Richard Hammond's Secret Service is axed

Top Gear's Richard Hammond has had his second Saturday night series axed - following the axing of Total Wipeout his prank show Secret Service was dropped for poor ratings.

Relentlessly chirpy Richard Hammond's latest attempt to annoy everyone continues. Hammond commandeers a team of actors and comedians to hoodwink members of the public into believing a string of ridiculous set-ups. Tonight the team persuades a trendy youngster he's the next big thing in modern art, they take to the streets to persuade people to take part in a fake teeth-whitening advert and put together a particularly painful blind date for us to witness.

Prank shows have a bad rep just now, but rest assured, there are no Australian radio hosts involved here. What we have is a lightweight, family-friendly Candid Camera-style show, but with Richard Hammond in charge.

The best prank tonight involves 22-year-old Tasha convincing her parents that her new boyfriend is a prince in the Malvanian royal family (although Malvania, "a principality in the Carpathian mountains", does not exist, as Hammond is obliged to tell us several times). Tasha's parents then meet the boyfriend's family and Borat-lite excruciation ensues as they try a yak's urine drink and ceremonial hats made of turf.

Richard Hammond interview

Richard Hammond is back on Saturday nights with a new entertainment show for all the family. Richard Hammond's Secret Service is a hidden-talent show, with big stunts designed to fool the nation.