UK Game Show FAQ

Current revision as of 22:19, 9 January 2024

This Good Game Guide lists common questions we receive about UK game shows. If you have a question that you think should be included, please Contact us.

Q. What was the first game show to be broadcast six days a week?

Blockbusters.

Q. Has anyone ever presented a game show they've devised themselves?

Indeed they have!

Geoffrey Wheeler was both the devisor and voiceover for the original version of Winner Takes All, and hosted a later incarnation.
Robin Ray devised and hosted Film Buff of the Year.
Nigel Rees devised Quote... Unquote and Challenge of the South.
Jonathan Ross co-devised and hosted It's Only TV... But I Like It.
Amanda Ross created and hosted Intuition.
Maria McErlane co-devised Carnal Knowledge.
Gordon Burns has had a lot of influence in the shows he's presented.
Confessions was partly devised by Simon Mayo.
Andrew Lynford created Arty Facts.
Jason Bradbury devised Mercenaries.
Tony Slattery devised Tibs and Fibs. Oh, the shame.
Cathy Rogers co-devised Scrapheap Challenge/Junkyard Wars and also created Full Metal Challenge.
Jamie Theakston came up with The Search
Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly were responsible for both All*Star Cup and PokerFace.
Matt Edmondson was responsible for dating programme Dress to Impress.
There was also Fluke, which was basically a vehicle for the comedic talents of creator Tim Vine...
...likewise Al Murray's Fact Hunt...
...and Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer's Families at War.
But leading the pack is Roy Ward Dickson, who - as well as devising numerous other shows - both devised and hosted Abracadabra, Pix and Turnabout.

Q. Have there ever been any game show hosts that have been related to one another?

Yes:

Bradley Walsh and son Barney hosted Gladiators together. Bradley's wife, Donna, was the lead cheerleader in Gladiators' troupe G-Force.
Paul Daniels and son Martin
Richard Baker and son James (Crack It)
Ted Ray and son Robin
Richard Dimbleby and sons David (Television Top of the Form) and Jonathan
Roy Walker and son Mark (Steal)
Jim Rosenthal and son Tom (Gods of the Game)
Martin Kemp and son Roman
Jon Pertwee and son Sean, plus Jon's cousin Bill Pertwee (Spytrap). Jon's brother Michael was the devisor of Yakity Yak too.
Alan Coren, daughter Victoria and son Giles
Jimmy Tarbuck and daughter Liza
Johnny Ball and daughter Zoe
Clement Freud and daughter Emma (Worldwise)
Barry Norman and daughter Samantha (Treasure Trail)
Jimmy Hanley and daughter Jenny (Star Games)
Elinor Jones (Traed Oer) and daughter Heledd Cynwal
Brother and sister Keith Chegwin and Janice Long
Brother and sister Matt Edmondson and Kate Edmondson of Hider in the House.
Brothers Jonathan and Paul Ross, plus sister-in-law (married to third brother Simon) Amanda Ross
Brothers Richard and James McCourt
Brothers John Leslie and Grant Stott
Brothers Tim and Jeremy Vine
Brothers Geoffrey and Peter Wheeler
Brothers Ashley and Jordan Banjo
Brothers Paul and Barry Elliott a.k.a. Chuckle (To Me... To You... as a duo)
Brothers Mark and Wynne Evans (Sibling Rivalry as a duo)
Sisters Anthea Turner and Wendy Turner-Webster (Your Kids are in Charge as a duo)
Sandra Chalmers (Tichpuzzle!) and nephew Mark Durden-Smith
First cousins Jon and Peter Snow
First cousins once removed John Julius Norwich and Adam Hart-Davis
Spouses Bernard Braden and Barbara Kelly
Spouses Tess Daly and Vernon Kay
Spouses Paul Coia and Debbie Greenwood
Spouses Trey Farley and Katy Hill
Spouses Sarah Greene and Mike Smith
Spouses Coleen McLoughlin and Wayne Rooney (Street Striker)
Spouses Cat Deeley and Patrick Kielty
Spouses Jim "Vic Reeves" Moir and Nancy Sorrell (Trust Me I'm a Holiday Rep)
Spouses Charlie Brooker and Konnie Huq (Huq's main credits were before they married, though she later appeared as co-host on Pointless)
Spouses Angellica Bell and Michael Underwood (Bell's credits were before they married)
Spouses Brian and Kerry McFadden (Brian's credits were after they divorced)
Spouses Rochelle Humes and Marvin Humes
...and an honorary mention for spouses Sara Pascoe and Steen Raskopoulos (All Star Dance Off, which wasn't a real competition... but nice try!).

