Ed Jordan to wheel and deal on M-Net game show

Radio personality and musician Ed Jordan is to be the host of M-Net's new game show, Deal or No Deal, which kicks off on the channel early next year, sponsored by Virgin Money. The show is currently produced in more than 50 countries across the world.

In this modernised version of 'Pick a Box', contestants can win up to one million rand in each episode - that's if they choose the right suitcases, presented by 26 gorgeous models, and if they manage to call the banker's bluff. The banker will offer them a sum of money that may or may not be higher than the sum of money hidden inside the suitcase they have picked.

The host plays a very important role in Deal or No Deal. He has to be witty and charming and at the same time put pressure on the contestants to make a decision that could have huge financial implications. He's also the one who has to convey the mysterious banker's messages to the contestants and keep the audience and contestants' family members under control.

Says Carl Fischer, M-Net's head of Original Productions, "Ed thinks well on his feet and is a great entertainer. We expect audiences, as well as contestants and models, to love him. His experiences as an entertainer on various platforms, including television, will come in handy for this brilliant television game show."

Jordan is currently part of radio station Kaya fm's breakfast team and has appeared in television shows such as Big City and Super Saturday. He's also a SAMA award-winning singer-songwriter who has supported Crowded House, Hootie and the Blowfish and Bryan Ferry on their South African tours and he has performed solo all over southern Africa and in Taiwan.

Enthuses Jordan: "I love being a South African and meeting South Africans and I'm looking forward to interacting with the contestants.

"In this show the relationship between the host and the contestant is so direct and personal, and the contestants are also allowed to bring in close family members and friends to help them make a decision, so there's great personal interaction as the tension builds. That's right up my alley! And of course working with 26 leggy models isn't a punishment either! "

Deal Or No Deal is produced for M-Net by Endemol South Africa and will fill one of M-Net's prime slots, Sundays between 6pm and 7pm. The first episode will air on Sunday, 4 February 2007.