The Sunday Night Project
The Sunday Night Project is a former British comedy-variety show by Princess Productions that first aired on Channel 4 in February 2005 under the title The Friday Night Project. Originally broadcast on Friday nights, the show moved to Sunday nights for its seventh series in 2008.
Each week, the regular hosts Justin Lee Collins and Alan Carr are joined by a celebrity guest host. These guests provide an opening monologue, are interviewed by Alan and Justin and take questions from the studio audience. They also take part in comedy sketches, hidden camera stunts and a game show where someone from the audience is selected to win prizes.
When the show was called The Friday Night Project, it was not live; it was recorded at The London Studios on the night before it was broadcast on Channel 4. When the show became The Sunday Night Project, the show retained its Thursday night taping schedule.
Episode List
Series 1
The Friday Night Project was originally presented by comics Jimmy Carr, Rob Rouse, Sharon Horgan and roving reporter Lucy Montgomery with sporadic appearances from Abi Titmuss. The first series began on 4 February 2005 and ran for 8 weeks.The guest hosts for the series were:
| Episode number | Air date | Guest host | Musical guest | Celebrity guest stars |
| Pilot | Filmed in 2004 | Gordon Ramsay | Razorlight | |
| 1 | 4 February 2005 | Vinnie Jones | Fightstar | Bez and Jeff Brazier |
| 2 | 11 February 2005 | Neil Morrissey | The Futureheads | Richard Blackwood and Maureen Rees |
| 3 | 18 February 2005 | Kelly Osbourne | The Bravery | Christine Hamilton and Jean-Christophe Novelli |
| 4 | 25 February 2005 | Jordan | Kaiser Chiefs | Romeo and Keith Harris |
| 5 | 4 March 2005 | Brigitte Nielsen | Moby | John McCririck and Pat Sharp |
| 6 | 11 March 2005 | Eamonn Holmes | The Others | Charles Ingram and Dick and Dom |
| 7 | 18 March 2005 | Boy George | Kinky Rowland & Boy George | Eddie 'the Eagle' Edwards and Bella Emberg |
| 8 | 25 March 2005 | Sadie Frost | The Thrills | Abi Titmuss and Paul Rawson |
Series 2
The show returned on 6 January 2006 for 8 weeks with new hosts comedians Justin Lee Collins and Alan Carr, with Debra Stephenson replacing Lucy Montgomery for the Celebrity Spotting segment. The episode featuring Billie Piper was awarded the 2006 Golden Rose of Montreux for best variety show.The guest hosts for the series were:
| Episode Number | Air Date | Guest Host | Musical Guest | Who knows the most about the guest host? panelists |
| 1 | 6 January 2006 | Billie Piper | Texas | Jade Goody and Kenzie |
| 2 | 13 January 2006 | Lorraine Kelly | Editors | Myleene Klass and Phil Tufnell |
| 3 | 20 January 2006 | Christian Slater | The Kooks | Lady Isabella Hervey and Fearne Cotton |
| 4 | 27 January 2006 | Denise van Outen | Boy Kill Boy | Bez and Nadia Almada |
| 5 | 3 February 2006 | Michael Barrymore | The Ordinary Boys | Nancy Sorrell and Samia Smith |
| 6 | 10 February 2006 | Jamie Oliver | Kubb | Tara Palmer-Tomkinson and Chantelle Houghton |
| 7 | 17 February 2006 | Jessie Wallace | Hard-Fi | Caprice Bourret and Hilda Braid |
| 8 | 24 February 2006 | Trisha Goddard | The Automatic | Faria Alam and Pete Burns |
Series 3
The third series of the show ran from 16 June 2006 for 11 weeks, and one special, whilst Big Brother was shown during summer 2006. Justin Lee Collins and Alan Carr returned as hosts and the format is exactly the same as the second series. Paul O'Grady was due to host but had to pull out due to a heart attack one week before his episode was to start filming. Cilla Black was also due to host an episode, but had to pull out.The guest hosts for the series were:
| Episode Number | Air Date | Guest Host | Musical Guest | Who knows the most about the guest host? panelists |
| 1 | 16 June 2006 | Jerry Springer | Orson | Zöe Lucker and Sam Brodie |
| 2 | 23 June 2006 | Patsy Kensit | Placebo | Jeremy Edwards and Grace Adams-Short |
| 3 | 30 June 2006 | Rob Lowe | The Zutons | Jennifer Ellison and Kirsty Gallacher |
| 4 | 7 July 2006 | Mischa Barton | Dirty Pretty Things | Camille Coduri and Harry Judd |
| 5 | 14 July 2006 | Ian Wright | Feeder | Sally Lindsay and Lea Walker |
| 6 | 21 July 2006 | Jade Goody | Razorlight | Dominic Wood and Nikki Grahame |
