Beat the Boss is a BBC

BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

 TV programme in the UK, presented by Cameron Johnson

Cameron Johnson

Cameron Johnson is an author, businessman, entrepreneur, and internationally recognized public speaker. Most recently he was a finalist on Oprah's Big Give which aired on ABC....

 and previously Saira Khan

Saira Khan

Saira Khan is a British television personality and was the runner-up on the first UK series of reality TV show The Apprentice in 2005.-Television career:...

.
Two teams, one kids team named "The Bright Sparks", and one adult team named "The Big Shots", have to create a product that will appeal to the kid's market. At the end of each episode, a panel of kids vote for their favourite product and the team with the most votes wins a limousine ride home while the losers take the bus.
The show has been commissioned for a fifth series to be made in Manchester.

Portable pooch pack

1. Aired: Monday 29 May 2006
2. Filmed: 2005
3. Winner: The Big Shots

Starring:

• George Gambal
• Nina Franklin
• Sam Smith

Ultimate Leisure Inflatable

1. Aired: Monday 5 June 2006
2. Filmed: 2005
3. Winner: The Bright Sparks

Comic Relief does Beat the Boss

A special version of Beat the Boss was shown before Red Nose Day 2007

Red Nose Day 2007

Red Nose Day 2007, was a fund raising event organized by Comic Relief, broadcast live on BBC One and BBC Two from the evening of 16 March 2007 to early the following morning. It was part of "The Big One" campaign...

. It involved The Bright Sparks and a celebrity team of The Big Shots composed of Joe Pasquale

Joe Pasquale

Joseph Ellis "Joe" Pasquale is an English comedian from Grays, Essex, arguably most famous for his high-pitched voice, use of visual gags and more recently being crowned "King of the Jungle", on the reality TV show I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!...

, Duncan Bannatyne

Duncan Bannatyne

Duncan Walker Bannatyne, OBE is a Scottish entrepreneur, philanthropist and author. His business interests include hotels, health clubs, spas, media, TV, stage schools, property and transport. He is most famous for his appearance as a business angel on the BBC programme Dragons' Den...

 and Chantelle Preston. The teams had to design a suit for Lenny Henry

Lenny Henry

Lenworth George "Lenny" Henry, is a British actor, writer, comedian and occasional television presenter.- Early life :...

 to wear on the night. Viewers were asked to phone in and vote for their favourite.
During Red Nose Day 2007, Saira Khan

Saira Khan

Saira Khan is a British television personality and was the runner-up on the first UK series of reality TV show The Apprentice in 2005.-Television career:...

 and the two teams were on the stage, and Saira Khan

Saira Khan

Saira Khan is a British television personality and was the runner-up on the first UK series of reality TV show The Apprentice in 2005.-Television career:...

 announced that the winners were "The Bright Sparks", Lenny Henry

Lenny Henry

Lenworth George "Lenny" Henry, is a British actor, writer, comedian and occasional television presenter.- Early life :...

 came from backstage wearing the designed suit.

Board Game

1. Aired: Monday 21 May 2007
2. Filmed: 2006
3. Winner: The Bright Sparks

Starring:

• Daniel Bunney

Ice cream

1. Aired: Monday 28 May 2006
2. Filmed: 2006
3. Winner: The Big Shots
4. Winning Produt: Ice Cream Microphone

Reptiles

1. Aired: Monday 20 May 2008
2. Filmed: 2007
   • Brief: Create a new product for the pet reptile market
   • Bright Sparks product: An Australian-themed reptile house called "Dragon's Lair"
   • Big Shots product: A reptile house with a desert environment
   • Winner: The Bright Sparks

Toy rocket

1. Aired: Monday 27 May 2008
2. Filmed: 2007
   • Brief: Design a new toy rocket
   • Bright Sparks product: A water-powered rocket
   • Big Shots product: A Concorde
     Concorde
     Aérospatiale-BAC Concorde was a turbojet-powered supersonic passenger airliner, a supersonic transport . It was a product of an Anglo-French government treaty, combining the manufacturing efforts of Aérospatiale and the British Aircraft Corporation...
     
     -shaped rocket with a camera attachment
   • Winner: The Bright Sparks

Bed

1. Aired: Monday 2 June 2008
2. Filmed: 2007
   • Brief: Design a new bed for kids
   • Bright Sparks product: A football-themed bed
   • Big Shots product: A four-poster bed with lighting
   • Winner: The Big Shots

Hand Luggage

1. Aired: Monday 9 June 2008
2. Filmed: 2007
   • Brief: Design a new item of hand luggage for kids
   • Bright Sparks product: A rucksack with musical extras, called "Music Magic"
   • Big Shots product: A globe-themed bag, called "Globag"
   • Winner: The Bright Sparks

Tent

1. Aired: Monday 16 June 2008
2. Filmed: 2007
   • Brief: Design a new outdoors product for kids
   • Bright Sparks product: A four-armed tent, "Smiley Podz"
   • Big Shots product: A tent with different areas for different activities, called "Octo Pad"
   • Winner: The Bright Sparks

Birthday Cake

1. Aired: Monday 23 June 2008
2. Filmed: 2008
   • Brief: Design a birthday cake
   • Bright Sparks product: A star-shaped cake surrounded with cupcakes, called "Shout Out Cake Kit"
   • Big Shots product: A jungle-themed cake, called "The Amazing Exploding Chocolate Lake Cake"
   • Winner: The Big Shots

Series 4 & Beat the Boss USA

Series 4 was partly filmed in America, with an American presenter (Cameron Johnson

Cameron Johnson

Cameron Johnson is an author, businessman, entrepreneur, and internationally recognized public speaker. Most recently he was a finalist on Oprah's Big Give which aired on ABC....

 from Oprah's Big Give

Oprah's Big Give

Oprah's Big Give is a reality television series that aired Sunday nights at 9:00 PM Eastern/8:00PM Central on ABC, and is hosted by Nate Berkus. The Big Give is produced by Harpo Productions, and created and produced by Oprah Winfrey, and also produced by Bert Van Munster and Elise Doganieri...

