Twenty Questions

Contents

Host

Stewart MacPherson (original host)

Gilbert Harding

Kenneth Horne (1960?-67?)

Peter Jones (TV version, 1960-61)

David Franklin (1970?-72?)

Peter Jones (1974)

Terry Wogan (1975-6?)

Co-hosts

Panellists: Jack Train, Anona Winn, Richard Dimbleby, Daphne Padel, Joy Adamson. In later years, 'mystery voice' Norman Hackforth was a regular.

Some 'mystery voices':
1947?-62?: Norman Hackforth 1965: Dame Flora Robson 1967: John Snagge 1974: Colin Welland 1975: Gretta Gouriet

Broadcast

BBC Radio, March 1947 to 1976

Associated Rediffusion for ITV, 1960-1

Synopsis

Before that 20Q gadget came on the market, there was Gilbert Harding haranging a panel of celebrities who had to identify a mystery object within twenty questions.

A typical set of mystery objects was: Bugs Bunny; malt whisky; a connoisseur; a female weightlifter; the Mystery voice; a riddle; the Complete Works of Shakespeare; a wooden leg; a Scilly Island; top brass; Jeeves. On one occasion, the object was "the person next to me", which caused all sorts of confusion as the enquiry "Is this person female?" was correct one moment then not the next.

Inventor

Supposedly invented by Lord Palmerston, who played it with Queen Victoria. We educate as well as entertain, you see.

Trivia

On one occasion, Richard Dimbleby forgot to turn up. Producer Ian Messiter, thinking quickly, decided to recruit someone from the audience and make a publicity stunt out of the adversity. Unfortunately, the only man to volunteer was a bit tipsy, but thankfully not too many people noticed.

Ian Messiter was reprimanded by the BBC for including "sporran" and "fig leaf" as consecutive objects on the same programme.

Messiter had to sack Gilbert Harding when he was drunk on the show. Harding bought Messiter a triple gin and tonic to 'loosen him up' before recording. Messiter refused the offer, so Harding drank the lot - probably on top of what he had already consumed. During the next 30 minutes he managed to insult Richard Dimbleby as "the BBC's sacred cow", Joy Adamson ("Joy by name, but not by nature") and failed to recognise that the panel had correctly identified "a peony" after question seven and went on to announce the answer - to much commotion - after twenty questions. Harding barked back: "Serves them right - they shouldn't take this silly game so seriously. Let's get on with the next object." He closed the programme three minutes early with the diatribe: "I'm fed up with this idiotic game; as for the score, if you've been listening you won't need it; if you haven't, you won't want it. I'm going home."

See also

Guess What?

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