| 7 | 28 July 2006 | Justin Hawkins | Kasabian | Holly Willoughby and Jayne Kitt |
| 8 | 4 August 2006 | Rupert Everett | Primal Scream | Jennie McAlpine and Sarah Beeny |
| 9 | 11 August 2006 | Carol Vorderman | The Automatic | Gary Lucy and Susie Verrico |
| 10 | 18 August 2006 | Ross Kemp | The Feeling | Matt Willis and Chantelle Houghton |
| 11 | 25 August 2006 | Cheryl Cole, Kimberley Walsh and Sarah Harding | The Fratellis | Aisleyne Horgan-Wallace and Glyn Wise |
Series 4
The fourth series of The Friday Night Project started on Channel 4 on 5 January 2007 and ran for 7 weeks, with hosts Justin Lee Collins and Alan Carr returning. The format was almost identical to the previous series, with the exception of 'Celebrity Spotting with Debra Stephenson', which was not featured. A new feature was that the coat of cash is sometimes worn by a celebrity guest, rather than Justin, Alan, the guest host or a panelist.The guest hosts for the series were:
| Episode Number | Air Date | Guest Host | Musical Guest | Who knows the most about the guest host? panelists | Coat Of Cash Wearing Celebrity |
| 1 | 5 January 2007 | David Tennant | Amy Winehouse | Amy Winehouse and George Galloway | Lauren Harries |
| 2 | 12 January 2007 | Tamzin Outhwaite | Just Jack | Kate Thornton and Tito Jackson | Bradley McIntosh |
| 3 | 19 January 2007 | James Nesbitt | Mika | Leo Sayer and Kirstie Allsopp | Shahbaz Chauhdry |
| 4 | 26 January 2007 | Noel Edmonds | Fall Out Boy | Kelly Osbourne and Jason Donovan | Jason Donovan |
| 5 | 2 February 2007 | Jamie Oliver | Klaxons | Jermaine Jackson and Nora Sands | Ian "H" Watkins |
| 6 | 9 February 2007 | Steven Seagal | Ghosts | Gemma Atkinson and Jamelia | Steven Seagal |
| 7 | 16 February 2007 | Ashley Jensen | The Gossip | Duncan James and Kim Woodburn | Alan Carr |
Series 5
The fifth series began on 1 June 2007 and ran for 14 weeks, double that of the previous series. This was because the third series of The Charlotte Church Show was delayed, due to Church's pregnancy. In Series 5, 'The Friday Night News' was re-vamped and 'The Big Fun Gameshow' replaced 'Famous Five'. There were also questions on VT in the 'Ask Me Anything' segment from celebrity friends of the Guest Host. Comedian Ronnie Corbett and Actress Daryl Hannah were slated to host an episode, but both pulled out.The guest hosts for the series were:
| Episode Number | Air Date | Guest Host | Musical Guest | "Who knows the most about the guest host?" Panelists | "Coat of Cash" Wearing Celebrity |
| 1 | 1 June 2007 | David Walliams | Mutya Buena | Anthony Head and Kathleen Williams | Pete Bennett |
| 2 | 8 June 2007 | Chris Moyles | The Twang | Jo Whiley and Edith Bowman | Aled Haydn Jones |
| 3 | 15 June 2007 | Sharon Osbourne | Calvin Harris | Louis Walsh and Ozzy Osbourne | Ben James-Ellis |
| 4 | 22 June 2007 | Melanie C | The Enemy | Richard E Grant and Katie Hopkins | Shabnam Paryani |
| 5 | 29 June 2007 | Lily Allen | Mark Ronson and Lily Allen | Alex James and Myleene Klass | Seány O'Kane |
| 6 | 6 July 2007 | Paula Abdul | Avril Lavigne | Jason Gardiner and Arlene Phillips | Billi Bhatti |
| 7 | 13 July 2007 | Beth Ditto | Kate Nash | Wendi Peters and Thaila Zucchi | Laura Williams |
| 8 | 20 July 2007 | Rupert Everett | Manic Street Preachers | Les Dennis and Kate Ritchie | Les Dennis |
| 9 | 27 July 2007 | John Barrowman | The Coral | Andi Peters and Zoe Tyler | Nicky Maxwell |
| 10 | 3 August 2007 | Joanna Lumley | Amy Macdonald | Nigel Havers and Charley Uchea | Charley Uchea |
| 11 | 10 August 2007 | David Gest | Hard-Fi | Tito Jackson and Matt Willis | Shanessa Reilly |
| 12 | 17 August 2007 | Kanye West | Kanye West | Tim Westwood and Jamelia | Amy Alexandra |
| 13 | 24 August 2007 | Kim Cattrall | Rihanna | Shaggy and Gok Wan | Gerry Stergiopoulos |
| 14 | 31 August 2007 | Cilla Black | Reverend and the Makers | Jenni Falconer and Bruno Tonioli | Kara-Louise Horne and Tracey Barnard |
Series 6
Series 6 of The Friday Night Project began on 21 March 2008 and ran for six weeks.The guest hosts for the series were:
| Episode Number | Air Date | Guest Host | Musical Guest | "Who knows the most about the guest host?" Panelists | Coat Of Cash Wearing Celebrity |
| 1 | 21 March 2008 | Elle Macpherson | Estelle | Jason Donovan and Alesha Dixon | Rhino |
