The Sunday Night Project is a 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 (from series 2 onwards) 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 broadcast on Channel 4. When the show became The Sunday Night Project, the Thursday-night taping schedule was retained.
Episode list Series 1
The Friday Night Project was originally presented by comics Jimmy Carr, Rob Rouse, Sharon Horgan and, as a 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 (song performed) Celebrity guest stars Pilot Filmed in 2004 Gordon Ramsay Razorlight 1 4 February 2005 Vinnie Jones Fightstar (Palahniuk's Laughter) Bez and Jeff Brazier 2 11 February 2005 Neil Morrissey The Futureheads (Hounds of Love) Richard Blackwood and Maureen Rees 3 18 February 2005 Kelly Osbourne The Bravery (An Honest Mistake) Christine Hamilton and Jean-Christophe Novelli 4 25 February 2005 Jordan Kaiser Chiefs (Oh My God) Romeo and Keith Harris 5 4 March 2005 Brigitte Nielsen Moby (Lift Me Up) John McCririck and Pat Sharp 6 11 March 2005 Eamonn Holmes The Others (William) Charles Ingram and Dick and Dom 7 18 March 2005 Boy George Kinky Rowland & Boy George (Here Come The Girls) Eddie 'the Eagle' Edwards and Bella Emberg 8 25 March 2005 Sadie Frost The Thrills (The Irish Keep Gate-Crashing) 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 (who worked together on late night show Flipside), 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 (Song performed) Who knows the most about the guest host? panelists 1 6 January 2006 Billie Piper Texas (Sleep) Jade Goody and Kenzie 2 13 January 2006 Lorraine Kelly Editors (Munich) Myleene Klass and Phil Tufnell 3 20 January 2006 Christian Slater The Kooks (You Don't Love Me) Lady Isabella Hervey and Fearne Cotton 4 27 January 2006 Denise van Outen Boy Kill Boy (Back Again) Bez and Nadia Almada 5 3 February 2006 Michael Barrymore The Ordinary Boys (Boys Will Be Boys) Nancy Sorrell and Samia Smith 6 10 February 2006 Jamie Oliver Kubb (Grow) Tara Palmer-Tomkinson and Chantelle Houghton 7 17 February 2006 Jessie Wallace Hard-Fi (Hard to Beat) Caprice Bourret and Hilda Braid 8 24 February 2006 Trisha Goddard The Automatic (Raoul) 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 (Song performed) Who knows the most about the guest host? panelists 1 16 June 2006 Jerry Springer Orson (Bright Idea) Zöe Lucker and Sam Brodie 2 23 June 2006 Patsy Kensit Placebo (Infra-Red) Jeremy Edwards and Grace Adams-Short 3 30 June 2006 Rob Lowe The Zutons (Valerie) Jennifer Ellison and Kirsty Gallacher 4 7 July 2006 Mischa Barton Dirty Pretty Things (Deadwood) Camille Coduri and Harry Judd 5 14 July 2006 Ian Wright Feeder (Just A Day) Sally Lindsay and Lea Walker 6 21 July 2006 Jade Goody Razorlight (In The Morning) Dominic Wood and Nikki Grahame 7 28 July 2006 Justin Hawkins Kasabian (Empire) Holly Willoughby and Jayne Kitt 8 4 August 2006 Rupert Everett Primal Scream (Dolls (Sweet Rock and Roll)) Jennie McAlpine and Sarah Beeny 9 11 August 2006 Carol Vorderman The Automatic (Recover) Gary Lucy and Susie Verrico 10 18 August 2006 Ross Kemp The Feeling (Never Be Lonely) Matt Willis and Chantelle Houghton 11 25 August 2006 Cheryl Cole, Kimberley Walsh and Sarah Harding The Fratellis (Chelsea Dagger) 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 (Song performed) Who knows the most about the guest host? panelists Coat Of Cash Wearing Celebrity 1 5 January 2007 David Tennant Amy Winehouse (You Know I'm No Good) Amy Winehouse and George Galloway Lauren Harries 2 12 January 2007 Tamzin Outhwaite Just Jack (Starz in Their Eyes) Kate Thornton and Tito Jackson Bradley McIntosh 3 19 January 2007 James Nesbitt Mika (Grace