And the real winner of American game shows is... Salford

British and Irish studios benefit from US game show exodus

- BY CHRISTOPHER BUCKTIN US Editor

The answer is Salford, as US networks take advantage of huge tax breaks to film episodes in Greater Manchester.

Insiders say a US game show can cost up to £1.6million an episode. UK tax breaks can cut that to under £750,000.

The only Americans on set are the contestants, executive producers and writers - the crew, the entire audience and all other studio staff are British.

Earlier this year, an audience gathered at Salford’s MediaCity UK to watch the pilot for Wordle, a TV spin-off of the New York Times' hit daily puzzle.

The host was Savannah Guthrie, a huge star in the US as co-anchor of NBC's Today show and known for grilling presidents - but a producer had to explain to the audience who she was. He also warned them to expect “unfamiliar spellings”.