The Floor (British game show)

The Floor is a British game show that premiered on ITV on 4 January 2026 based on the Dutch game show of the same name.^[1] Hosted by Rob Brydon, the series is an adaptation of the Dutch format created by John de Mol. Contestants challenge adjacent opponents in timed duels, aiming to take over their squares and expand their territory. Players must then choose whether to go on the offensive to try and gain more territory or let The Floor choose a new challenger. The game progresses as players choose opponents and categories, with the ultimate goal of controlling the entire floor to win the grand prize of £50,000.

The show was ordered in August 2025, becoming the 25th territory to adopt the format.^[2] The following month, Welsh comedian Rob Brydon was announced as the host.^[3]

In December 2025, The Voice UK was absent from ITV's January line-up, leading TV Zone UK to speculate if The Floor would inherit the Sunday night slot held by the cancelled Dancing on Ice.^[4] The Floor debuted on 4 January 2026.^[5]

On 22 February 2026, the show was renewed for a second series and applications began.^[6]

Contestants stand on separate square spaces of a large grid on the studio floor (a 9x9 grid). Each contestant has a category in which they feel particularly knowledgeable.

One contestant is chosen at random to be a challenger and shown the categories of all opponents whose territories share at least one side with their own, then chooses one of them to challenge face-to-face in a head-to-head duel. The specifics of the duel remain undisclosed until the challenger selects an opponent, with the format defaulting to visual unless specified otherwise by the host. The two contestants take turns identifying a series of images or words associated with the challenged opponent's category. They are each given separate 45-second clocks, only one of which runs at any given time, starting with the challenger. The contestant in control must give a correct answer in order to stop their clock and turn control over to their opponent. Infinite guesses are allowed without penalty, and a contestant may pass whenever desired; however, they must wait three seconds for a new image or text to be shown. Some categories are text-based, requiring contestants to perform tasks such as filling in the missing word(s) of a book title or song lyric, or naming the movie from which a famous quote is taken.^[7]

The first contestant to run out of time is eliminated from the game and gives up all of their territory to the winner, who inherits the challenger's category or keeps their own (if the challenger, since each category may only be played once).The winner may then either challenge another opponent or return to the grid; in the latter case, a new contestant is selected as a challenger at random from those who have not yet played a duel. Once all the remaining contestants have played a duel at least once, everyone becomes eligible for selection as a challenger. When only two contestants remain, The final duel is played as a best-of-three, with the first contestant to win two rounds declared the champion. Each remaining category is used for one of the first two rounds only. The contestant in control only selects which of the two known remaining categories will be played first (they will be the challenger in the first round, while the winner of the first round is the challenger in the second). If a third round is necessary, it will be played with a mystery category. The contestant who goes first will be the one with the most territory.

The game progresses over the course of a series with the grand prize awarded to the player who ultimately controls the entire floor. Secondary prizes are awarded throughout the series to the player with the most territory at the end of each episode after a certain number of duels. At the end of each episode, apart from the final episode, the contestant holding the most territory wins £5,000. In the event of a tie, the leaders share the money equally. The last contestant standing at the end of the final episode of the series takes over the entire floor and wins the grand prize of £50,000. The overall prize pot in the series is £95,000.

Contestants who achieve three consecutive duel victories (by electing to play on twice after a win) are awarded a five-second "Time Boost." This bonus can be added once to the contestant's clock at the start of any subsequent duel (including the best of 3 final duel). A contestant in possession of a Time Boost must elect to use it before a duel starts before beginning to earn another. If a duel is won with a Time Boost, it is counted as the first win towards another.

Original categories are listed first & shown in boldface. Inherited categories are listed after the original category without boldface. A hyphen indicates a more specific topic in the associated category. The specific topic is italicized. Parentheses indicate what a category refers to if a colloquial phrase; it also specifies the category's style of play if specified to be non-visual or text-based (audio, association, etc.). Brackets [] indicate the remaining words of a topic that have had their title shortened.

Week 1 (4 January 2026): Top 81 — (8 duels)

Week 2 (11 January 2026): Top 73 — (8 duels)

Week 3 (18 January 2026): Top 65 — (8 duels)

Week 4 (25 January 2026): Top 57 — (8 duels)

Week 5 (1 February 2026): Top 49 — (8 duels)

Week 6 (8 February 2026): Top 41 — (8 duels)

Week 7 (15 February 2026): Top 33 — (8 duels)

Week 8 (22 February 2026): Top 25 — (8 duels)

Week 9 (1 March 2026): Top 17 — (8 duels)

Week 10 (8 March 2026): Top 9 — (10 duels)

Winners of individual duels are shown in boldface shown as Challenger (randomized or choosing to play on)/Defender (chosen by challenger).

Time boosts earned in Italics. Time boosts used shown in Underline.

Rod Liddle of The Times considered that the specialist subjects were diverse and the eventual winner would have to have good general knowledge, but believed that too many subjects concerned television. Liddle predicted that the show would become popular.^[18]

• The Floor at IMDb