For years, game show fans have speculated over the identity of the enigmatic Deal Or No Deal Banker – and now one of British TV’s greatest secrets has been brought to light.
In the original show, which aired in 2005, the Banker was only present in phone calls to the host, Noel Edmonds.
But unbeknownst to viewers, the mystery man had been gracing British TV screens long before Deal Or No Deal.
Pointless host Richard Osman has revealed that the man on the other end of the phone was none other than Coronation Street star Glenn Hugill.
Hugill is best known to fans for his role as police detective Alan McKenna in Coronation Street, a part he played from 1996 to 1997, appearing in 86 episodes of the soap.
In the show, Detective Alan McKenna was due to marry Fiona Middleton (Angela Griffin), but their nuptials are called off when he discovers her one-night stand with Jim McDonald (Charles Lawson).
In the original Deal Or No Deal show, which aired in 2005, the Banker was only present in phone calls to the host, Noel Edmonds (pictured)
But unbeknownst to viewers, the mystery man had been gracing British TV screens long before Deal Or No Deal. Pictured: Current host Stephen Mulhern
But since his character was last seen on the cobbles, Hugill has flipped the script, starring from the sidelines on Deal Or No Deal.
In addition to playing the role of the elusive Banker, he was reportedly also involved in the assembly of the show as an executive producer, which was disappointing to fans.
The original show ran from 2005 to 2016, before being rebooted in 2023, with Stephen Mulhern as the new host.
Hugill ran his own production company behind the scenes, Possessed, which he sold to ITV two years ago to join the team at Wheelhouse, Jimmy Kimmel’s media behemoth.
It had been previously insinuated that Noel Edmunds was friends with the Banker and, thereby, knew his identity.
Despite this revelation, the host of the reboot, Stephen Mulhern, maintains that he has no idea who the current show’s Banker is.
‘I don’t know who the Banker is,’ he said, ‘so I wouldn’t be able to recognise who it was- He could walk past me at any point.’
Mulhern notes that the voice on the other end of the phone is ‘male,’ but divulges no further information.
Pointless host Richard Osman has revealed that the man on the other end of the phone was none other than Coronation Street star Glenn Hugill (pictured)
But since his character was last seen on the cobbles, Hugill has flipped the script, starring from the sidelines on Deal Or No Deal
With Noel as the face of the show, Deal Or No Deal ran for almost 3000 episodes.
Mulhern’s reboot is on its second season and ongoing.
But the question of Hugill’s replacement remains unanswered – will fans be able to sniff out the identity of the Banker once more?
Deal Or No Deal airs on ITV1 and is available to stream on ITVX.
