ITV1 hunts sponsor for Ant and Dec

Granada Enterprises is understood to be seeking a sponsor for a planned new ITV1 Saturday night prime-time entertainment show to be presented by Ant and Dec. There are plans for the show to give away as prizes products that have been advertised in the commercial break.

The show, which is understood to have a working title of “Now That’s What I Call Saturday” is scheduled to begin in May and is expected to be a ratings puller for ITV1.

It is understood that ITV1 has been in consultation with the Independent Television Commission to ensure that the show complies with the Programme Code.

The code specifies that “no undue prominence may be given in any programme to a commercial product or service”. It also states that game show “prizes should be described in an informational non-promotional manner” and “where editorially justified, there may be two mentions of one brand”.

An ITC spokeswoman says: ” It is up to the broadcaster to work out a way of making sure that the programme complies with the codes.”

Ant and Dec fronted ITV1’s Saturday night entertainment show Pop Idol and are also set to star in a remake of the Sixties sitcom The Likely Lads, which will also be shown on ITV1.