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114-525: Countdown is a British game show involving word and mathematical tasks that began airing in November 1982. It is broadcast on Channel 4 and is most recently presented by Colin Murray , assisted by Rachel Riley with lexicographer Susie Dent . It was the first programme to be broadcast on Channel 4 and 90 series have been broadcast since its debut on 2 November 1982. With over 8,000 episodes, Countdown

228-538: A bonus round usually varies from the standard game play of the front game, and there are often borrowed or related elements of the main game in the bonus round to ensure the entire show has a unified premise. Though some end games are referred to as "bonus rounds", many are not specifically referred to as such in games but fit the same general role. There is no one formula for the format of a bonus round. There are differences in almost every bonus round, though there are many recurring elements from show to show. The bonus round

342-465: A certain amount of money or a limit on how many episodes, usually five, on which a player could appear on a show. The introduction of syndicated games, particularly in the 1980s, eventually allowed for more valuable prizes and extended runs on a particular show. British television was under even stricter regulations on prizes until the 1990s, seriously restricting the value of prizes that could be given and disallowing games of chance to have an influence on

456-422: A contestant picks six small numbers and the target number is quite large. There is a tactical element in selecting how many large numbers to include. One large and five small numbers is the most popular selection, despite two large numbers giving the best chance of the game being solvable exactly. Selections with zero or four large numbers are generally considered the hardest. The 24 tiles are laid out in four rows,

570-434: A failed heart operation. At the time, he had been slowly recovering from pneumonia earlier that year, which had prevented him recording further episodes. His death impacted the show, causing the episode scheduled for that day to be postponed by Channel 4 as a mark of respect, while the remaining episodes he had completed were aired after his death, the first of which was preceded by a tearful tribute from Carol Vorderman. After

684-401: A game show receives a subsidy from an advertiser in return for awarding that manufacturer's product as a prize or consolation prize . Some products supplied by manufacturers may not be intended to be awarded and are instead just used as part of the gameplay such as the low-priced items used in several The Price is Right pricing games . Although in this show the smaller items (sometimes even in

798-432: A given environment. Several game shows returned to daytime in syndication during this time as well, such as Family Feud , Hollywood Squares , and Millionaire . Wheel of Fortune , Jeopardy! and Family Feud have continued in syndication. To keep pace with the prime-time quiz shows, Jeopardy! doubled its question values in 2001 and lifted its winnings limit in 2003, which one year later allowed Ken Jennings to become

912-448: A heavy emphasis on comedy, leaving the points as mere formalities. The focus on quick-witted comedians has resulted in strong ratings, which, combined with low costs of production, have only spurred growth in the UK panel show phenomenon. Game shows remained a fixture of US daytime television through the 1960s after the quiz show scandals. Lower-stakes games made a slight comeback in daytime in

1026-491: A laptop computer and a lifetime subscription to Oxford Online (replaced by a MacBook Pro laptop by Series 68). The physical dictionaries were discontinued as a prize after Series 83, as they were deemed obsolete. As of Series 54 in 2006, the series champion also receives the Richard Whiteley Memorial Trophy in memory of the show's original presenter. Runner-up prizes in the finals increased over

1140-403: A modernized revival of Jeopardy! to syndication in 1983 and 1984, respectively, was and remains highly successful; the two are, to this day, fixtures in the prime time "access period". During this "access" period, a contestant named Mark Anthony DiBello became and is still known to be the only person to win automobiles on two of the most popular game shows The Wheel of Fortune and The Price

1254-522: A number of original game concepts that appeared near the same time, including Awake , Deal or No Deal (which originally aired in 2005), Child Support , Hollywood Game Night , 1 vs. 100 , Minute to Win It (which originally aired in 2010), The Wall , and a string of music-themed games such as Don't Forget the Lyrics! , The Singing Bee , and Beat Shazam . The popularity of game shows in

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1368-478: A random target figure from six other numbers and the conundrum, a buzzer round in which the contestants compete to solve a nine-letter anagram . During the series heats, the winning contestant returns the next day until they either lose or retire with eight wins as an undefeated "Octochamp". The best eight contestants are invited back for the series finals, which are decided in knockout format. Contestants of exceptional skill have received national media coverage and

1482-411: A rematch of their Series 31 final, while brothers and former contestants Sanjay and Sandeep Mazumder played off against each other on 20 December 2004. Since the change to 45-minute episodes, the game has been split into three sections, separated by advertising breaks. The first section contains two letters rounds and one numbers round, the second has two letters rounds and one numbers round followed by

1596-583: A role was aided by the show's producers, with no assistance from any computer program and accompanied by a celebrity guest for a set period on the programme – contributing words and providing entertainment through anecdotes, puzzles, poems and stories. Amongst these who have appeared on the programme are Nigel Rees , Jo Brand , Martin Jarvis , Richard Digance , Geoffrey Durham , Ken Bruce , Magnus Magnusson , Pam Ayres , Paul Zenon , Jenny Eclair , Al Murray , John Sergeant and Gyles Brandreth . Over time,

1710-482: A second time) and Moira Stuart each hosting one week's episodes. Murray was announced as the programme's new permanent host in January 2023. In the early years, the show had multiple assistant presenters, including Carol Vorderman who was hired for Series 1 to check calculations in the numbers round and her role expanded to include placing the number and letter tiles. She left in 2008 at the same time as O'Connor and