| 2 | 28 March 2008 | David Tennant | The Wombats | Suzanne Shaw and Freema Agyeman | Nicholas de Lacy-Brown |
| 3 | 4 April 2008 | Mariah Carey | Mariah Carey | Matt Di Angelo and Antony Cotton | Matt Di Angelo |
| 4 | 11 April 2008 | Elijah Wood | Heloise and the Savoir Faire | Reggie Yates and Kelly Osbourne | Ian Stringer |
| 5 | 18 April 2008 | Geri Halliwell | Sam Sparro | Joe Dempsie and Shaggy | Caroline Pearce |
| 6 | 25 April 2008 | Gok Wan | One Night Only | Joanna Page and Konnie Huq | Lindi Mngaza |
The show then took a 1½ month break and returned on 8 June 2008 to film a 7-part series. The show moved to Sundays and became known as The Sunday Night Project. Naomi Campbell was originally slated to host an episode this series but had to pull out.
Series 7
The guest hosts for the series were:| Episode Number | Air Date | Guest Host | Musical Guest | "Who knows the most about the guest host?" Panelists | Coat of Cash Wearing Celebrity |
| 1 | 8 June 2008 | Katie Price and Peter Andre | The Courteeners | Cerys Matthews and Michelle Dewberry | Andy Abraham |
| 2 | 15 June 2008 | Pamela Anderson | Five O'Clock Heroes feat. Agyness Deyn | Paul Daniels and Danny Dyer | Ricky Whittle |
| 3 | 22 June 2008 | Mark Ronson | N.E.R.D. | Pharrell Williams and Miquita Oliver | Stephanie McMichael |
| 4 | 29 June 2008 | Ronan Keating, Stephen Gately, and Shane Lynch | Estelle | Lulu and Estelle | |
| 5 | 6 July 2008 | David Hasselhoff | The Feeling | Scott Mills and Sally Lindsay | Sylvia Barrie |
| 6 | 13 July 2008 | Barbara Windsor | The Ting Tings | Patsy Palmer and Anna Karen | Jennifer Clark |
| 7 | 20 July 2008 | Will Young | Scouting For Girls | Suranne Jones and Jane McDonald | Mario Marconi |
Series 8
Series 8 began on 14 December 2008. The series consisted of 8 episodes. This series saw the introduction of a segment called SNP Local News which, like the Sunday Night News, took a satirical look at the week's news headlines from the home town of that week's guest host. Also, The Big Fun Gameshow was axed for this series, with Who Knows The Most About The Guest Host and My Question Time moved to the final segment of the show. Razorlight were scheduled to be the musical guests for episode 4 but they pulled out at the last minute.The guest hosts for the series were:
| Episode Number | Air Date | Guest Host | Musical Guest | "Who knows the most about the guest host?" Panelists | Coat Of Cash Wearing Celebrity |
| 1 | 14 December 2008 | Tom Jones | none | David Van Day & Gethin Jones | Timmy Mallett |
| 2 | 21 December 2008 | Simon Pegg | Kaiser Chiefs | Katie Pegg and Gill Pegg | There was no coat of cash. Money was thrown by Alan Carr, Justin Lee Collins and Simon Pegg |
| 3 | 4 January 2009 | Kirstie Allsopp and Phil Spencer | Glasvegas | Dani Behr and Jack Whitehall | Rachel Rice |
| 4 | 11 January 2009 | James Corden | VV Brown | Rachel Stevens and Joe Swash | Steffan Rhodri |
| 5 | 18 January 2009 | Catherine Tate | Lady Gaga | Bernard Cribbins and Lacey Turner | Barri Griffiths |
| 6 | 25 January 2009 | Anne Robinson | Snow Patrol | Tina Malone and Michelle Heaton | Anthony Quinlan |
| 7 | 1 February 2009 | Martin Sheen | Daniel Merriweather | Catherine Tate and Mark Ronson | Terry Christian |
| 8 | 8 February 2009 | Lily Allen | Lily Allen | Coolio and Harry Enfield | Coolio |
Cancellation
Carr said on This Morning on 25 June that the show would at least return at the end of the year for Christmas specials. However, Carr later confirmed that the Christmas specials had been scrapped as well and he would not be returning to the show. A new DVD named The Sunday Late Night Project was released 16 November. It was stated by Justin Lee Collins and Alan Carr that they would not be returning for any new series and new hosts would take over. Beginning in March 2009, The Justin Lee Collins Show aired Thursday nights on ITV2. After Collins's solo series ended, began airing on Channel 4 in June 2009, during The Sunday Night Project's original timeslot.Specials
The Friday Night Christmas Project 2006 on 24 December 2006 showed highlights from both of the 2006 series. Two specials aired in December 2007. They took the format of normal shows each with their own different Guest Host. On 5 June 2008, a special Big Brother episode aired to coincide with the launch of the new series.| Episode Number | Air Date | Guest Host | Musical Guest/Song performed | Who knows the most about the guest host? panelists | Coat Of Cash Wearing Celebrity |
