The Box (2026 game show)
British TV game show
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The Box is an upcoming British game show that will air on ITV in 2026. It will be presented by Gary Lineker.
| The Box | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Game show |
| Created by | Aleksander Herresthal |
| Presented by | Gary Lineker |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 1 |
| Production | |
| Production company | Twofour |
| Original release | |
| Network | ITV |
Background
The Box was created by Aleksander Herresthal of Norwegian company Seefood TV, and was first presented at the MIPCOM trade show in Cannes in October 2024.[1] It was first broadcast on 9 January 2025 on Norway's TV 2 Direkte.[1] Unusually for a game show, the concept was sold to other countries before its initial broadcast; Herresthal said that it had been sold to five countries and negotiations existed in 20 others by that point.[1] In February 2025, ITV acquired the British rights and sought out a production company.[2] The tender was won by Twofour in April 2025.[3]
In August 2025, it was announced that The Box in the UK would be presented by Gary Lineker in his first role since leaving the BBC's Match of the Day in May 2025.[4] In September 2025, the ten contestants were announced: Joey Essex, John Bercow, Jenny Ryan, JB Gill, Danny Aarons, Ranvir Singh, Sara Davies, Graeme Souness, Ellie Taylor and Shakira Khan.[5]
The show was filmed in the UK in late 2025 and is expected to be broadcast the following year.[6] It was scheduled for April to June 2026, alongside Britain's Got Talent and prior to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, but this slot was instead taken by Celebrity Sabotage, and The Box was delayed.[7]
Format
Celebrities are packed in yellow boxes and sent to different locations, where they face physical and mental challenges. The two who do the worst play off against each other in a duel at the end of the episode, with the loser being eliminated.[8]