1824-601: A set of letters, or being asked to spell a word correctly. Other minor differences include a different numbers scoring system (9 points for an exact solution, or 6 points for the closest inexact solution in DCedL ) and the proportion of letters to numbers rounds (10 to 4 in Countdown , 8 to 4 in DCedL ). The pilot episode followed significantly different rules from the current ones. Most noticeably, only eight letters were selected for each letters round. If two contestants offered

1938-464: A single display stand. New modern displays for the scores and the numbers round came in January 2013 while the set received a slight redesign in July 2017 while retaining the blue background which has been used to up to the most recent series. The original clock featured until September 2013, when it was replaced. Until the end of Series 21, if the two contestants had equal scores after the first conundrum,

2052-456: A site closer to his residence in Worthing , West Sussex , but viewers reacted angrily to the idea and Lynam decided it would cause considerable disruption for many of the programme's camera crew. In January 2007, Des O'Connor took over as the main presenter. During his tenure as host, Susie Dent went on maternity leave over the winter of 2007–2008 and Alison Heard temporarily replaced her on

2166-580: A special 'birthday episode'. The two players were 2006 winner Conor Travers and 2002 winner Chris Wills . However, for the rounds, VIP guests selected the letters and numbers. Guests included Gordon Brown , Amir Khan and Richard Attenborough . A statement from the French TV network France Télévisions was read out on air by Carol Vorderman to commend Channel 4 on its success of Countdown . On 26 March 2010, Queen Elizabeth II congratulated Countdown for amassing 5,000 episodes. On 5 September 2014,

2280-516: A spin-off of their regional news programme Calendar , the programme's host deemed the natural choice for the concept. The spin-off was aired only in the Yorkshire area, with Whiteley earning the nickname of "Twice Nightly Whiteley" because of his daily appearances on both programmes. He was assisted by Cathy Hytner and Denise McFarland-Cruickshanks, who handled the letters and numbers rounds respectively. By 1982, after an additional pilot episode

2394-484: A spin-off, Family Feud , on ABC in 1976. The $ 10,000 Pyramid and its numerous higher-stakes derivatives also debuted in 1973, while the 1970s also saw the return of formerly disgraced producer and game show host Jack Barry , who debuted The Joker's Wild and a clean version of the previously rigged Tic-Tac-Dough in the 1970s. Wheel of Fortune debuted on NBC in 1975. The Prime Time Access Rule , which took effect in 1971, barred networks from broadcasting in

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2508-413: A traditional solo bonus round in 1978, but this version was not a success and the round was replaced by the original Final Jeopardy! when the show returned in 1984. The Price Is Right uses a knockout tournament format, in which the six contestants to make it onstage are narrowed to two in a "Showcase Showdown;" these two winners then move on to the final Showcase round to determine the day's winner. Until

2622-479: A week, twice a day. Game shows were the lowest priority of television networks and were rotated out every thirteen weeks if unsuccessful. Most tapes were wiped until the early 1980s. Over the course of the 1980s and early 1990s, as fewer new hits (e.g. Press Your Luck , Sale of the Century , and Card Sharks ) were produced, game shows lost their permanent place in the daytime lineup. ABC transitioned out of

2736-517: A word of the same length, or an equally close solution to a numbers game, then only the contestant who made the selection for that round was awarded points. Also, only five points were given for an exact numbers solution, three for a solution within 5, and one point for the closer solution, no matter how far away. Though the style and colour scheme of the set have changed many times (and the show itself moved to Manchester after more than 25 years in Leeds),

2850-543: Is Right , hosted by the longest-tenured American game show hosts, Pat Sajak and Bob Barker , respectively. Cable television also allowed for the debut of game shows such as Supermarket Sweep and Debt (Lifetime), Trivial Pursuit and Family Challenge (Family Channel), and Double Dare (Nickelodeon). It also opened up a previously underdeveloped market for game show reruns. General interest networks such as CBN Cable Network (forerunner to Freeform ) and USA Network had popular blocks for game show reruns from

2964-450: Is broadcast at 14:10. In November 2008, Jeff Stelling was confirmed as the new host, while Oxford maths graduate Rachel Riley was confirmed as Carol Vorderman's replacement. Jeff Stelling remained with the programme until the end of 2011, when his football commitments with Sky Sports forced him reluctantly to leave Countdown . Before his departure, The Apprentice star Nick Hewer was announced as his replacement and he took over as

3078-422: Is closer to the target scores points: ten for reaching it exactly, seven for being between one and five from the target and five for being within six and ten from the target. Contestants score no points for being more than ten away, if their calculations are flawed or if they take too long to give a solution or after saying they have not written it down. Both score if they reach the same result or if their results are

3192-400: Is often played for the show's top prize. It is almost always played without an opponent; two notable exceptions to this are Jeopardy! and the current version of The Price Is Right . On Jeopardy! , the final round involves all remaining contestants with a positive score wagering strategically to win the game and be invited back the next day; Jeopardy! attempted to replace this round with

