McFormat?

Sparks Network president Nicola Söderlund will tell you there's an invisible divide in Europe when it comes to tastes in formats. It already existed in early 2004 when Sparks - a network of 12 global indie prodcos that give each other first look at formats - launched in Sweden. Söderlund recalls a meeting at the time, during which the Italian creators of a game show called Azzardo (Hazard) excitedly showed it to the rest of Sparks' members for the first time. Azzardo uses 'ballerinas' (as Söderlund describes, 'pretty girls in bikinis that do short dance numbers and kiss the winner of prizes'), and he laughs recalling the reactions it prompted. 'You should have seen the faces when the Italians presented the show to the others in the group, because this [style] was not very common in other countries.'