Howie Mandel arrives on home turf for Canuck version of 'Deal or No Deal'

Howie Mandel arrives on home turf for Canuck version of 'Deal or No Deal'



TORONTO - The Canadian version of the popular U.S. game show "Deal or No Deal" will have a distinct Canuck flair when it airs next month.

Organizers said Monday the five episodes have been tailored to reflect the country's style, including a new set, a home-grown banker, a Canadian fashion designer for the briefcase models and, of course, the Toronto-born host, Howie Mandel.

"This means more to me than anything I've ever done in my career," Mandel, who also hosts the hit NBC show, said at a news conference attended by his mother, brother and sister-in-law.

"This is my home and Canada is my home, Toronto is my home and to come back with this show ... is the pinnacle of my career to date."

The ratings bonanza "Deal or No Deal" is normally shot in Los Angeles, where Mandel now lives with his wife and children, but Global announced in October it had signed a deal with Endemol USA to produce a Canadian version.

Taping for the five episodes of "Deal or No Deal Canada" is set to begin Tuesday at the CBC building in Toronto.

The first episode is scheduled to air Feb. 4, immediately following the Super Bowl, on Global Television. The show will then be broadcast Thursdays beginning Feb. 8.

"Deal or No Deal," which started in Denmark, features contestants choosing one of 26 numbered briefcases that they believe is holding $1 million (the figure will be in Canadian dollars for the Toronto-made version).

That case is then put aside while the contestant continues to pick other briefcases that are opened by a panel of models in slinky gowns.

An anonymous banker, who is only seen in a silhouette in an upper window, intermittently calls the host throughout the process to offer deals to the contestant.

Most of the models for the Canadian version were hired through talent agencies. Five others - dubbed "The Fabulous Five" - were chosen from nationwide open casting calls and introduced to reporters Monday.

"I don't know why I left this country," quipped Mandel as the five leggy models strutted onto the stage in form-fitting dresses and carrying briefcases.

One of them, Jennifer Palamos of Abbotsford, B.C., said she'd never modelled before and found it to be more work than she had anticipated.

"Actually, I didn't think we would have to do very much, but we do a lot of walking, a lot of standing there and it gets hard," she said.

"It's hard on the feet. It gets cold too."