Want to work with Ant & Dec? Here's how...

What did Universal need to guarantee in order to host the show (other than the weather!)?

You are right – sunshine, but also an amazing once-in-a-lifetime prize for the winners and an incredible location and production budget for a spectacular live show, all of which needed to drive incredible audience participation for the show for the full season. The show relies on a real desire to win a ‘place on the plane’. In total we had more than 250 winners as in addition to the main show winners, we had other competitions running with sponsors and partners. In partnership with BAH, who chartered a plane for the winners, we provided a six-night stay at Universal’s Endless Summer Resort – Surfside Inn and Suites; 3 Park Explorer Tickets (providing unlimited access to Universal Studios Florida, Universal’s Islands of Adventure and Universal’s Volcano Bay – our water theme park); and transfers. We were also heavily involved in the production for the live show.  We’re lucky that we have our own Universal Studios Florida Production Group division. The incredible production arm is responsible for multiple broadcast opportunities that happen throughout the destination – this could be a movie, TV show, music video or advertisement – and this team makes movies literally come to life with Universal Orlando as the backdrop. We also have multiple sound stages on our backlot that can be used. To have this knowledge and understanding for what is needed from a production element is a huge plus for us.

Was there a wet weather plan?

We’re lucky, as we have a big plaza stage which is covered, and a choice of soundstages, which could be dressed and used if needed. However, our ambition was always to share with the audience at home, a spectacular show that came from the heart of the parks and it was a dream come true to build out a special stage across the lagoon, with a spectacular backdrop, amazing energy and to film in the most glorious sunshine. 

Was the show broadcast live or was there a time delay?

The show itself was very much broadcast live on Saturday 8 April, 2pm US time, 7pm UK. We pre-recorded some segments in the run-up to the finale show, in the days immediately prior to the show, such as Ant vs Dec, and they then played their live final challenge, American Pie Face, on air. 

Tell us what it’s like working with Ant and Dec

There is a reason Ant and Dec have had such an amazing broadcast career and it’s because they get on with each other so well, and are so involved in their shows – all elements – they really care about everything and have a high level of attention to detail. So they rehearse the show multiple times – and they tweak things in the moment. There was a shot near Hogwarts Castle where they’re meant to be in school uniform but Dec appeared in his stripy PJ’s. Just seeing them giggling about this in the blazing heat of the day couldn’t help put a smile on our faces. That’s why they are the best in the business. They are both naturally funny, and genuinely modest, regular guys, so another thing the audience wouldn’t see, was how thrilled they were when we managed to get them a screen to watch their beloved Newcastle United between shots during the January shoot.  They were so genuinely grateful. And seeing their reaction after riding The VelociCoaster a couple of times back-to-back was hilarious! As for Stephen Mulhern, you can just imagine the amount of funny footage we captured that didn’t make the cut!

How did you help shape the show?

It’s definitely a working partnership where both brands want to showcase the best possible prize and location for the finale show. When we worked together in 2018 the stage location was on our lagoon in CityWalk, our entertainment and dining complex. We both wanted to take this series to the next level and to actually take the show into one of the parks – that was a massive win for us – to really story tell what it sounds, feels and looks like to be in Islands of Adventure. Viewers could hear the screams from The Incredible Hulk Coaster, see Hogwarts in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter and spot The VelociCoaster and its iconic top-hat (peak of the ride) 150 foot in the air. I don’t think we could have done any better for the main stage. Then we worked with each Saturday Night Takeaway producer for each segment, so for Ant versus Dec, we collectively figured out what games they might want to play and where that could transition to in-park. For End of the Show Show, they wanted the marching band for something very iconic and American, and we had connections to the University of Central Florida band via our entertainment team, so we helped with introductions. 

How was the experience for a prize winner?

This season we had our first-ever exclusive winner’s event at Volcano Bay, hosted by Ant and Dec. We really wanted the winners to have their moment with the Geordie duo, in addition to being part of the live finale at Islands of Adventure, so we hosted a tropical themed evening at Volcano Bay that was exclusive to the show winners and allowed some additional interaction with Ant and Dec. This exclusive winner event and the timing for the live show was scheduled, but outside of that they were free to use their park tickets to visit as much as they would like and they also had a $2,000 gift card to spend across the resort – so some serious shopping happened. I mean, everyone needs an interactive Harry Potter wand to use in Diagon Alley, don’t they!

What’s been the impact of the programme for Universal Orlando?

For any project of this size, we have a number of metrics that measure success – including online search, and sales, which saw a huge spike throughout the season run and into the finale. But in addition to that, we will review PR and media value for the entire partnership, sales and booking data, social listening and sentiment towards us and our brand. Ultimately, all initial data is looking fantastic. It was a great campaign for us and everyone involved in selling Florida. You can’t beat prime-time exposure like that!