Q. Which game show hosts have appeared on stamps?

It would be an unusual theme for philatelists to pursue, and none of these people were actually honoured for that specific reason, but we reckon this is the list, up to January 2024:

Freddie Flintoff (Ashes Victory set, 2005)
Jon Pertwee, Sylvester McCoy and David Tennant (Comedy World Cup) (Doctor Who, 2013)
Richard Dimbleby (Great Britons, 2014)
Roy Plomley (Remarkable Lives, 2014)
Ronnie Corbett (Comedy Greats, 2015)
Bill Pertwee (Spytrap) (Dad's Army, 2018)
Miriam Margolyes (Harry Potter, 2018)
Stephen Fry (two stamps), Brian Blessed (Blackadder, 2023)
Emma Bunton (six stamps) (Spice Girls, 2024)

All of these are designated 1st class, except for the £1.55 Bill Pertwee stamp.

Completists will also want to bag the stamps featuring Have I Got News for You guest hosts Jennifer Saunders (Comedy Greats, 2015), Benedict Cumberbatch (five stamps in the Sherlock Holmes set, 2020 - also featuring Never Mind the Buzzcocks guest host Martin Freeman, and you can just about make out Una Stubbs in the background of one as well) and, separately, Patrick Stewart and William Shatner (Star Trek, 2020). And if you're pursuing this theme, you'll also want the only stamp to date actually honouring a game show (albeit with the logo rather than a picture of the host): the 68p Who Wants to be a Millionaire stamp from the 2005 set marking 50 years of ITV.

Q. Have there been any UK game shows in languages other than English?

There certainly have been. We know of game shows in no fewer than six other languages: Welsh (numerous shows, of which probably the most famous is Sion a Sian), Gaelic (1 2 Stri), British Sign Language (See Hear on Saturday Quiz), French (Questions Sans Frontieres) and - with language learning in mind - German and Spanish (Top!).