3306-449: Is one of Britain's longest-running game shows; the original French version, Des chiffres et des lettres (Numbers & Letters), ran on French television almost continuously from 1965 until 2024. The two contestants in each episode compete in three game types: ten letters rounds , in which they attempt to make the longest word possible from nine randomly chosen letters, four numbers rounds , in which they must use arithmetic to reach

3420-511: The 1950s quiz show scandals and ratings declines led to most of the primetime games being canceled. An early variant of the game show, the panel show , survived the quiz show scandals. On shows like What's My Line? , I've Got a Secret , and To Tell the Truth , panels of celebrities would interview a guest in an effort to determine some fact about them; in others, celebrities would answer questions. Panel games had success in primetime until

3534-520: The 1960s, most game shows did not offer a bonus round. In traditional two-player formats, the winner – if a game show's rules provided for this – became the champion and simply played a new challenger either on the next show or after the commercial break. One of the earliest forms of bonus rounds was the Jackpot Round of the original series Beat the Clock . After two rounds of performing stunts,

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3648-401: The 1990s was a major factor in the explosion of high-stakes game shows in the later part of that decade in both the U.S. and Britain and, subsequently, around the world. A bonus round (also known as a bonus game or an end game) usually follows a main game as a bonus to the winner of that game. In the bonus round, the stakes are higher and the game is considered to be tougher. The game play of

3762-457: The 1990s, allowing for higher-stakes games to be played. After the popularity of game shows hit a nadir in the mid-1990s United States (at which point The Price Is Right was the only game show still on daytime network television and numerous game shows designed for cable television were canceled), the British game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? began distribution around the globe. Upon

3876-427: The 7–8 p.m. time slot immediately preceding prime time , opening up time slots for syndicated programming. Most of the syndicated programs were "nighttime" adaptations of network daytime game shows. These game shows originally aired once a week, but by the late 1970s and early 1980s most of the games had transitioned to five days a week. Many people were amazed at this and in the late 2000s, gameshows were aired 7 times

3990-552: The Pastel set, was used from its launch in 1982 until Series 17 in early 1989. A new brown wooden set was introduced in Series 18 in July 1989 but remained in use for less than two years. Series 22 from July 1991 saw the introduction of the familiar and long-lived "Wings" set which was used in its original form, a red colour scheme, until 1995. Series 31 in January 1996 saw its colour scheme change to purple and changed again to tangerine at

4104-538: The Teatime Teaser anagram has varied between seven and nine letters since its introduction. The contestant in control chooses between two stacks of face-down letter tiles, one containing vowels (A-E-I-O-U only) and the other consonants , and the assistant reveals the top tile from that stack and places it on the board. This is done nine times and the final grouping must contain at least three vowels and four consonants. The contestants then have 30 seconds to form

4218-595: The United States was closely paralleled around the world. Reg Grundy Organisation , for instance, would buy the international rights for American game shows and reproduce them in other countries, especially in Grundy's native Australia . Dutch producer Endemol ( later purchased by American companies Disney and Apollo Global Management , then resold to French company Banijay ) has created and released numerous game shows and reality television formats popular around

4332-497: The additional hostesses on the programme were dropped by production staff who retained Vorderman and assigned her primarily to handle the selection of letter and number tiles, as well as verifying contestant calculations. The programme frequently rotated between various lexicographers, including Richard Samson and Alison Heard, for each series, until in 2003, the role was permanently given to Susie Dent , after her debut on Countdown in 1992. On 26 June 2005, Richard Whiteley died after

4446-585: The anecdote from the Dictionary Corner guest and then a further two letters rounds and one numbers round, while the last section has two letters rounds, Susie Dent's "Origins of Words" item since September 2007, two further letters rounds, one numbers round and a final "Conundrum" puzzle. With the exception of the Conundrum, the contestants swap control after every round so that each of them has control for five letters rounds and two numbers rounds. At

4560-414: The board. Division can only be performed if the result has no remainder (i.e., the divisor is a factor of the dividend). Fractions are not allowed and only positive integers may be obtained as a result at any stage of the calculation. As in the letters rounds, both contestants must declare their results and any contestant who has not fully written their calculations down in time must go first if both declare

4674-458: The champion and a buzzer for the challenger). Each contestant is allowed only one guess and the first to answer correctly scores 10 points. If a contestant buzzes-in and either responds incorrectly or fails to give any response, they are frozen out and the remaining time is given to the opponent. If neither contestant can solve it, the presenter asks whether anyone in the audience knows the answer and if so, chooses someone to call it out (this practice

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4788-456: The championship when two new contestants compete) is a teapot that is styled to resemble the renowned clock used in each round. Introduced in December 1998, the teapot is custom-made and can only be obtained by winning a game on the programme. Defeated contestants and retiring undefeated champions receive an assortment of Countdown -themed merchandise as a parting gift. At first, the prize for

4902-444: The clock has always provided the centrepiece and like the clock music (composed by Alan Hawkshaw ), it is an enduring and well-recognised feature of Countdown . Executive producer John Meade once commissioned Alan Hawkshaw to revise the music for extra intensity to introduce at the start of Series 31 in January 1996; after hundreds of complaints from viewers, the old tune was reinstated after just 12 shows. The original set, known as

