Robinson battles Lynam in schedule

The two hosts will face a Saturday night ratings fight

Anne Robinson's The Weakest Link "reality TV" special will go head-to-head with Des Lynam's ITV Premiership coverage.

The BBC One game show with contestants from Big Brother and Survivor will compete in the schedules against the first edition of the The Premiership on 18 August.

Hit quiz show The Weakest Link - made popular because of Robinson's acerbic put-downs - will go out at 1845 BST.

ITV has moved You've Been Framed to an earlier 1830 slot to make way for the football at 1900.

Ellis was the first evicted from Big Brother

Football coverage on Saturday night - a time traditionally reserved for family entertainment - has become a hot issue.

But it is also considered something of a coup for ITV because the show takes over from the BBC's Match of the Day, after ITV won the rights to screen highlights of Premiership games from the BBC last year.

Commenting on the scheduling arrangements, a BBC spokesman said: "We are continuing with our policy of offering family entertainment as part of Saturday night TV.

"We have been pleased with the success of other entertainment shows at this time, such as Dog Eat Dog.

"We believe viewers will be the winners as they will have a choice between entertainment on BBC One, arts programming on BBC Two and football on ITV."

Series

ITV's The Premiership will run for 75 minutes. BBC One's National Lottery Winning Lines will follow The Weakest Link at 1930, also competing with Lynam's new show.

Kearon was a star of Castaway

The "reality TV" Weakest Link is one in a series of themed specials of the quiz show.

The others include a fully Welsh edition, designed to let people offended by Robinson's derogatory comments about Wales to get their own back.

Then there is a football special, a TV doctors and nurses special and a comedian special.

But the BBC is not saying at this time if they will all go out at the same time as ITV's Saturday football programme.

In the "reality TV" special, former Big Brother II contestants Penny Ellis and Narinder Kaur will be among those risking the taunts of quiz-master Robinson.

Trevor Kearon and Toby Waterman, two of the members of BBC One's Castaway community, will also take part in the show.

The Weakest Link is returning to UK screens after a break while Robinson presented the US version of the show.