Release the Hounds
| Release the Hounds | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Release the Hounds: Famous and Freaked (2017—) |
| Genre | Survival horror, Reality game show |
| Presented by | Reggie Yates (2013–2017) Matt Edmondson (2017—) |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 18 (inc. pilot + 4 specials) |
| Production | |
| Location(s) |
Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire (2013–14) Lithuania, Eastern Europe (2015—) |
| Running time | 60 minutes (inc. adverts) |
| Production company(s) | Gogglebox Entertainment Primal Media |
| Release | |
| Original network | ITV2 |
| Picture format | 16:9 |
| Original release | 28 October 2013 – present |
Release the Hounds is a British television game show broadcast on ITV2 since October 2013. The show, hosted by Matt Edmondson, culminates in the participants being chased by dogs in the hope of winning a large cash prize.
Release the Hounds was first broadcast on ITV2 as a one-off Halloween episode on 28 October 2013 and repeated on 31 October. Having attracted 658,000 viewers a further six programmes were commissioned in January 2014, to be made by Gogglebox Entertainment.
The show purported to take place in a haunted country estate in the English hills, but was actually filmed at Bramley Ordnance Depot, also known as Bramley Central Ammunition Depot in north Hampshire. For the 2015 series (which began its broadcast on 30 September) the filming was transferred to Eastern Europe. The new filming site, in a square mile of Lithuanian forest, was created by Gogglebox Entertainment after similar programmes were commissioned for Sweden, Denmark, Russia, the Netherlands and Lithuania itself. A similar film set was planned for South America to film series for Peru and the United States. The German version was also filmed in the original set near London and premiered on 1 March 2014 on ProSieben.
The show begins with the disclaimer "The producers would like to thank the families of the participants. No dogs were harmed in the documentation of this event". Each contest occurs at night, as three contestants take part in gory and unpleasant challenges to find (or release) a key.
After each successful round, one of the contestants has to run a floodlit course pursued by snarling dogs. They are given a head start, which reduces in length the longer the contestants take to pass each task. The contestant carries a red backpack containing several thousand pounds, which they keep if they successfully reach the end of the course before the dogs catch them.
Contestants who fail to reach the end of the course before being caught by the dogs are attacked and appear to be torn apart.
Reggie Yates presented the show from 2013 until 2017. He was replaced by BBC Radio 1 DJ Matt Edmondson from series 4.
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