5016-412: The contestant has declined to make any choices, in which case the assistant selects the tiles. Unlike the letters round, the pool of tiles is fully replenished after each numbers round. A special edition, broadcast on 15 March 2010, for two previous series champions, Kirk Bevins and Chris Davies, used instead of the usual four large numbers, the numbers 12, 37 and two numbers unrevealed for the duration of

5130-433: The contestants' scores are within ten points of each other going into this round, it is referred to as a "Crucial Countdown Conundrum." Since ten points are at stake, the contestant who solves it (if any) will either win the game or force a tiebreaker. If the scores are tied after the Conundrum, additional Conundrums are played until the tie is broken. There have been several instances in which two Conundrums were used to decide

5244-424: The daytime game show format in the mid-1980s (briefly returning to the format for one season in 1990 with a Match Game revival). NBC's game block also lasted until 1991, but the network attempted to bring them back in 1993 before cancelling its game show block again in 1994. CBS phased out most of its game shows, except for The Price Is Right , by 1993. To the benefit of the genre, the moves of Wheel of Fortune and

5358-493: The discontinuation of The Price Is Right $ 1,000,000 Spectacular series of prime-time specials. In April 2008, three of the contestants on The Price Is Right $ 1,000,000 Spectacular won the top prize in a five-episode span after fifteen episodes without a winner, due in large part to a change in the rules. The insurance companies had made it extremely difficult to get further insurance for the remaining episodes. A network or syndicator may also opt to distribute large cash prizes in

5472-431: The discovered words, starting with the shorter declared length. If one contestant has not written their word down in time, they must state this fact; if both then declare the same length, that contestant must give their word first to prevent cheating. If both contestants state that they have not written their words, the host allows them a moment to do so; this is typically edited out of the final broadcast. The contestant with

5586-403: The early 1960s; examples include Jeopardy! which began in 1964 and the original version of The Match Game first aired in 1962. Let's Make a Deal began in 1963 and the 1960s also marked the debut of Hollywood Squares , Password , The Dating Game , and The Newlywed Game . Though CBS gave up on daytime game shows in 1968, the other networks did not follow suit. Color television

5700-605: The eighth seed, the second playing the seventh and so on. The winner of this knockout, which culminates in the Grand Final, becomes the series champion. Each series lasts approximately six months with approximately 125 episodes. Approximately every four series, a Champion of Champions tournament takes place. For this, sixteen of the best players to have appeared since the previous Championship are invited back for another knockout tournament. The producer , former contestant Damian Eadie, decides which players to include, but typically

5814-403: The end of 1999 alongside updated displays for the scores and CECIL. January 2003 saw the set updated to a new pink and purple striped theme with the letters and numbers boards now on separate islands rather than being integrated into the set. Six years later, in January 2009, the set received another redesign with a numerical blue theme and the letters and numbers boards mounted on opposite sides of

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5928-412: The end of the first two sections, the host poses a "Teatime Teaser" for the viewers since series 46 in 2001, giving a set of short words and a cryptic clue to a single word that can be anagrammed from them. The solution is revealed at the start of the next section. (Example: Given the words SAD MOODY and the clue "We'll all be sad and moody when this arrives", the solution would be DOOMSDAY.) The length of

6042-484: The first black woman to host a prime time game show, Pay It Off . The rise of digital television in the United States opened up a large market for rerun programs. Buzzr was established by Fremantle , owners of numerous classic U.S. game shows, as a broadcast outlet for its archived holdings in June 2015. There was also a rise of live game shows at festivals and public venues, where the general audience could participate in

6156-400: The first to be regularly scheduled. The first episode of each aired in 1941 as an experimental broadcast. Over the course of the 1950s, as television began to pervade the popular culture, game shows quickly became a fixture. Daytime game shows would be played for lower stakes to target stay-at-home housewives. Higher-stakes programs would air in prime time . (One particular exception in this era

6270-406: The form of an annuity , spreading the cost of the prize out over several years or decades. From about 1960 through the rest of the 20th century, American networks placed restrictions on the amount of money that could be given away on a game show, in an effort to avoid a repeat of the scandals of the 1950s. This usually took the form of an earnings cap that forced a player to retire once they had won

6384-430: The gameshow led to production staff seeking out further hostesses through advertising in national newspapers for young women to become a member of the programme's cast, with notable conditions about their involvement; in particular, those recruited for calculations found it made clear that as an applicant, their appearance would be less important than their skill as a mathematician. Amongst those recruited, Beverley Isherwood

6498-486: The imitator million-dollar shows were canceled (one of those exceptions was Winning Lines , which continued to air in the United Kingdom until 2004 even though it was canceled in the United States in early 2000); these higher stakes contests nevertheless opened the door to reality television contests such as Survivor and Big Brother , in which contestants win large sums of money for outlasting their peers in

6612-409: The impetus for a completely new game show. The first part of Match Game ' s "Super-Match" bonus round, called the "Audience Match", asked contestants to guess how a studio audience responded to a question. In 1975, with then regular panelist Richard Dawson becoming restless and progressively less cooperative, Goodson decided that this line of questioning would make a good game show of its own, and

6726-410: The late 1930s. The first television game show, Spelling Bee , as well as the first radio game show, Information Please , were both broadcast in 1938; the first major success in the game show genre was Dr. I.Q. , a radio quiz show that began in 1939. Truth or Consequences was the first game show to air on commercially licensed television; CBS Television Quiz followed shortly thereafter as

