The Price Is Right (UK game show)
Encyclopedia
The Price Is Right in the UK was hosted by Leslie Crowther
Leslie Crowther
Leslie Crowther, CBE was an English comedian, actor and gameshow host.-Biography:Crowther was born in West Bridgford in Nottinghamshire. At the end of 1944 he moved to London with his parents, but was evacuated for a few months to Bute until just after the war ended.His father, Leslie Frederick...

, Bob Warman
Bob Warman
Bob Warman is a British television presenter, born in Walsall, West Midlands .Between the ages of 13 and 18, