Confectionery, dress-up, art and quiz book precede return of darts show to IT

As the iconic darts game show Bullseye prepares to make its triumphant return to ITV, Bullseye licensing agent Bulldog Licensing has announced an equally impressive boost for the Bullseye brand as it welcomes not fewer than four new licensees – with many more on the way!

The newest partners for the top-scoring brand are Rose Marketing for chocolate gifting and confectionery gifting, Blues Group for dress-up and dress-up accessories, Themed.co.uk for wall stickers, murals, prints and LED wall art, and Penguin Michael Joseph for an Official Bullseye Quiz Book.

Rose Marketing, a company that brings novelty and fun to confectionery, is planning a licensing and brand partnership that will bring Bullseye to a fabulous selection of themed sweets for confectionery fans of all ages. The first products – two gift boxes containing strawberry-flavoured gummy ‘Bullseyes’ and beer-flavoured gummy ‘Pints’ – will arrive in the UK later this year to coincide with the Christmas selling period. The packaging will feature the Bullseye logo and much-loved mascot Bully.

Blues Dress-up is the newest division of bespoke apparel collection designer Blues Group. It delivers innovative, market-leading costume collections, with a strong commitment to sustainability, for women, men and children. The new Bullseye dress-up and dress-up accessories range for the adult market features both Bully and dartboard-themed costumes (with Velcro balls for the board!), an iconic Bully darts shirt, complete with character gloves and head, and even a ride-on costume that makes it look as if Bully is giving the wearer a piggyback. Launching online in September, the range is ideal for parties, events or even a fun night out watching the darts!

A brilliant range of Darts Board Backdrop, Wall Stickers, Full Wall Murals, Prints and LED Backlit Wall Art from Themed.co.uk, a print-on-demand manufacturer and retailer of licensed wall art and gift products, includes Bully himself with his famous stripes and logo along with catchphrases like You Can’t Beat a Bit of Bully, 180! and Bullseye in One! The range was made available directly from www.themed.co.uk on the 10th of July.

And of course fans will not be able to resist the Official Bullseye Quiz Book from Penguin Michael Joseph, which brings the excitement of the show to your own home over three rounds of darts and questions (though you’ll have to supply your own prizes!). There are four question difficulty levels: Easy, Medium, Hard and Marksman. Expect to see it at bookshops everywhere in November – and available to pre-order online now! 

And many more licence announcements are imminent in what is proving to be an amazing year for the iconic darts brand Bullseye, which first aired on ITV in the 1980s, where it peaked at 19.8 million viewers in its Boxing Day broadcast on ITV in 1989. After it left ITV it maintained a strong following throughout the UK boosted by showings on Sky Challenge since 2006 and its social media launch in 2008.

And now it’s returning to ITV! Following the massive success of the 2024 Bullseye Christmas special, hosted by Freddie Flintoff and featuring teenage darts phenomenon Luke Littler, Freddie and official scorer Richard Ashdown will be back in a brand new series on ITV later this year. Contestants are already being invited to apply to be contestants in teams consisting of one amateur darts player and one trivia or quizzing expert. The application deadline is midnight on the 19th of September.

The show is synonymous with fun, celebrity players and of course catchphrases such as ‘Bully’s special prize’, and ‘nothing in this game for two in a bed’. The licensing programme has built on the enduring popularity of the show, with Bullseye-branded apparel, gifts, games, publishing, and food and drink, a specially created Bullseye online store, and formats adapted for holiday resorts and homes.

Led by Luke Littler’s success, the brand is also building on a growing youth interest. Indeed, Bullseye was recently announced as a sponsor of the Blackburn Youth Darts Academy.

Laura Wood, Senior Brand Manager at Bullseye, says: “This is a very exciting time to be part of the Bullseye family, with darts in general enjoying a massive surge in popularity across all ages and the Bullseye brand in particular building on its long-term strength and credibility in the market thanks to the wildly popular reaction to the new TV show and sterling work from Bulldog Licensing. We’re delighted to welcome these four partners to the Bullseye licensing programme – and there’s much more to come.”

Bulldog MD Rob Corney adds: “The saying ’You can’t beat a bit of Bully!’ has never been truer than it is today, with the Bullseye TV show reaching new heights and the brand extending its appeal to new licensing categories. We’re thrilled to be working with Rose Marketing, Blues Group, Themed.co.uk and Penguin Michael Joseph and expecting continuing growth for the brand both in the run-up to the new show and well beyond!”