6840-466: The late 1960s, when they were collectively dropped from television because of their perceived low budget nature. Panel games made a comeback in American daytime television (where the lower budgets were tolerated) in the 1970s through comedy-driven shows such as Match Game and Hollywood Squares . In the UK, commercial demographic pressures were not as prominent, and restrictions on game shows made in

6954-633: The long-running Definition ). Unlike reality television franchises, international game show franchises generally only see Canadian adaptations in a series of specials, based heavily on the American versions but usually with a Canadian host to allow for Canadian content credits (one of those exceptions was Le Banquier , a Quebec French-language version of Deal or No Deal which aired on TVA from 2008 to 2015). The smaller markets and lower revenue opportunities for Canadian shows in general also affect game shows there, with Canadian games (especially Quebecois ones) often having very low budgets for prizes, unless

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7068-438: The longer valid word scores one point per letter, or 18 points if they have used all nine. If the words are identical or of the same length, both contestants score. In the former case, the contestants must show their written words to each other as proof that they are the same. If a contestant is visually impaired, Dictionary Corner will verify the word. Contestants who inaccurately declare the length of their word score zero, even if

7182-448: The longest single word they can, using the nine revealed letters; no letter may be used more often than it appears in the selection. The frequencies of the letters within each stack are weighted according to their frequency in natural English , in the same manner as Scrabble . For example, there are many N s and R s in the consonant stack, but very few tiles for rarely used letters such as Q and J . The letter frequencies are altered by

7296-412: The loss of key presenters. The programme's audience comprises mainly students, homemakers and pensioners, because of the "teatime" broadcast slot and inclusive appeal of its format and presentation. Countdown has been one of Channel 4's most-watched programmes for over twenty years, but has never won a major television award. On each episode, the prize for defeating the reigning champion (or for claiming

7410-476: The main presenter when his first episode aired on 9 January 2012. In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic , it was announced that Colin Murray (a frequent Dictionary Corner guest) would fill in for Nick Hewer while he spent a period of time in isolation during the UK's second lockdown. On 14 November 2020, Des O'Connor who hosted between January 2007 and December 2008 died after a fall and 2 days later, an episode

7524-532: The match was declared a draw and they both returned for the next show. A significant change in the format occurred in September 2001, when the show was expanded from nine rounds and 30 minutes to the current fifteen rounds and 45 minutes. The older format was split into two halves, each with three letters and one numbers game, plus the conundrum at the end of the second half. When the format was expanded to fifteen rounds, Richard Whiteley continued to refer jokingly to

7638-596: The mid-1980s to the mid-'90s before that niche market was overtaken by Game Show Network in 1994. In the United Kingdom , game shows have had a more steady and permanent place in the television lineup and never lost popularity in the 1990s as they did in the United States, due in part to the fact that game shows were highly regulated by the Independent Broadcasting Authority in the 1980s and that those restrictions were lifted in

7752-463: The mid-2010s. In 2016, ABC packaged the existing Celebrity Family Feud , which had returned in 2015, with new versions of To Tell the Truth , The $ 100,000 Pyramid , and Match Game in 2016; new versions of Press Your Luck and Card Sharks would follow in 2019. TBS launched a cannabis -themed revival of The Joker's Wild , hosted by Snoop Dogg , in October 2017. This is in addition to

7866-507: The most successful game show contestants in America would likely never be cast in a British or Australian game show for fear of having them dominate the game, according to Mark Labbett , who appeared in all three countries on the game show The Chase . The Japanese game show is a distinct format, borrowing heavily from variety formats, physical stunts and athletic competitions. The Japanese style has been adapted overseas (and at one point

7980-416: The normal series, the winner of each game returns for the next day's show. A player who wins eight games is declared an "octochamp" and retires from the programme. At the end of the series, the eight best players (ranked first by number of wins, then by total score if required to break a tie) are invited back to compete in the series finals. They are seeded in a knockout tournament, with the first seed playing

8094-427: The producers from time to time, so any published list does not necessarily reflect the letters used in any particular programme. The two stacks of tiles are not replenished between rounds. Both contestants write down the words they form, in case they select the same one. After time runs out, the host asks the contestants to declare their word lengths, starting with the contestant who chose the letters. The host then asks

8208-551: The programme received a Guinness World Record at the end of its 6,000th show for the longest-running television programme of its kind during the course of Series 71. In September 2014, Countdown entered the Guinness World Records for the most series of a TV game show broadcast. Countdown has occupied a daytime broadcast slot since its inception, originally in a 30-minute format. Since 2001, an episode lasts around 45 minutes including advertising breaks. During

8322-443: The programme until 6 February 2008. By July 2008, both Des O'Connor and Carol Vorderman had announced that they would be leaving by the end of that year after the end of Series 59. While Des O'Connor was forced to leave in order to concentrate on other projects, Carol Vorderman left after her offer to take a 33% salary decrease was rejected and production staff asked her to take a 90% pay cut; her agent stated that staff had told her that

