Lucky Ladders
Encyclopedia
Lucky Ladders was a United Kingdom
daytime game show based on the American format titled Chain Reaction
that was produced by Anglia Television
and aired on ITV
from 21 March 1988 until 14 May 1993. It was hosted by Lennie Bennett
.
The contestants in play would be offered the choice to "give a letter" (a tactical move that would reveal the next letter to the opposing team in the hope that they wouldn't be able to guess the word correctly) or "guess a letter" (generally a safer bet, ensuring that the team remained in play, provided they didn't get the word wrong.) A wrong guess would see play revert to the opposing team. No conferring between players on the same team was allowed.
Example :
PADDLE
ROW
ARGUMENT
EXCHANGE
LABOUR
MANUAL
KEYBOARD
10 points were awarded per correct word guessed, with 20 points for the final word to complete the ladder. At each game's completion, Bennett explained the connections for the benefit of any viewers in the audience or at home who may not have understood the connections. The points were then increased to 20/40. If the game was not won at this point, the points could be increased to 30/60 or 40/80.
The first team to 200 points won the game, and were invited to complete a "prize ladder", which took exactly the same format as the main game but without the bottom word being revealed at the outset; the players now only had five free letter clues instead of the unlimited supply they had in the main game. Any teams who completed five prize ladders were retired from the game, usually with a big prize. The entire show was made cheaply and en masse in order to fill a weekday half-hour slot, and the prizes were not generally of a great equivalent cash value.
All winning contestants received a Lucky Ladders trophy. Lennie Bennett revealed in Yorkshire Television
's "One Day In The Life Of Television
" (tx November 1, 1989) that only six of these trophies were made for promotional purposes, and that players were required to hand them back after recording.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
daytime game show based on the American format titled Chain Reaction
Chain Reaction (game show)
Chain Reaction is an American game show created by Bob Stewart, in which players compete to form chains composed of two-word phrases.The show aired three separate runs: Bill Cullen hosted the original series on NBC from January 14 to June 20, 1980...
that was produced by Anglia Television
Anglia Television
Anglia Television is the ITV franchise holder for the East Anglia franchise region. Although Anglia Television takes its name from East Anglia, its transmission coverage extends beyond the generally accepted boundaries of that region. The station is based at Anglia House in Norwich, with regional...
and aired on ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
from 21 March 1988 until 14 May 1993. It was hosted by Lennie Bennett
Lennie Bennett
Lennie Bennett was an English comedian and game show host.After attending the Palatine Secondary School in Blackpool, Bennett became a journalist for the West Lancashire Evening Gazette before becoming a professional entertainer and appearing on The Good Old Days in 1979. Bennett starred in the...
.
Format
Two teams of two people were taken from the "Player's Paddock" (an enclosure containing enough fresh players to enable the producers to make five programmes in one studio session). They were shown a "lucky ladder"—a chain of seven words that connect to each other in some way. The top and bottom words were revealed at the outset, and the contestants would have to try to guess what words belonged in-between, one letter at a time.The contestants in play would be offered the choice to "give a letter" (a tactical move that would reveal the next letter to the opposing team in the hope that they wouldn't be able to guess the word correctly) or "guess a letter" (generally a safer bet, ensuring that the team remained in play, provided they didn't get the word wrong.) A wrong guess would see play revert to the opposing team. No conferring between players on the same team was allowed.
Example :
PADDLE
ROW
ARGUMENT
EXCHANGE
LABOUR
MANUAL
KEYBOARD
10 points were awarded per correct word guessed, with 20 points for the final word to complete the ladder. At each game's completion, Bennett explained the connections for the benefit of any viewers in the audience or at home who may not have understood the connections. The points were then increased to 20/40. If the game was not won at this point, the points could be increased to 30/60 or 40/80.
The first team to 200 points won the game, and were invited to complete a "prize ladder", which took exactly the same format as the main game but without the bottom word being revealed at the outset; the players now only had five free letter clues instead of the unlimited supply they had in the main game. Any teams who completed five prize ladders were retired from the game, usually with a big prize. The entire show was made cheaply and en masse in order to fill a weekday half-hour slot, and the prizes were not generally of a great equivalent cash value.
All winning contestants received a Lucky Ladders trophy. Lennie Bennett revealed in Yorkshire Television
Yorkshire Television
Yorkshire Television, now officially known as ITV Yorkshire and sometimes unofficially abbreviated to YTV, is a British television broadcaster and the contractor for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV network...
's "One Day In The Life Of Television
One Day in the Life of Television
One Day in the Life of Television is a documentary that was broadcast on ITV on 1 November 1989. Filmed by over fifty crews exactly one year earlier, it was a huge behind-the-scenes look at a wide range of activities involved in the production, reception and marketing of British television...
" (tx November 1, 1989) that only six of these trophies were made for promotional purposes, and that players were required to hand them back after recording.
Transmissions
| Series | Start date | End date | Episodes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 21 March 1988 | 22 April 1988 | 25 |
| 2 | 31 October 1988 | 16 December 1988 | 35 |
| 3 | 8 January 1990 | 16 February 1990 | 30 |
| 4 | 4 March 1991 | 26 April 1991 | 40 |
| 5 | 2 March 1992 | 10 April 1992 | 30 |
| 6 | 12 April 1993 | 14 May 1993 | 25 |