz show, Moneybags is back for a second series this August in its brand new timeslot of 5pm. The hit gameshow will launch with a week of celebrity specials featuring famous faces from the worlds of television, music, comedy and sport.
Host Craig Charles returns to welcome a raft of new contestants all in with a chance of winning a life-changing cash prize, with a cool £1 million quite literally up for grabs each week, including one single bag worth £100k.
Celebrities hoping to grab a fortune for charity are actress Catherine Tyldesley, Olympic athlete Greg Rutherford, Steps star Claire Richards, comedian and actress Nina Wadia, Celebs Go Dating’s Tom Read Wilson, impressionist actress Kate Robbins, comedian Dane Baptiste, Atomic Kitten singer Natasha Hamilton, original punk wild child Toyah Willcox and fitness legend, Mr Motivator.
Moneybags is a high-stakes quiz that tests contestants’ ability to think quickly as they answer each question by grabbing the moneybag with the correct answer as it passes along a conveyor belt in front of them. Those who grab the right answer earn that bag’s value, which can be anything from £1,000 to £100,000. But should the wrong bag be picked up, contestants risk losing everything. There’s an enormous £1 million passing down the conveyor belt each week, and it’s up to the contestants to try to grab as much as possible.
With questions ranging from ‘correct facts about toilets’ to ‘things that are taller than Tom Cruise’ and ‘things that weigh more than a miniature dachshund’, the series promises fun and entertainment in addition to the big money wins and gut-wrenching losses.
In each show, players are hoping that they’ll be randomly selected to take their place in front of the money belt for one of the three head-to-head battles. Whoever banks the most cash in each round will compete in the ‘triple-header’, a tense three-way battle in which whoever grabs – or steals – the most cash will play to win it all in the Moneybags final. There’s mega money at stake, but who will grab it? And more importantly, will they hold onto it?
Craig Charles Interview
Welcome back! How does it feel to be back for a second series?
I’ve been very lucky in so much as the shows I’ve done have had have quite a bit of longevity. You kind of know when you’re doing something if it’s got legs or not. When we were making this, we thought it’s a really great game, it’s really fun, it’s dynamic, it’s edge of your seat stuff as well, it’s great television. I certainly felt that we were making a great show but then to get the validation of people really liking it, it getting great reviews, getting nominated for a BAFTA, it makes you feel as though you know what you’re doing and you’re not completely off the pulse!
It’s great to do more, it’s one of those shows that we’ll hopefully end up doing more than two series of. It’s not a traditional quiz, the questions are clever like ‘things are bigger than a Shetland Pony’. There are great questions, great risk and great excitement and I just think it’s a great afternoon quiz. It’s not as question and answer-y as other quizzes, you can have fun with it, you can take the mick out of people plus you can win big money. There’s no other game show on telly with £1million coming down the belt every week!
You have celebrities joining you this series. Tell us a bit about the celebrity specials…was there anyone who was particularly competitive/funny?
They were all quite competitive. Natasha Hamilton is really competitive, she hates losing. Claire from Steps, who we’ve established is only ever known as Claire from Steps, hates getting things wrong, she hates losing. They were all wanted to win big for their charity. I can’t say who lost big, but someone lost BIG and was in tears, inconsolably crying. You’re hundreds of thousands of pounds up and all of a sudden you’re bankrupt. I’ve been there myself; I did Who Wants To Be A Millionaire and I lost the £32,000 question and took home £1000. No one prepared me for how bad I would feel for weeks, I would wake up in the night saying ‘I can’t believe I got that wrong, I can’t believe I didn’t want to phone a friend.’ I can feel for all of them.
There were some fantastic personalities – Tom Read Wilson – he’s so charming, so funny, so nice. Greg Rutherford – a proper Olympian. He’s got the whole gambit, he’s got Commonwealth, European, Olympic and World gold medals so he’s obviously competitive. But he was so gracious and charming. They all were! Kate Robbins - hilarious, Dane Baptiste - really funny. They were such a nice bunch, they gelled so well, and it was a pleasure to host.
And you're in a brand new timeslot of 5pm....
We are! It definitely feels like we've gone up in the world. It's exciting actually as we're now up against The Chase and Pointless - which are institutions in themselves. But there's no big rivalry there, we're just doing our own thing. We're totally different. Although we've got a bigger jackpot than Pointless, that's for sure!
You are officially BAFTA nominated too! Why do you think it is that Moneybags has gone down so well with audiences?
Audiences want to be entertained, they want the jeopardy, the sense of risk, they want to feel all that when watching a game show. They want to see high stakes, Moneybags has got changes of fortune, excitement, humour, warmth, a sense of community and camaraderie. We’re together for quite a while, so we get to know the contestants throughout the week. You’re rooting for people; you get to hear personal stories as well. It just makes for great TV. But I would say that wouldn’t I?!