8436-418: The programme, Belgian record executive Marcel Stellman brought the format to Britain on the belief it could be popular overseas and proposed his concept for the British version to several networks. The concept was purchased in the early 1980s by Yorkshire Television , which commissioned a series of eight shows under the title Calendar Countdown , which were broadcast between April and June 1982. Aimed at being

8550-574: The programme, as a whole, is widely recognised and parodied within British culture. Countdown was produced by Yorkshire Television and was recorded at The Leeds Studios for 27 years, before moving to the Manchester-based Granada Studios in 2009. Following the development of MediaCityUK , Countdown moved again in 2013 to the new purpose-built studios at Dock10 in Greater Manchester . The programme

8664-496: The results of the game. (Thus, the British version of The Price Is Right at first did not include the American version's "Showcase Showdown", in which contestants spun a large wheel to determine who would advance to the Showcase bonus round.) In Canada, prizes were limited not by bureaucracy but necessity, as the much smaller population limited the audience of shows marketed toward that country. The lifting of these restrictions in

8778-463: The role was to be assigned to a previously unknown male or female arithmetician with "charm and charisma". When Des Lynam became the new presenter after Richard Whiteley's death in 2005, the show regularly drew an average 1.7 million viewers every day; this was around half a million more than in the last few years of Richard Whiteley presenting. The Series 54 final on 26 May 2006 attracted 2.5 million viewers. 3–4 million viewers had watched

8892-446: The same distance away. Should neither contestant reach the target exactly, the assistant is called upon to attempt a solution, either immediately or at a later time during the episode. In some games, there are many ways to reach the target exactly; the example target above could also be reached by 7 × (75 + 50 + 2 – 8 – 3) = 812. Not all games are solvable, and for a few selections it is impossible even to get within 10, most commonly when

9006-400: The same result. In addition, both contestants must show their written work to each other if their results and calculations are identical. The contestant who has declared a result closer to the target is called upon to state their calculations first. Only if they make a mistake or if both contestants are equally close to the target, is the opponent called upon. Only the contestant whose result

9120-483: The series is made for export. Canadian contestants are generally allowed to participate on American game shows, and there have been at least three Canadian game show hosts – Howie Mandel , Monty Hall and Alex Trebek – who have gone on to long careers hosting American series, while Jim Perry , an American host, was prominent as a host of Canadian shows. American game shows have a tendency to hire stronger contestants than their British or Australian counterparts. Many of

9234-431: The series winner was a leather-bound copy of the twenty-volume Oxford English Dictionary , worth over £ 4,000. David Acton (winner of Series 31) opted for a CD-ROM version of the dictionaries, not wanting to accept leather-bound books owing to his strict veganism and donated the monetary difference in the prices to charity. Between 2011 and 2021, the prize consisted of ordinary hardback twenty-one-volume dictionaries,

9348-540: The series' conclusion, Countdown was placed into hiatus from 1 July to determine how to proceed. In October 2005, Channel 4 announced that Des Lynam would take over as the main presenter, having previously participated in the celebrity edition ( Celebrity Countdown ) in April 1998. Lynam's tenure ran until December 2006, whereupon his demanding filming schedule forced him to resign from the programme. Channel 4 proposed reducing his travelling by moving filming from Leeds to

9462-481: The show daily in its previous 16:15 slot. The drop in viewing figures following the scheduling change coupled with the show's perceived educational benefits, even caused Labour MP Jonathan Shaw to table a motion in the UK Parliament requesting that the show be returned to its later time. Minor scheduling changes have subsequently seen the show move from 15:15 to 15:30, 15:45, 15:25 and 15:10. As of 2024, it

9576-478: The show had survived without Richard Whiteley and could "easily survive without you". Some media reports suggested that the new presenter would be either Rory Bremner , the early favourite or Alexander Armstrong , but both ruled themselves out of the job. At the same time there was speculation that several prominent women, including Anthea Turner , Ulrika Jonsson and Myleene Klass were strong candidates to take over Carol Vorderman's job, but Channel 4 revealed that

9690-550: The show's American debut in 1999, it was a hit and became a regular part of ABC's primetime lineup until 2002; that show would eventually air in syndication for seventeen years afterward. Several shorter-lived high-stakes games were attempted around the time of the millennium , both in the United States and the United Kingdom, such as Winning Lines , The Chair , Greed , Paranoia , and Shafted , leading to some dubbing this period as "The Million-Dollar Game Show Craze". The boom quickly went bust, as by July 2000, almost all of

9804-487: The show's first multi-million dollar winner; it has also increased the stakes of its tournaments and put a larger focus on contestants with strong personalities. The show has since produced four more millionaires: tournament winner Brad Rutter and recent champions James Holzhauer , Matt Amodio , and Amy Schneider . Family Feud revived in popularity with a change in tone under host Steve Harvey to include more ribaldry . In 2009, actress and comedienne Kim Coles became

9918-651: The show, such as the science-inspired Geek Out Game Show or the Yuck Show . Since the early 2000s, several game shows were conducted in a tournament format; examples included History IQ , Grand Slam , PokerFace (which never aired in North America), Duel , The Million Second Quiz , 500 Questions , The American Bible Challenge , and Mental Samurai . Most game shows conducted in this manner only lasted for one season. A boom in prime time revivals of classic daytime game shows began to emerge in

