Pictionary: Board game becomes new TV show fronted by Mel Giedroyc

Their mission is to draw images to match a word or phrase from a specific category and the teammates will have to guess correctly to score. Here’s a look at what’s in store.

Mel, how excited are you to be hosting?

I’ve long been a huge fan of the game and it’s something we’ve played forever in our family. I was so thrilled to be asked by ITV and Whisper North to do this gig.

Audiences will likely be familiar with the game itself but are you able to explain how the show will work?

It’s fiendishly simple. You’re given a word (in secret) and you have to draw it within a specific time, and your team members have to guess what it is that you’ve attempted to draw. Simple.

Pictionary is already a popular family drawing game that many play at home. How do you think the game will translate to TV?

To be honest that’s exactly what our show feels like – a game we’re playing at home. I hope that viewers will feel like they’re literally joining us in my cosy drawing room, with the greatest bunch of people playing.

Can you tell us a bit about what we can expect from the new series?

It’s very free flowing and there are a lot of laughs. We have a brilliant array of celebrity team captains playing along with our contestants. I think it’s safe to say that everybody had a really good time. It’s impossible not to get totally involved in the game. And hilarious to see everybody getting genuinely invested and competitive.

How would you describe it in three words?

Most fun ever!

The new series of Pictionary will also feature celebrity captains, do you have any fun stories from filming that you can share with us?

Each captain brought such energy and fun. They got hilariously competitive. Laurence Llewellyn-Bowen can draw and conduct at the same time; Scarlett Moffatt is a stealth drawer; Jeff Brazier is a great captain and should probably manage the England football team.

Hayley Tamaddon did everything on tiptoes; Eddie Kadi and Jeanette Kwakye were an absolute hoot and of course, being an Olympic sportswoman, Jeanette brought her A game to the Pictionary Podium. She was explosive.

If you were to play Pictionary yourself, who would you want on your team?

I was going to say Picasso but he’d be too abstract maybe. I’d like Alex Horne and Sue Perkins, I think. They would bring their lateral brains and excellent drawing skills to the fore.

How good are you at drawing?

Beyond terrible. But I’m an enthusiastic guesser and get ridiculously competitive, so I think that would carry me through.

If you had to draw one thing to describe Pictionary, what would you draw?

I’d draw a (terrible) stick person with a pen in their hand, then a plus sign, then a little team of people cheering them on. What am I saying? I’d never manage that in thirty seconds. I’d jump up and down a lot, draw a big pencil and point to it with increasing fervour and excitement.

Why do you think families will love this show?

I think it will feel familiar and fun. Just like playing the game in your own home. I imagine there will be a lot of howling at the TV screen along the lines of “WHAAAAAAAAT? THAT DOESN’T LOOK LIKE ANYTHING LIKE A TOMATO!” The atmosphere in the studio was very relaxed and verged on the hysterical at times. I hope that viewers will find it a totally fun and easy watch.

- Pictionary for ITV1 and ITVX has two Christmas specials, followed by a series in January.