), American Big Shots, and one of the three Bright Sparks was also American. It was filmed during the Summer of 2008 and aired beginning January 2009. The first five episodes are called "Beat the Boss USA".

Dog Outfit

1. Aired: Thursday 8 January 2009
2. Filmed: 2008
   • Brief: Design a dog outfit
   • Location: New York
   • Company:
   • Bright Sparks:
   • Bright Sparks product: A reversible purple or light blue dog outfit with short sleeves
   • Big Shots:
   • Big Shots product: A reversible camouflage or brown velvet dog oufit with mp3 pocket
   • Winner: The Big Shots

Cheesecake

1. Aired: Thursday 15 January 2009
2. Filmed: 2008
   • Brief: Invent a brand new flavour and design of American cheesecake for children
   • Location: Los Angeles
   • Company: The Cheesecake Factory
     The Cheesecake Factory
     The Cheesecake Factory, Inc. is a restaurant company in the United States. The company operates 165 upscale, casual, full-service dining restaurants: 151 under The Cheesecake Factory mark, 13 under the Grand Lux Cafe mark and one under the RockSugar Pan Asian Kitchen mark...
     
     
   • Bright Sparks:Sierra (US), Laura, Harry
   • Bright Sparks product: "Inside-out Trio" (Three different flavoured cheesecake-balls with layered flavouring inside)
   • Big Shots: David H. Lawrence XVII
   • Big Shots product:"My Own Cheesecake" (A blank cheesecake with supplied toppings can be used)
   • Winner: The Big Shots

Outdoor Craze

1. Aired: Thursday 22 January 2009
2. Filmed: 2008
   • Brief: Create a "backyard" craze to sweep the nation.
   • Location: San Francisco
   • Company: Wham-O
     Wham-O
     Wham-O Inc. is a toy company currently located in California, USA. They are known for marketing many popular toys in the past 50 years, including the Hula Hoop, the Frisbee, Slip 'N Slide, Super Ball, Trac-Ball, Silly String, Hacky Sack and the Boogie board....
     
     
   • Bright Sparks: Eli (US), Rhys, Ruth
   • Bright Sparks product: Water-squirting pogo stick.http://www.flickr.com/photos/rayeverettchurch/3220889314
   • Big Shots: Bob Goodson (YouNoodle
     YouNoodle
     YouNoodle is a San Francisco-based company providing a networking website for small businesses. It has received particular attention for its "startup predictor", which aims to use mathematical models to predict the success of a new business based on information about its concept, finances, founders...
     
     ), Margret Schmidt (TiVo
     TiVo
     TiVo is a digital video recorder developed and marketed by TiVo, Inc. and introduced in 1999. TiVo provides an on-screen guide of scheduled broadcast programming television programs, whose features include "Season Pass" schedules which record every new episode of a series, and "WishList"...
     
     ), Ray Everett-Church
     Ray Everett-Church
     Ray Everett-Church , is an American attorney, entrepreneur and author. He was dubbed "the dean of corporate Chief Privacy Officers" by Inter@ctive Week magazine, first creating that title and position in 1999 at online marketing company AllAdvantage...
     
     
   • Big Shots product: Aerobatic planes with adjustable target hoops.http://www.flickr.com/photos/rayeverettchurch/3220883876
   • Winner: The Bright Sparks
   • Watch the Episode: BBC iPlayerhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00h515m

All Purpose Sauce

1. Aired: Thursday 29 January 2009
2. Filmed: 2008
   • Brief:
   • Location: Pittsburgh
   • Company: Heinz
     H. J. Heinz Company
     The H. J. Heinz Company , commonly known as Heinz and famous for its "57 Varieties" slogan and its ketchup, is an American food company with world headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.Perhaps best known for its ketchup, the H.J...
     
     
   • Bright Sparks: Bruna (12, US), Rory (12), Rosy (12)
   • Bright Sparks product:
   • Big Shots: Emmai Alaquiva (Ya Momz House), Kelley Skoloda (Ketchum), Nathan Martin (DeepLocal.com)
   • Big Shots product:
   • Winner: The Big Shots

Street Wear

1. Aired: Thursday 5 February 2009
2. Filmed: 2008
   • Brief:
   • Location: Los Angeles
   • Company:
   • Bright Sparks:
   • Bright Sparks product:
   • Big Shots:
   • Big Shots product:
   • Winner: The Big Shots

Other versions

In September 2008, an Irish version of the show in Irish language started on BBC Northern Ireland. Hosted by Céara Ní Choinn, it is titled Gaisce Gnó (Be the Business). In this version, the Big Shots appear to come more from the visual media world than from big business. The first challenge was to create a board game