There are some big wins and gut-wrenching losses on Moneybags. How do you manage those situations in studio? It must be so tense…
I try and make them feel like: ‘It’s a game. You’ve come with nothing and if you go away with nothing, you’ve lost nothing, you’ve had a really great day. And if you go away with something, it’s a bonus. You’ve played a great game and great life experience and you haven’t taken away any money, but you’re not losing anything.’
How is your quizzing? Has it improved since becoming host?
Not really. Honestly, because I don’t know the answers, I’m playing along with them and I’m wrong more often than I’m right. My son, daughter and I did Britain’s Brightest Family for ITV and turns out we’re Britain’s Thickest Family! I was the weak link. I’m not great. I just don’t think I’m good under pressure, I much prefer asking the questions. That said, I’ve got a Pointless trophy, so I did well there!
Red Dwarf continues to be loved by fans old and new. I read more is to come…what can you tell us about that?
We brought the 90 minute feature out during lockdown and the plan was to do two more. But then Covid got in the way and since then, it’s trying to find a space in everybody’s schedule where we can do them. I’m extremely busy, Rob is mega busy with his company. We never want to do a ‘final episode’ because I think they’re awful. They never live up to the hype, they’re always disappointing. I think there’s still life in it, but if there isn’t and we don’t, then I’m happy with the way we’ve gone out. The ones we’ve done for Dave have been some of the best we’ve done. But if that’s the end of it, I’m happy but we’d all love to make more because we enjoy the process. It’s quite difficult and Moneybags is quite difficult to make as well. In fact, all the things I’ve made that have been difficult to make – long hours, hard work, lots of concentration - have been the best things. When you’ve had an easy shoot, often the reason it was easy was because it’s not very good!
Actor, radio DJ, comedian, TV presenter and quiz show host…is there anything else you’ve got your eye on next?
I’ve got these Scary Fairies poems I’ve written, which go back to the way I started. It’s children’s nursery rhymes through the eyes of a fairy. It’s all set in the dark woods; we’ve got music from the Philharmonic Orchestra. They’re 30 minute epic poems with a 95 piece epic orchestra. We’ve got all the music, all the words, we’re just trying to make them in to 30 minute long animated films. That’s what I’d really like to do next.
Nina Wadia
Who is your biggest competition?
They’re all my biggest competition! It’s such a random game. It’s not even so much about general knowledge, it’s just if the topic that comes up for you is something you’re familiar with. It’s not even like ‘I’ve got to get rid of him or her’, you just don’t know what the subject is going to be. Natasha is quite competitive because she said she is. And Toyah for sure! I don’t want to get a question wrong with Toyah. She stamps her feet! But it’s all done in the name of fun, which is lovely. The dark horse competitor for me would either be Dane or Tom.
How much fun was it to film the series?
It’s been an absolutely riot. I couldn’t have asked for a better nine other people to be in a room with. We’re all very similar in that we laugh a lot. It’s nice when you do something - even if it’s competitive - with people that you actually like.
Are you much of a quizzer?
I am not a quizzer. I do these game shows because I know at the end of the day, I can win money for charity so it’s another way to win a lot of money for a good cause.
What charity are you playing for?
I’m playing for JDRF UK, which stands for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Fund. My son got diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at the age of 10. He’s now 15 and they do believe there is a cure on the way, they just need the money to find it.
Dane Baptiste
Who is your biggest competition?
There’s not necessarily someone that stands out, everyone’s been quite competitive. Toyah has come out of her shell. Claire Richards is very competitive. But she’s very nice as well. She likes to have fun but also wants to win, which is the case for everyone.
How much fun was it to film the series?
Filming this series has been so fun. It’s been a really pleasant surprise. It’s been great working with all the celebs. I’ve been saying throughout the week that hopefully we can go on to work together again if not on Moneybags, then maybe some kind of heist for charity. I’m just putting it out there now that Celebrity Heist is my idea and if any other producers want to do a collab on that then let me know!
What charity are you playing for?
My charity is ACLT – the Afro Caribbean Leukaemia Trust. They are a charity which specialise in providing support for people affected by blood cancers and they are trying to raise awareness to increase the donor register of stem cell and bone marrow for the afro Caribbean community, which is woefully low. We’re trying to increase awareness and increase registration to save a lot more lives.
Are you much of a quizzer?
I’m a good quizzer. I’m very much in to trivia. The way the Moneybags game goes, it’s very different as the right or wrong answers can give a lot more severe consequence. I’ve done a few gameshows here and there and they’ve gone relatively well. My trivia is quite good, it’s about making sure I can apply it effectively when it counts.