Feedback

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 [[Good Game Guide|Good Game Guides - Articles]]
-This ''Good Game Guide'' lists common questions we receive about UK game shows. If you have a question that you think should be included, please [[#Feedback|Contact us]].
+This ''Good Game Guide'' lists common questions we receive about UK game shows. If you have a question that you think should be included, please [[Contact us]].
-===Q. What was the first game show ever?===
+See also [[UK Game Show Records]]
-''[[Spelling Bee (1)|Spelling Bee]]'', shown by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) on 31st May 1938, transmitted live from Alexandra Palace. The first game show with money prizes was ''[[Take Your Pick]]'', broadcast on 23rd September 1955 by Associated Rediffusion.
-===Q. What is the longest running UK game show?===
-Technically, it's ''[[A Song for Europe]]'', which first aired in 1957, and annually since 1959 (sometimes under different titles). The ''[[Eurovision Song Contest]]'' has been broadcast annually since 1956, but is not usually a UK production.
-The all-time longest-running game show ''series'' was ''[[Come Dancing]]'', which ran in its knockout format from 1953 to 1995. Though there were a few years within that span when it wasn't produced, that's still around 40 years in total.
-''A Song for Europe'' aside, the longest-running current game show (and longest running quiz overall) is ''[[University Challenge]]'' with over 35 years clocked up; not far behind are ''[[A Question of Sport]]'' which has run since 1970, and ''[[Mastermind]]'' which has been going since 1972, albeit with a few years' break in the late 90s and early 00s.  Credit must also be given to ''[[Call My Bluff]]'', which ran for 23 years originally, and another nine in the revival.
-The game show with the most episodes produced is ''[[Countdown]]'' with 4000 as of 3 January 2006, and counting.
-===Q. Who is the longest serving UK game show host?===
-[[Magnus Magnusson]]'s span as host of [[Mastermind]] lasted ten days short of 25 years, beating [[Bamber Gascoigne]]'s tenure on [[University Challenge]] by eight days. Of course, if you count Bamber's appearance on the 1992 special, then he beats Magnus easily, and even more so if you include the 1998 ''Red Dwarf'' special. But then you'd also have to count [[Geoffrey Wheeler]]'s technical 44-year span on [[Television Top of the Form]], which beats all comers.
-===Q. Who has hosted the most UK game shows?===
-[[Bob Monkhouse]] - to our reckoning, he had at least 12 different hosting roles to his credit. [[Chris Tarrant]] can claim 13, but one was an unbroadcast pilot, and [[PSI]] and [[Crazy Comparisons]] were just different titles for the same show, so we reckon he's only got eleven shows to his credit, ''really'', and Bob still holds the record... for now. And yes, technically [[Ant McPartlin]] and [[Declan Donnelly]] have done twelve as well, but seven of those were for the [[Gameshow Marathon]], and that's just cheating. If you count guest hosting and co-hosting spots, [[Carol Vorderman]] has now hosted 13 formats.
 ===Q. What was the first game show to be broadcast six days a week?===
 [[Blockbusters]].
-===Q. What was the most expensive game show set ever?===
-Undoubtedly ''[[The Crystal Maze]]'' set, which cost a few million pounds over its lifespan. Second place probably goes to ''[[Ice Warriors]]'', which cost 1.5 million pounds.
 ===Q. Has anyone ever presented a game show they've devised themselves?===
