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Challenge Anneka is back, and at first, I thought: it has the same music, initially, but then tries to change it, and surely they should’ve stuck to the original? Or was it something amiss with the fact the preview I saw wasn’t finalised?
Well, no, they briefly began by playing the music from her Treasure Hunt programme, which she co-presented with the late, great, Kenneth Kendall!
However, all she knows at first, is that she’s been told to look for something “long and blue“… Okay, so that’ll be something you’re not quite expecting, but for Foal Farm, a dog rescue centre in Kent, she’s tasked with building of a new block of kennels, plus other areas, for its upcoming 60th anniversary. The organisation also helps ‘red dogs’, a term for those who have previously bitten a person.
We also see dogs who aren’t at all well, or injured in some way, such as a pug who uses rear wheels because he can’t put weight on his back legs. He also has arthritis in the front legs, so goes to a hydrotherapy pool once a week which costs £30 each time, which Foal Farm pay for.
Along the way, they take phone calls to raise funds, and the first call she makes has never heard of her! A pox on all their houses! That said, when she was interviewed on BBC Breakfast on Thursday, she said those moments did amuse her, so she asked for them to be kept in the final edit.
And despite having a camera crew following her – including original Dave the Sound Guy, she has a camera crew following the camera crew! Yes, a second set of cameras filming the first set!
Running for 90 minutes (including ads) instead of the original 60, there’s plenty to get stuck into here beyond anything I’ve mentioned, in a programme is all about blagging companies to do their work for free, and it’s all as familiar as you remember, but even though builders work fast – yet sometimes fall behind, will they achieve their goal in time? Well, you’ll have to watch it to find out.
Overall, Challenge Anneka 2023 is entertaining fare. This series is set for four episodes, so let’s see if we get a second series!
Thanks to Channel 5 for the screener in advance.
Challenge Anneka begins tonight on Channel 5 at 8.50pm, and airs weekly on Saturdays. It’s unlikely to be released on DVD or Blu-ray.
If you miss it, you can watch the each episode on My5 after transmission.
Check out the trailer below:
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.