| The Friday Night Christmas Project 2006 | 24 December 2006 | Various | - | Various | - |
| The Friday Night Christmas Project 2007 | 21 December 2007 | Girls Aloud | Girls Aloud | Alex Zane and Christopher Biggins | There was no coat of cash. Money was thrown by Alan Carr, Justin Lee Collins, Alex Zane, Christopher Biggins and Girls Aloud |
| The Friday Night New Year Project 2007 | 28 December 2007 | Davina McCall | Stereophonics | Chris Moyles and Fearne Cotton | Brian Belo |
| The Big Brother Launch Night Project | 5 June 2008 | Aisleyne Horgan-Wallace, Nikki Grahame, Pete Bennett, Charley Uchea, Lea Walker, Chanelle Hayes, Ziggy Lichman, Brian Belo, Nadia Almada, Carole Vincent, Brian Dowling, Kinga Karolczak, Glyn Wise | Mystery Jets | George Lamb and Zezi Ifore | Anthony Hutton |
''Big Brother''
When the show returned in 2006 with Alan and Justin, the show was repackaged around Big Brother. The two series were scheduled at the same time as both Celebrity Big Brother and Big Brother. During the summer series, there would be several mentions of the show. The guest hosts would always mention in their monologue which housemate got evicted that night. During the Friday Night News, there would often be a taped segment where Justin, Alan and the guest host would dress up as the housemates, making fun of them. Finally, the previous week's evicted housemate would always show up during the "Who Knows the Most about the Guest Host" segment as a contestant or to wear "The Coat of Cash".Features
Opening monologue
The guest host of the show appears after being announced by Justin Lee Collins in the title sequence, after applause, the guest host makes jokes about the funnier side of the weeks news, things frequently mentioned are celebrity mishaps and Big Brother, while funny pictures are often shown as well. After a few jokes, the week's musical guest is introduced by the guest host. The musical guest is usually an up-and-coming band, though established bands have appeared on a few occasions. After the introduction of the musical guest, the guest host sits down and talks with Justin and Alan, often about themselves, before they talk about how they met up and did something together in the previous week.Bonding
A clip is displayed of Alan and Justin's visit to meet the guest host earlier in the week. Justin and Alan usually greet the celebrity, before they take part in an activity. The activities are very different each week, ranging from cruising in Hampstead Heath with Rupert Everett, to recording a song with Girls Aloud. At the end of the meet, Justin and Alan fantasize about something, usually related to the guest host.Dream Sequence Sketch
Justin, Alan and the guest host participate in a sketch of some sort, usually related to something that the guest host is famous for, sketches have ranged from Alan and Justin being TV detectives, Alan and Justin having their own television shows called the AC and the JLC and Alan and Justin running a hotel Fawlty Towers style. Alan often has a complaint about how the sketch has been carried out, while Justin often gets the leading role. After the sketch, the action returns to the studio, where the guest host calls a commercial break."The Friday/Sunday Night News"
After the break, Justin announces that they will be going over to Alan and the guest host for The Sunday Night News. Some news stories of the week are read out, which Alan comments on in a humorous way. After the news has been read, Alan makes a penis reference, which the guest host often takes the wrong way, before chastising the guest host for being dirty and bringing out his topical barometer. Alan identifies "what's hot and what's not", making comments on each item. In Series 3 Episode 11, Alan used Sarah Harding as the barometer. On some occasions, there is a spoof sketch of recent events, usually Big Brother. After this, the action returns to the sofa and into the next section."SNP Local News"
New for series 8, SNP Local News took a satirical look at the week's news from wherever the guest host was from."Who Knows The Most About The Guest Host?"