-Yes, [[Geoffrey Wheeler]] was both the devisor and voiceover for the original version of ''[[Winner Takes All]]'', and hosted a later incarnation. [[Robin Ray]] devised and hosted [[Film Buff of the Year]]. [[Jonathan Ross]] co-devised and hosts ''[[It's Only TV... But I Like It]]''. [[Maria McErlane]] co-devised [[Carnal Knowledge]]. [[Gordon Burns]] has had a lot of influence in the shows he's presented. ''[[Confessions]]'' was partly devised by [[Simon Mayo]].  [[Andrew Lynford]] created [[Arty Facts]]. [[Cathy Rogers]] co-devised [[Scrapheap Challenge]]/[[Junkyard Wars]] and also created [[Full Metal Challenge]]. There was also [[Fluke]], which was basically a vehicle for comedic talents of creator [[Tim Vine]]; likewise [[Al Murray]]'s [[Fact Hunt]]. But leading the pack is [[Roy Ward Dickson]], who - as well as devising numerous other shows - both devised and hosted [[Abracadabra]], [[Pix]] and [[Turnabout (2)|Turnabout]].
+Indeed they have!
+*[[Geoffrey Wheeler]] was both the devisor and voiceover for the original version of [[Winner Takes All]], and hosted a later incarnation.
+*[[Robin Ray]] devised and hosted [[Film Buff of the Year]].
+*[[Nigel Rees]] devised [[Quote... Unquote]] and [[Challenge of the South]].
+*[[Jonathan Ross]] co-devised and hosted [[It's Only TV... But I Like It]].
+*[[Amanda Ross]] created and hosted [[Intuition]].
+*[[Maria McErlane]] co-devised [[Carnal Knowledge]].
+*[[Gordon Burns]] has had a lot of influence in the shows he's presented.
+*[[Confessions]] was partly devised by [[Simon Mayo]].
+*[[Andrew Lynford]] created [[Arty Facts]].
+*[[Jason Bradbury]] devised [[Mercenaries]].
+*[[Tony Slattery]] devised [[Tibs and Fibs]]. Oh, the shame.
+*[[Cathy Rogers]] co-devised [[Scrapheap Challenge]]/[[Junkyard Wars]] and also created [[Full Metal Challenge]].
+*[[Jamie Theakston]] came up with [[The Search (1)|The Search]]
+*[[Ant McPartlin]] and [[Declan Donnelly]] were responsible for both [[All Star Cup|All*Star Cup]] and [[PokerFace]].
+*[[Matt Edmondson]] was responsible for dating programme [[Dress to Impress]].
+*There was also [[Fluke]], which was basically a vehicle for the comedic talents of creator [[Tim Vine]]...
+*...likewise [[Al Murray]]'s [[Fact Hunt]]...
+*...and [[Vic Reeves]] and [[Bob Mortimer]]'s [[Families at War]].
+*But leading the pack is [[Roy Ward Dickson]], who - as well as devising numerous other shows - both devised and hosted [[Abracadabra]], [[Pix]] and [[Turnabout (2)|Turnabout]].
 ===Q. Have there ever been any game show hosts that have been related to one another?===
-Yes -  [[Paul Daniels]] and son [[Martin Daniels|Martin]]; Richard Dimbleby and sons David and Jonathan; [[Roy Walker]] and son Mark;  [[Jimmy Tarbuck]] and daughter [[Liza Tarbuck|Liza]]; [[Johnny Ball]] and daughter [[Zoe Ball|Zoe]]; brother and sister [[Keith Chegwin]] and Janice Long; and brothers [[Jonathan Ross|Jonathan]] and [[Paul Ross]]. Married couples include [[Vernon Kay]] and [[Tess Daly]], [[Paul Coia]] and [[Debbie Greenwood]], [[Katy Hill]] and [[Trey Farley]], and [[Mike Smith]] and Sarah Greene.
+Yes:
+*[[Bradley Walsh]] and son Barney hosted [[Gladiators]] together. Bradley's wife, Donna, was the lead cheerleader in ''Gladiators''<nowiki>'</nowiki> troupe G-Force.
-===Q. What's the highest ever rating game show?===
+*[[Paul Daniels]] and son [[Martin Daniels|Martin]]
+*[[Richard Baker]] and son James ([[Crack It]])
-This rather depends on who you ask and when you ask them. In 1992 Boxtree published ''[http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0752210300/labyrinthgames 40 Years of British Television]'', which included as an appendix month-by-month top 20 TV listings charts.
+*[[Ted Ray]] and son [[Robin Ray|Robin]]
+*[[Richard Dimbleby]] and sons David ([[Television Top of the Form]]) and [[Jonathan Dimbleby|Jonathan]]
-From this we glean that during the final week of the 1979 ITV strike, the BBC mustered an audience of 23.9 million for [[The Generation Game|Larry Grayson's Generation Game]]. That week's editions of [[Blankety Blank]] (23.3m) and [[Mastermind]] (21.9m) are the second and third highest-rating game shows.
+*[[Roy Walker]] and son Mark ([[Steal]])
+*[[Jim Rosenthal]] and son Tom ([[Gods of the Game]])