10032-512: The show. In a further special broadcast on 16 August 2010 between the Series 59 finalists Charlie Reams and Junaid Mubeen, the other two numbers were revealed to be 62 and 87. The final round of the game is the Countdown Conundrum , in which the contestants are shown a combination of two or three words with a total of nine letters. They have 30 seconds to form a single word using all the letters and must buzz in to respond (a bell for

10146-408: The single digits of dollars) are awarded as well when the price is correctly guessed, even when a contestant loses the major prize they were playing for. For high-stakes games, a network may purchase prize indemnity insurance to avoid paying the cost of a rare but expensive prize out of pocket. If the said prize is won too often, the insurance company may refuse to insure a show; this was a factor in

10260-572: The six tiles are randomly drawn and placed on the board. A random three-digit target figure is then generated by an electronic machine, known as "CECIL" (which stands for Countdown's Electronic Calculator In Leeds ). The contestants have 30 seconds to work out a sequence of calculations with the numbers whose final result is as close to the target number as possible. They may use only the four basic operations of addition , subtraction , multiplication and division and do not have to use all six numbers. A number may not be used more times than it appears on

10374-546: The start of Series 84. Nick Hewer's final show aired on 25 June 2021. On 28 June 2021, Anne Robinson became the show's first female host in its 39-year history. In May 2022, it was announced that she would be leaving the show after just one year with Colin Murray taking over for the majority of Series 86. In total, Anne Robinson recorded 265 episodes, which equates to two full series and the first three weeks of Series 86. Countdown quickly established cult status within British television – an image which it maintains today, despite

10488-542: The team who won the most money answering one final question for a jackpot which started at $ 1,000 and increased $ 500 each week until won. Another early example was the Lightning Round on the word game Password , starting in 1961. The contestant who won the front game played a quick-fire series of passwords within 60 seconds, netting $ 50 per correctly guessed word, for a maximum bonus prize of $ 250. The bonus round came about after game show producer Mark Goodson

10602-556: The three segments of the show as "halves". Under the old format, Grand Finals were specially extended shows of fourteen rounds, but now all shows use a fifteen-round format. The rules regarding which words are permitted have changed with time. American spelling was allowed until 2002 and more unspecified inflections were assumed to be valid. Game show On most game shows, contestants answer questions or solve puzzles, and win prizes such as cash, trips and goods and services . Game shows began to appear on radio and television in

10716-416: The topmost of which contains only the four large numbers. The contestant may specify how many tiles to draw from each row, or simply state how many large and small numbers will be used; in the latter case, the assistant draws the tiles randomly. The numbers are usually placed on the board from right to left, starting with the small ones, but have occasionally been displayed in scrambled order. On rare occasions,

10830-495: The tournament includes the series winners and other noteworthy contestants. Series 33 was designated a "Supreme Championship", in which 56 of the best contestants from all the previous series returned for another knockout tournament. Series 10 champion Harvey Freeman was declared Supreme Champion after beating Allan Saldanha in the final. There are also occasional special episodes, in which past contestants return for themed matches. For example, David Acton and Kenneth Michie returned for

10944-459: The wake of the scandals limited the style of games that could be played and the amount of money that could be awarded. Panel shows there were kept in primetime and have continued to thrive; they have transformed into showcases for the nation's top stand-up comedians on shows such as Have I Got News for You , Would I Lie to You? , Mock the Week , QI , and 8 Out of 10 Cats , all of which put

11058-422: The wife of the contestant couple would perform at a jackpot board for a prize. The contestant was shown a famous quotation or common phrase, and the words were scrambled. To win the announced bonus, the contestant had to unscramble the words within 20 seconds. The contestant received a consolation gift worth over $ 200 if she was unsuccessful. Another early bonus round ended each episode of You Bet Your Life with

11172-569: The winner, but only a handful of episodes have required three. There have also been cases when even more Conundrums have been required to provide a winner, but not all have been included in the transmitted programme. The rules of Countdown are derived from those of Des chiffres et des lettres . Perhaps the biggest difference is the length of the round; DCedL 's number rounds are each 45 seconds long to Countdown 's 30. DCedL also features "duels", in which players compete in short tasks such as mental arithmetic problems, forming two themed words from

11286-739: The word is valid. Each round ends with Dictionary Corner revealing the longest words and/or any unusual ones that can be formed from the available letters, aided by the production team. Any word which appears in the Oxford Dictionary of English is valid, as well as accepted forms of them that may not be explicitly listed. Examples are: Words that are not allowed include: The contestant in control chooses six of 24 shuffled face-down number tiles, arranged into two groups: 20 "small numbers" (two each of 1 to 10) and four "large numbers" of 25, 50, 75 and 100. The contestant decides how many large numbers are to be used, from none to all four, after which

11400-587: The world. Most game show formats that are popular in one country are franchised to others. Game shows have had an inconsistent place in television in Canada , with most homegrown game shows there being made for the French-speaking Quebec market and the majority of English-language game shows in the country being rebroadcast from, or made with the express intent of export to, the United States. There have been exceptions to this (see, for instance,