In this section, the guest host will host a quiz where all of the questions are about them. There are two teams, with Alan and a celebrity making up one team, and Justin and another celebrity making up the other. The celebrities are often Big Brother contestants, soap actors, 'it-celebrities' or someone who has a personal or professional link to the guest host. In the first round, questions are asked by the host and one of the players has to buzz in and answer correctly. The second round was different each week, and often saw the two teams competing against each other in a ludicrous activity, such as miming sex positions and doing Shrek Impressions. In later series, Round 2 involves the Word Association Round in which contestants must give a word that directly relates to the Guest Host. If an unrelated or repeated word is given or a contestant hesitates to answer, they are promptly given an electric shock via panels which they must place their hands on, connected by a control box held by the Guest Host. The last contestant standing wins the point for their team. The team with the most points wins the game. Previously, the winner of the quiz, either Justin or Alan, would run into the audience wearing "The Coat Of Cash", a coat covered in five pound notes. However, in recent series, a guest celebrity has worn the coat. Members of the audience are free to grab the celebrity to get the money, with the guest host often looking on, horrified. After this section, another break is called. From series 8, this segment becomes the climax of the show."Watch Out, (Guest Host)'s About"
After the break, the guest host talks to Justin and Alan on the sofa, before showing video footage of them playing a prank on an unsuspecting member of the public, similar to Beadle's About. These pranks have ranged from a man unveiling a bust of Ian Wright only to break it, and Mischa Barton asking a man to break into her car to get her dog out, only for the car's real owner to come along. Celebrity Spotting sometimes replaces this. A segment of Smile Like You Mean It by The Killers plays during the opening of this segment."My Question Time"
- When more than one host, it is called Our Question Time
- Previously called Ask me Anything
Since series 8, this has been extended by several minutes and is the last segment of the show, after which the guest host thanks Justin and Alan, any celebrity guests and the audience before introducing that night's musical guest.
Live musical performance
The week's musical guest performs a song, generally their latest single, towards the end of the song, Justin, Alan and the guests can be seen dancing, while the credits roll."The Abi Titmuss Mystery Sex Tape Test"
In series 1, every week model Abi Titmuss, who famously had a sex tape in 2004, would appear in a sex tape scenario, e.g. in a hotel room, with a mystery celebrity. Glimpses of the celebrity secret lover would appear, and viewers texted to guess his or her identity, from three name options, to win £1,000."Famous Five"
In this section, the guest host tried to win up to five prizes for a member of the audience, five different styles of questions were answered, with the first four often being things such as answering a question set by Stephen Hawking, guessing who Alan is imitating and naming a certain number of things in a time limit. The fifth question is then a take on a popular game or gameshow, with games like Dysfunctional Family Fortunes, The Jerryation Game, Bitchbusters, Sveniata, The Dartness and C**tdown, after this, everyone celebrates, or is downhearted, the celebrity then says thanks to the audience, Justin, Alan and all the guests, before introducing the musical guest and the song that they will be singing."Celebrity Spotting With ..."
In series 1, Lucy Montgomery toured the streets where the guest host grew up trying to find celebrity lookalikes. For series 2-3 she was replaced by Debra Stephenson who toured the streets of Manchester, again looking for celebrity lookalikes, sometimes Debra would ask questions or ask the person to do something as if they were the celebrity they looked like. This segment of the show has also been done by Chantelle Houghton and Nikki Grahame when Debra was unavailable.In the fifth series, Celebrity Spotting made a comeback, with Chris Moyles taking to the streets to find more lookalikes. This was in place of the usual "Watch out about". This segment returned briefly in Series 5 during the Chris Moyles, Beth Ditto and Rupert Everett episodes.