U&Dave is set to launch brand-new escape room comedy entertainment series The Way Out later this year. The Way Out is hosted by Mel Giedroyc and features Ed Gamble and Nish Kumar as team captains. Each captain selected their own team members for the series, with Ed Gamble enlisting Chloe Petts and Lou Sanders, and Nish Kumar selecting Amy Annette and David O’Doherty.
In each episode Mel Giedroyc will drop the two teams of comedians into a bespoke, themed escape room with one simple instruction: the winner is the first team to find ‘the way out’. What lies inside each room remains a complete mystery to the teams until the moment the race begins. Each room reveals a unique world of its own with multiple areas, features and mysteries to solve – “Gone Fishing”, “Fire Fighters”, “Shrink Machine” and “Art Heist.” At the end of the series, the win belongs to the team that conquers all four escape rooms with the fastest overall time.
Mel Giedroyc says, “Hosting The Way Out means I’ve got the best seat in the house! AND IT IS THE LITERAL DREAM TO HAVE A SITTING-DOWN JOB. I’m overseeing the madness as two hilarious teams of comedians race the clock, crack the puzzles, and outwit each other. My job? Keep the chaos flowing, dial up the tension, and drop the odd hint when they’re really stuck. It’s RUDDY unpredictable and I loved every second of it - and what a treat it is to be back on U&Dave!”
Ed Gamble says, “There is nothing I love more than escape rooms and my ride or die teammate has always been Chloe Petts. They are smart, incisive and competitive - an obvious recruit for my squad. Lou Sanders is there to beat the other team up if they get out of line.”
Nish Kumar says, “There’s no two people I’d rather be trapped in a room with than David and Amy, and we will be trapped because I’m very bad at escape rooms!”
The Way Out is based on an original Belgian concept created by Roses Are Blue for VTM and distributed by Be Entertainment. Local development of The Way Out was led by James Donkin at Curious Cat, the executive producer for Tuesday’s Child is Steph Harris and Will Brown is the Series Producer in co-production with Roses are Blue. The series was commissioned for UKTV by Mark Iddon, senior commissioning editor and Jason Dawson, commissioning executive, and ordered by Hilary Rosen, director of commissioning and Gerald Casey, director of programming, comedy and entertainment.
Mark Iddon says, “The Way Out reflects our ambition to deliver bold, distinctive comedy on U and U&Dave. What we loved straight away was how instantly gettable the idea is, and how much comedy it creates. You’re watching very smart people make terrible decisions under pressure, which is always a joy. It feels playful, a bit anarchic and genuinely competitive, and with Mel’s mix of warmth and mischief, she is the perfect person to hold it all together.”
Gerald Casey says, “Escape rooms have exploded in popularity because they tap into something universal - we all love solving puzzles and trying to outsmart the unexpected. So, throwing comedians into that pressure cooker felt like a no‑brainer. The chaos of escape rooms mixed with the quick wit of some of the funniest people in the UK is television our viewers will love.”
The Way Out will stream on U and air on U&Dave. U is UKTV’s free streaming service with over 9000 hours of content from UKTV’s free-to-air channels U&Dave, U&Drama, U&Yesterday and U&W, as well as programming exclusive to U. U&Dave is UKTV’s free-to-air entertainment channel that is home to Will & Ralf Should Know Better, Guy Martin: Proper Jobs and Clash of the Comics. U&Dave has just announced its first ever scripted drama commission, Hit Point, is coming to the channel later this year.
The Way Out will air later this year.