-''The Generation Game'' was also the top-rating show under the pre-1977 ratings system (which counted households rather than individual viewers), 9.7 million households tuning in for a Christmas 1976 edition.
+*[[Martin Kemp]] and son [[Roman Kemp|Roman]]
+*[[Jon Pertwee]] and son [[Sean Pertwee|Sean]], plus Jon's cousin Bill Pertwee ([[Spytrap]]). Jon's brother Michael was the devisor of [[Yakity Yak]] too.
-ITV's best rating for a game show came on 22nd December 1978 when an all-out strike at the BBC meant that 21.2 million viewers watched ''[[Sale of the Century]]''.
+*[[Alan Coren]], daughter [[Victoria Coren|Victoria]] and son [[Giles Coren|Giles]]
+*[[Jimmy Tarbuck]] and daughter [[Liza Tarbuck|Liza]]
-This is all well and good, except that in 2005 Channel 4 broadcast a programme called ''Britain's Most Watched TV'', for which the British Film Institute provided the lists (A top 20 for each of the 60s, 70s and 80s, and a top five for the 50s and 00s). Even though these lists drew on the same source material, they came out rather differently. It seems likely that the BFI disregarded high ratings that were attributable to a strike by "the other side", since otherwise there's a suspicious-looking hole in the autumn of 1979. Two other differences are pointed out by the BFI website: firstly, they multiplied "household" figures by 2.2 to produce an estimated audience in terms of individual viewers; and secondly the demands of the production company (Objective North) meant that "in some cases only the highest-rated example of similar programmes have been included to avoid repetition ". This may account for the non-appearance of ''The Generation Game'' in their list. So according to the BFI, the top-rating game shows are:
+*[[Johnny Ball]] and daughter [[Zoe Ball|Zoe]]
+*[[Clement Freud]] and daughter Emma ([[Worldwise]])
-'''1960s''': Double Your Money, 8 November 1966 (19.47m); Take Your Pick, 2 Dec 1966 (19.36m). Top 20 cut-off: 19.14m<br>
+*[[Barry Norman]] and daughter Samantha ([[Treasure Trail]])
-'''1970s''': [[Eurovision Song Contest]], 7 April 1973 (21.56m); Sale Of The Century, 24 Dec 1978 (21.15m). Top 20 cut-off: 20.57m<br>
+*[[Jimmy Hanley]] and daughter Jenny ([[Star Games]])
+*Elinor Jones ([[Traed Oer]]) and daughter [[Heledd Cynwal]]
+*Brother and sister [[Keith Chegwin]] and [[Janice Long]]
+*Brother and sister [[Matt Edmondson]] and Kate Edmondson of [[Hider in the House]].
+*Brothers [[Jonathan Ross|Jonathan]] and [[Paul Ross]], plus sister-in-law (married to third brother Simon) [[Amanda Ross]]
+*Brothers [[Richard McCourt|Richard]] and [[James McCourt]]
+*Brothers [[John Leslie]] and [[Grant Stott]]
+*Brothers [[Tim Vine|Tim]] and [[Jeremy Vine]]
+*Brothers [[Geoffrey Wheeler|Geoffrey]] and [[Peter Wheeler]]
+*Brothers [[Ashley Banjo|Ashley]] and [[Jordan Banjo]]
+*Brothers Paul and Barry Elliott ''a.k.a.'' Chuckle ([[To Me... To You...]] as a duo)
+*Brothers Mark and [[Wynne Evans]] ([[Sibling Rivalry]] as a duo)
+*Sisters [[Anthea Turner]] and Wendy Turner-Webster ([[Your Kids are in Charge]] as a duo)
+*Sandra Chalmers ([[Tichpuzzle!]]) and nephew [[Mark Durden-Smith]]
+*First cousins [[Jon Snow|Jon]] and [[Peter Snow]]
+*First cousins once removed [[John Julius Norwich]] and [[Adam Hart-Davis]]
+*Spouses [[Bernard Braden]] and [[Barbara Kelly]]
+*Spouses [[Tess Daly]] and [[Vernon Kay]]
+*Spouses [[Paul Coia]] and [[Debbie Greenwood]]
+*Spouses [[Trey Farley]] and [[Katy Hill]]
+*Spouses [[Sarah Greene]] and [[Mike Smith]]
+*Spouses [[Coleen McLoughlin]] and Wayne Rooney ([[Street Striker]])
+*Spouses [[Cat Deeley]] and [[Patrick Kielty]]
+*Spouses Jim "[[Vic Reeves]]" Moir and Nancy Sorrell ([[Trust Me I'm a Holiday Rep]])
+*Spouses [[Charlie Brooker]] and [[Konnie Huq]] (Huq's main credits were before they married, though she later appeared as co-host on [[Pointless]])
+*Spouses [[Angellica Bell]] and [[Michael Underwood]] (Bell's credits were before they married)
