Dog Eat Dog goes Stateside

Jason Deans
guardian.co.uk, Thursday May 10 2001 11.17 BST

Ulrika Jonsson

America's love affair with British quiz shows continues with Ulrika Jonsson's Dog Eat Dog being snapped up by NBC.

The US network has ordered 13 episodes of the show, which goes out early on Saturday evening on BBC1.

The BBC will co-produce the US version of Dog Eat Dog in Los Angeles, but it is not known yet if Jonsson will follow Weakest Link host Anne Robinson across the Atlantic to present the show in the US.

"NBC's commitment to the show is fantastic and they are confident they have another successful show on their hands," said Rupert Gavin, chief executive of the BBC's commercial arm, Worldwide, which negotiated the deal.

American TV's obsession with British quiz shows began with the export of Who Wants to be a Millionaire? three years ago.

Another programme, the reality TV show Survivor, which is about to start in the UK, was also a big hit in the US. It was devised by Charlie Parsons, one of the founders of UK TV company Planet 24.

Dog Eat Dog pits six contestants against one another in five rounds of studio-based stunts.

The US version will go out in either a network or syndicated primetime evening slot.

However, Dog Eat Dog has not been a huge ratings success in the UK. It has averaged 5.2m viewers over the past four Saturdays, losing out to ITV opposition Blind Date, according to unofficial overnights.