EXCLUSIVE | Network 10 deliver new show SATURDAY SCHOOLIES as an add-on to I’M A CELEBRITY…GET ME OUT OF HERE!

TV Blackbox can report exclusively THE LOOP host Scott Tweedie has been flown to Africa to front a new sister program to the I’M A CELEBRITY universe – a Big Brother/Friday Night Games re-badge called SATURDAY SCHOOLIES.

Tweedie, a favourite of Network Executive Producer Stephen Tate, has been gifted an opportunity to front the Saturday night 7pm show billed as “an hour of fun and games for the whole family to love” guaranteed to be “fast, fun and unpredictable”. The presenter has appeared on a number of 10 programs under the control of Tate and billed as an all-rounder within the Network.

It is scheduled for 7pm Saturdays during the IAC season five run, starting 19 January 2019.

The show will include trials and challenges, along with rewards and punishments for the IAC participants, all designed to entertain and ensure the entire cast get more equal airtime.

SATURDAY SCHOOLIES is also being seen within the Network as a test case for the timeslot after news last year that Rove’s pilot SATURDAY NIGHT has been picked up for a limited series in 2019.

In 2018 Tweedie fronted an online-only series of sponsored content called EDGE OF THE JUNGLE, billed to provide “fans with a behind the scenes look at what happens before celebrities enter the jungle and what after they leave”.

There has been criticism levelled at IAC’s production team that the normal episodes edited out some of the ‘less interesting’ participants in favour of the more entertaining or controversial participants, leading those missing to be prematurely voted out of the jungle due to the audience not seeing them reveal their ‘true colours’ in the context of the show.

This role for Tweedie has brought new speculation he’s been given the opportunity to raise his profile ahead of him allegedly being cast as this year’s beau in THE BACHELOR AUSTRALIA.

Network 10 have been contacted for comment.