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Gary Lineker's anticipated gameshow finally has release date confirmed
The Box is coming soon!
ITV
- Katelyn Mensah
Published: Wednesday, 26 August 2026 at 4:00 pm
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Gary Lineker's highly anticipated game show, The Box, finally has its air date!
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The new series has been teased for quite some time now and follows a group of 10 famous faces who find themselves enclosed in yellow boxes and are transported to a mystery location, where they face challenges that range from "the physical and mental to the logical, often with no instruction".
At the end of each episode, the two worst-performing celebrities go head-to-head in The Duel, with the loser eliminated.
The series launches on ITV1 and ITVX across two nights, beginning on Saturday 5 September at 8:15pm and continuing on Sunday 6 September at 8pm.
The former Match of the Day presenter, who left the BBC after more than two decades earlier this year, fronts the series in his first major new venture since departing the corporation.
The line-up brings together names from entertainment, sport, music and politics. Leading the way are Dragons' Den entrepreneur Sara Davies, football pundit and former Liverpool captain Graeme Souness, comedian Ellie Taylor and former Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow.
John Bercow, Jenny Ryan, Shakira Khan, Graeme Souness, Ranvir Singh, Gary Lineker, Danny Aarons, Sara Davies, Joey Essex, Ellie Taylor and JB Gill. Twofour
They are joined by broadcaster Ranvir Singh, Love Island: The Debrief host Shakira Khan, pop star JB Gill, The Chase's Jenny Ryan, YouTuber Danny Aarons and TV personality Joey Essex.
Lineker will preside from the sidelines. In a first-look clip released by ITV, he tells the contestants: "You can forget World Cup penalty shootouts, this is way tenser!".
"From my experience, the most successful teams are built on a mix of strengths and abilities, and that's exactly what we've got with this line-up," Lineker said. "I'm excited to be on the sideline with a front row seat to see all the action unfold!".
ITV's director of entertainment, reality and daytime commissioning, Katie Rawcliffe, said: "We're delighted to welcome this impressive line-up of celebrities to The Box. They will each bring a unique perspective and approach to the varying challenges they will face, and observing how they react will make for incredibly entertaining viewing for our audiences".
The format originated in Norway, where it launched in January, and the UK version is produced by Twofour, part of ITV Studios.
The Box is on ITV1 at 8:15pm on Saturday 5 September and 8pm on Sunday 6 September.
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Authors
Katelyn MensahSenior Entertainment Writer
Katelyn Mensah is the Senior Entertainment Writer for Radio Times, covering all major entertainment programmes, reality TV shows and the latest hard-hitting documentaries. She previously worked at The Tab, with a focus on reality TV and showbiz news and has obtained a BA (Hons) in Journalism.
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