Red or Black returing for 2 series as Roulette Wheel scrapped

Red or Black? will reportedly not be aired live when it returns for a second series.

The chance-based game show was renewed for a second outing earlier this year by ITV1, despite underwhelming ratings and controversial contestants.

Simon Cowell’s creation will now air pre-recorded episodes each week rather than the nightly live shows of its first series, according to The Sun.

The move is said to allow producers to fully investigate the winners, after Nathan Hageman was later discovered to have served a prison sentence for GBH, and two other contestants were also axed.

Ant & Dec will start filming the new series next week at the Hertfordshire studios recently used by The Voice UK.

Arsenal striker Robin Van Persie and England cricketers Kevin Pietersen and Mark Ramprakash will be among the sports stars that will appear.

Meanwhile, the giant roulette wheel has been axed after the Gambling Commission declared that it glamourised gambling.

A new game, dubbed ‘The Vortex’, will replace the wheel, which sees contestants predicting how long a ball will drop down a ‘mini velodrome’.

A source said: “We had planned a game where people have to get the ball into a red or black hole. It would have been like a pinball board, where how hard you send the ball running and when you flick the ball determines where you end up.”

However, the insider added that the producers opted for ‘The Vortex’: “It will still be as tense as the roulette wheel – it could even be more exciting as the ball will hang around for longer.”

Winners will receive £500,000 each show, with a possible roll-over reaching £3.5 million.

Red or Black? will return on Saturday nights before The X Factor in the autumn.