TV channels love game shows. A look through the daytime TV listings reveals a schedule packed full of games and quizzes of one type or another, with some of the formats also enjoying prime time broadcasts.

In part their proliferation is due to their low cost of production, however they do attract lots of viewers too. Take Pointless as an example, which has become a hugely popular cult hit, beloved by many a comedian and a home-worker. In January, viewers joined Alexander Armstrong and Richard Osman in celebrating the show passing the 1000th episode milestone.

Armstrong may offer up the odd joke whilst presenting, however it's rare nowadays that producers mix comedy into game show formats. Presumably gags detract from the faux tension of whether the contestants will win the jackpot. When Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? launched in 1998 - offering a ground-breaking sum of money - they turned to an entertainment personality to host it - but now in serious mode...

Chris Tarrant had been best known as a jovial radio DJ and for mucking about on kids' TV show Tiswas up to this point, but there he was, straight-faced, regularly querying: "Is that your final answer?". Millionaire was quickly on everyone's lips and became one of the top rated shows on television for many years. But - aside from Tarrant's ability to lighten the mood when required - it was free of any humour across its 500+ episodes. The show ended in 2014 and Tarrant has since gone on to become the face of Lottoland, a website that lets users bet on the outcome of lotteries around the world. In the process he seems to be able to show his humorous side again, as at the time of writing we can see him on the website pictured with a chimp.

With shows like Tipping Point trying to bring drama to one of our favourite seaside arcade game machines - a game of almost pure chance - and turn it into something important and serious, it feels time to inject more humour and irreverence into the games and challenges again.

The revival of Blankety Blank at Christmas, with David Walliams taking over from previous hosts Terry Wogan, Les Dawson and Lily Savage, reminded us of how laughs can not only enhance the games but make for a much more enjoyable, watchable programme all-round. From Wogan's acerbic wit to Savage's vicious quips, the various incarnations of Blankety Blank have always benefited from a welcoming comic tone.

Unfortunately there's been no word from ITV yet on whether Blankety Blank will return to screens, so it might have been just a brief reprisal. However, other formats in development suggest we could be on the cusp of seeing contestants challenged with a bit more humour again.

As we recently reported, Nina Conti is working on a TV format that is described quite categorically as a "funny game show". We don't yet know if Nina Conti's Game Face will make it to television, but we can say for certain that a number of other formats will be hitting screens in the months ahead.

Notably, early E4 series Your Face Or Mine? is being revived - this time with even more of a comic bent than its original incarnation, with it being made for Comedy Central. The show sees couples forced to compare their looks with other people's in a relationship testing game. What was important was never really who won: the focus was squarely on laughs. Jimmy Carr and Katherine Ryan are the format's hosts now, with the all-new series set to premiere later this Spring.

Meanwhile Jason Manford has been filming a new family-friendly show called Big Heads. The producers describe the format - in which members of the public have to don oversized models of celebrities' heads and then compete in a series of physical games - as colliding the worlds of It's A Knockout and Spitting Image. They say: "Who would triumph if 'Donald Trump' were rugby tackled by 'Adele' and 'Albert Einstein'?" Well, we'll soon get to find out when the show comes to ITV.

The tide definitely appears to be changing towards fun studio entertainment challenges again, as even sitcom characters are getting in on the act. This weekend viewers will see Brendan O'Carroll fronting All Round To Mrs Brown's as his mammy alter ego. In amongst the studio antics we are promised various game show type elements.

So lets push shows like The Code, Two Tribes, The Chase and University Challenge out of the schedules in favour of more comedy. Either that, or parachute comedians in. It's certainly worked for 8 Out Of 10 Cats Does Countdown.