+*Spouses [[Who's Doing the Dishes?|Brian]] and [[Kerry McFadden]] (Brian's credits were after they divorced)
+*Spouses [[Rochelle Humes]] and [[Marvin Humes]]
+*...and an honorary mention for spouses [[Sara Pascoe]] and Steen Raskopoulos ([[All Star Dance Off]], which wasn't a real competition... but nice try!).
-'''1980s''': Mastermind, 9 Nov 1980 (19.15m); A Question Of Sport, 5 Feb 1987 (19.05m); Blankety Blank, 26 Dec 1980 (also 19.05m).<br>
+=== Q. Which game show hosts have appeared on stamps? ===
-'''1990s''': National Lottery Live, 19 November 1994 (20.17m); Who Wants to be a Millionaire?, 7 March 1999 (19.21m)<br>
-'''2000s''' (to 2004): Who Wants to be a Millionaire?, 19 January 2001 (15.9m); I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!, 9 February 2004 (14.99m); Pop Idol, 9 February 2002 (13.34m); Popstars, 3 February 2001 (12.36m).
-It should be mentioned that for the 2000s, the ''Tonight with Trevor MacDonald'' special about the Ingram affair got an audience of 16.10m.
+It would be an unusual theme for philatelists to pursue, and none of these people were actually honoured for that ''specific'' reason, but we reckon this is the list, up to January 2024:
-The BFI listing for the 1950s only includes shows from the last three months of 1959, presumably because figures for BBC shows are not available until then. Take Your Pick is the top-rating show for the period, with a peak audience of 13.16m.
+* [[Freddie Flintoff]] (Ashes Victory set, 2005)
+* [[Jon Pertwee]], [[Sylvester McCoy]] and David Tennant ([[Comedy World Cup]]) (''Doctor Who'', 2013)
+* [[Richard Dimbleby]] (Great Britons, 2014)
+* [[Roy Plomley]] (Remarkable Lives, 2014)
+* [[Ronnie Corbett]] (Comedy Greats, 2015)
+* Bill Pertwee ([[Spytrap]]) (''Dad's Army'', 2018)
+* [[Miriam Margolyes]] (''Harry Potter'', 2018)
+* [[Stephen Fry]] (two stamps), [[Brian Blessed]] (''Blackadder'', 2023)
+* [[Emma Bunton]] (six stamps) (Spice Girls, 2024)
-The full top 20 lists can be found on the  [http://www.bfi.org.uk/features/mostwatched/index.html BFI website].
+All of these are designated 1st class, except for the £1.55 Bill Pertwee stamp.
-===Q. What's the highest prize ever awarded on a UK show?===
+Completists will also want to bag the stamps featuring [[Have I Got News for You]] guest hosts Jennifer Saunders (Comedy Greats, 2015), Benedict Cumberbatch (five stamps in the Sherlock Holmes set, 2020 - also featuring [[Never Mind the Buzzcocks]] guest host Martin Freeman, and you can just about make out [[Una Stubbs]] in the background of one as well) and, separately, Patrick Stewart and William Shatner (''Star Trek'', 2020). And if you're pursuing this theme, you'll also want the only stamp to date actually honouring a game show (albeit with the logo rather than a picture of the host): the 68p [[Who Wants to be a Millionaire]] stamp from the 2005 set marking 50 years of ITV.
-&pound;2 million in total was awarded as venture capital to two winners (&pound;1 million each) on 16 July 2000 in ''[[The E-millionaire Show]]''.
+===Q. Have there been any UK game shows in languages other than English?===
-&pound;1 million in cash was won on 24 December 1999 in [[Someone's Going to be a Millionaire]], a quiz segment run during late 1999 by the Channel 4 music and entertainment show ''TFI Friday.'' For subsequent &pound;1 million winners and other large prizes, see [[Good Game Guide 8 All Time Winners List|Good Game Guide 8]].
+There certainly have been. We know of game shows in no fewer than six other languages: Welsh (numerous shows, of which probably the most famous is ''[[Sion a Sian]]''), Gaelic (''[[1 2 Stri]]''), British Sign Language (''[[See Hear on Saturday Quiz]]''), French (''[[Questions Sans Frontieres]]'') and - with language learning in mind - German and Spanish (''[[Top!]]'').
 [[Category:Good Game Guides]]