Big Break is coming back to Two and iPlayer, with Paddy McGuinness and seven-time world snooker champion Stephen Hendry fronting a revived version of the snooker game show. Daytime announced the return on Tuesday, saying production on the 20 x 30 minutes series will begin shortly.
The new run is being reimagined for today’s audience and will sit alongside Sport’s snooker coverage, putting the format back in front of viewers who already turned in huge numbers for the game. The said the recent World Championships drew 120 million viewing hours, a figure that helps explain why the broadcaster is bringing back one of its best-known entertainment tie-ins.
For McGuinness, the booking is as much nostalgia as it is a fresh assignment. He said he was delighted to be part of a show “everyone knows and loves,” adding that hosting it with Hendry would be something special. Hendry, who won seven world titles, said Big Break blended trick shots and entertainment in a way that made it stand out, and said he could not wait to return to the table and help introduce it to a new audience.
The series will be produced by Naked in coproduction with Vibrant Television, and the said professional snooker players from across the globe will appear in the studio. Those players will come straight from the competition circuit to help contestants chase the cash prize, with Hendry also set to show off new trick shots in a format built around speed and showmanship. The show will mix fast-paced snooker frames with a relaxed, comedic atmosphere, and home viewers will see the action from every angle, with camera work designed to put them on the table, behind the ball and into frame.
That revamp matters because the is not treating Big Break as a simple rerun. It is being commissioned for the broadcaster as a new series, with three contestants and their pros battling through three rounds of trick shots to reach the finale. Rob Unsworth said fans and players had been calling for its return and said the recent World Championships created the right moment to pair live snooker coverage with a family show built around the sport. Alex McLeod said it felt like the perfect time to bring back the format, while Tom O’Brien said the show had been off air for much too long. Mobashir Dar called it an iconic show from childhood, a reminder that for some viewers this is not just another commission but a piece of television history getting a second life.
Production is due to start shortly, and the shape of the series is now clear: 20 episodes, 30 minutes each, with the old trick-shot spark kept intact and a new presentation built to match how viewers watch now. The question is not whether Big Break still has a place. The has answered that already. It is betting that the answer is yes, and doing it on one of the biggest snooker stages it has.