11514-432: The years from a £100 book voucher to £250, later to £500 and then £1,000. Beginning with Series 68, the runner-up in the finals wins a laptop. The first episode of Countdown was repeated on 1 October 2007 on More4 and also on 2 November 2007 on Channel 4; this was as part of Channel 4 at 25 , a season of programmes to celebrate its 25th birthday. On 2 November 2007, Countdown celebrated its 25th anniversary and aired

11628-449: Was You Bet Your Life , ostensibly a game show, but the game show concept was largely a framework for a talk show moderated by its host, Groucho Marx .) During the late 1950s, high-stakes games such as Twenty-One and The $ 64,000 Question began a rapid rise in popularity. However, the rise of quiz shows proved to be short-lived. In 1959, many of the higher stakes game shows were exposed as being either biased or outright scripted in

11742-414: Was abandoned after it was found to be highly flawed. Countdown was the first programme broadcast by Channel 4 when it launched on 2 November 1982, on Countdown trivia—Retrieved 20 June 2006.</ref> with Whiteley opening the programme with the line: As the countdown to a brand new channel ends, a brand new Countdown begins. Alongside the original cast from Calendar Countdown , the new format of

11856-402: Was commissioned to be broadcast four times a week for seven weeks initially, but was such a success that it is still being recommissioned as of 2024. An additional spin-off to the programme for young contestants was proposed at the time, dubbed Junior Countdown – the concept would be similar in format, but hosted by Gyles Brandreth and Ted Moult – but while a pilot was created, the proposal

11970-481: Was dedicated to his memory. On 7 December 2020, Nick Hewer announced that he would be stepping down as the host of Countdown at the end of Series 83 in Summer 2021. Nick Hewer said it had been "privilege and a pleasure to take the helm of Countdown ". It was then announced on 15 February 2021 that Anne Robinson , who first appeared on the show as a guest in Dictionary Corner in 1987, would take over from Nick Hewer at

12084-517: Was first presented Password , contending that it was not enough to merely guess passwords during the show. "We needed something more, and that's how the Lightning Round was invited," said Howard Felsher , who produced Password and Family Feud . "From that point on every game show had to have an end round. You'd bring a show to a network and they'd say, 'What's the endgame?' as if they had thought of it themselves." The end game of Match Game , hosted for most of its run by Gene Rayburn , served as

12198-496: Was hired to work alongside Hytner in handling the selection of number and letter tiles respectively, while Linda Barrett and Carol Vorderman were recruited for checking over calculations by contestants in the numbers round. In addition, a lexicographer was also required to form part of the format's "Dictionary Corner" segment, to verify words given by contestants in the letters round (see Letters round rules ) and to point out any longer or otherwise interesting words available; such

12312-478: Was introduced to the game show genre in the late 1960s on all three networks. The 1970s saw a renaissance of the game show as new games and massive upgrades to existing games made debuts on the major networks. The New Price Is Right , an update of the 1950s-era game show The Price Is Right , debuted in 1972 and marked CBS's return to the game show format in its rural purge . The Match Game became "Big Money" Match Game 73 , which proved popular enough to prompt

12426-425: Was made with a refined format – an episode that was never broadcast – the show was bought by Channel 4 , a new British television channel set to launch in November 1982, based on the refined concept. While Whiteley and Hytner from the original pilot were retained, the programme was renamed Countdown , and the format was expanded to include additional members in the hosting team, including letters and number experts. It

12540-432: Was parodied with an American reality competition, I Survived a Japanese Game Show , which used a fake Japanese game show as its central conceit). Many of the prizes awarded on game shows are provided through product placement , but in some cases they are provided by private organizations or purchased at either the full price or at a discount by the show. There is the widespread use of "promotional consideration", in which

12654-436: Was presented by Richard Whiteley for 23 years until his death on 26 June 2005. It was then presented by Des Lynam from October 2005 until December 2006, Des O'Connor from January 2007 until December 2008, Jeff Stelling from January 2009 until December 2011 and Nick Hewer from January 2012 until his retirement in June 2021, with Colin Murray standing in for Nick Hewer during part of the COVID-19 pandemic . The programme

12768-516: Was replaced by Rachel Riley . Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon stood in for Riley from December 2021 to March 2022 whilst she was on maternity leave. Susie Dent has been the permanent lexicographer since 1992 and appears in "Dictionary Corner" alongside a celebrity guest who changes from week to week. Countdown originated from the format of the French game show Des chiffres et des lettres ( Numbers and Letters ), created by Armand Jammot . After watching

12882-497: Was stopped temporarily in 2009 to avoid difficulties with camera angles after the studio layout was changed). The Conundrum is designed to have only one solution, but on occasion more than one valid word is found by happenstance (e.g. MISSATTEE can become both ESTIMATES and STEAMIEST). If this happens, any of these results are accepted. On rare occasions, the Conundrum is presented as a single nine-letter word that must be anagrammed into another one (e.g. SMARTENED becoming TRADESMEN). If

12996-469: Was then presented by Anne Robinson from June 2021 until July 2022. Murray then returned on 14 July as a stand-in host. On 25 July 2022, it was announced that Les Dennis would guest host the show from 4 to 15 August followed by Jenny Eclair from 16 to 19 August because Murray tested positive for COVID-19 . Guest hosts returned later that year as part of the show's 40th anniversary celebrations, with Floella Benjamin , Richard Coles , Trevor McDonald (for

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