Oh dear, here I go again at ripping apart another one of Dan Baldwin's "original" ideas...
Take Off with Bradley and Holly was originally commissioned by the BBC as a one-off "feel good" Christmas special for 2019, and to be honest, it was okay - for what it was. Fast forward a month later, and the BBC commissions a full series to coincide with the Tokyo Olympics. It was pre-recorded the following month, and things looked to be promising... until the world faced impending doom, known as the COVID-19 Pandemic, which left the Olympics to be delayed until the following year, and this show left in the dust pile until it could be aired.
As we head into the following year in July 2021, the Olympics are taking place, and this show could finally air. Overall, was it worth the wait? No, it wasn't.
Take Off feels more like a poor man's version of Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway, that's if you decide that the game portions are more important than the comedy. Contestants play these games in relation to flying and all of that. Then in-between, you have unfunny comedy skits and segments which try too hard to make the show appeal to Gen Z, but that's to be expected with light entertainment nowadays.
Bradley Walsh and Holly Willoughby, as named in the show's title, are your presenters. They do work well together, as previously seen in fellow Hungry Bear show Play to the Whistle, but you don't see them on the BBC that often. Bradders has lately presented the Blankety Blank reboot, and Holly did co-present on another Hungry Bear show that the BBC commissioned (Freeze the Fear). As to be expected, there are some times when they feel completely wooden, or make jokes that try to be hip, which can be annoying at times.
The reason why I said that this series is similar to Saturday Night Takeaway is because Take Off has some filler segments that are sort of like what SNT has to offer. However, SNT is more variety-based with some game show elements, while the latter is more game show-based with some variety elements, so it's not a complete ripoff.
Overall, Take Off doesn't work out as a full series. It's very annoying, has too much filler, and tries too hard to be a "Family" series with it's use of Gen Z content. Maybe Hungry Bear Media wanted to use more of Bradders and Holly's pay checks and give them their own family show. Dan Baldwin had to find another way to pay off her own wife which is why you see Holly on a lot of Hungry Bear productions to begin with.
In the end, Take Off was basically taken off - forgotten about after its last episode aired and the BBC cancelled the series the following year. Of course, nothing of value was lost. As for what Bradders (and his son Barney Walsh) will be like in the upcoming Gladiators reboot, we'll just have to see.
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