Kelly) Leo Sayer and Kirstie Allsopp Shahbaz Chauhdry 4 26 January 2007 Noel Edmonds Fall Out Boy (This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race) Kelly Osbourne and Jason Donovan Jason Donovan 5 2 February 2007 Jamie Oliver Klaxons (Golden Skans) Jermaine Jackson and Nora Sands Ian "H" Watkins 6 9 February 2007 Steven Seagal Ghosts (Stay The Night) Gemma Atkinson and Jamelia Steven Seagal 7 16 February 2007 Ashley Jensen The Gossip (Standing In The Way Of Control) 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 (Song performed) "Who knows the most about the guest host?" Panelists "Coat of Cash" Wearing Celebrity 1 1 June 2007 David Walliams Mutya Buena (Real Girl) Anthony Head and Kathleen Williams Pete Bennett 2 8 June 2007 Chris Moyles The Twang (Either Way) Jo Whiley and Edith Bowman Aled Haydn Jones 3 15 June 2007 Sharon Osbourne Calvin Harris (The Girls) Louis Walsh and Ozzy Osbourne Ben James-Ellis 4 22 June 2007 Melanie C The Enemy (Had Enough) Richard E Grant and Katie Hopkins Shabnam Paryani 5 29 June 2007 Lily Allen Mark Ronson and Lily Allen (Oh My God) Alex James and Myleene Klass Seány O'Kane 6 6 July 2007 Paula Abdul Avril Lavigne (Hot) Jason Gardiner and Arlene Phillips Billi Bhatti 7 13 July 2007 Beth Ditto Kate Nash (Foundations) Wendi Peters and Thaila Zucchi Laura Williams 8 20 July 2007 Rupert Everett Manic Street Preachers (Autumnsong) Les Dennis and Kate Ritchie Les Dennis 9 27 July 2007 John Barrowman The Coral (Who's Gonna Find Me) Andi Peters and Zoe Tyler Nicky Maxwell 10 3 August 2007 Joanna Lumley Amy Macdonald (Mr Rock & Roll) Nigel Havers and Charley Uchea Charley Uchea 11 10 August 2007 David Gest Hard-Fi (Suburban Knights) Tito Jackson and Matt Willis Shanessa Reilly 12 17 August 2007 Kanye West Kanye West (Stronger) Tim Westwood and Jamelia Amy Alexandra 13 24 August 2007 Kim Cattrall Rihanna (Shut Up and Drive) Shaggy and Gok Wan Gerry Stergiopoulos 14 31 August 2007 Cilla Black Reverend and the Makers (He Said He Loved Me) Jenni Falconer Marcus Harrison 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 (Song performed) "Who knows the most about the guest host?" Panelists Coat Of Cash Wearing Celebrity 1 21 March 2008 Elle Macpherson Estelle (American Boy) Jason Donovan and Alesha Dixon Rhino 2 28 March 2008 David Tennant The Wombats (Backfire at the Disco) Suzanne Shaw and Freema Agyeman Nicholas de Lacy-Brown 3 4 April 2008 Mariah Carey Mariah Carey (Touch My Body) Matt Di Angelo and Antony Cotton Matt Di Angelo 4 11 April 2008 Elijah Wood Heloise and the Savoir Faire (Illusions) Reggie Yates and Kelly Osbourne Ian Stringer 5 18 April 2008 Geri Halliwell Sam Sparro (Black and Gold) Joe Dempsie and Shaggy Caroline Pearce 6 25 April 2008 Gok Wan One Night Only (It's About Time) 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 (Song performed) "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 (No You Didn't, No You Don't) Cerys Matthews and Michelle Dewberry Andy Abraham 2 15 June 2008 Pamela Anderson Five O'Clock Heroes feat. Agyness Deyn (Who) Paul Daniels and Danny Dyer Ricky Whittle 3 22 June 2008 Mark Ronson N.E.R.D. (Everyone Nose) Pharrell Williams and Miquita Oliver Stephanie McMichael 4 29 June 2008 Ronan Keating, Stephen Gately, and Shane Lynch Estelle (No Substitute Love) Lulu and Estelle Carly Stratton 5 6 July 2008 David Hasselhoff The Feeling (Turn It Up) Scott Mills and Sally Lindsay Sylvia Barrie 6 13 July 2008 Barbara Windsor The Ting Tings (Shut Up and Let Me Go) Patsy Palmer and Anna Karen Jennifer Clark 7 20 July 2008 Will Young Scouting for Girls (It's Not About You) 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: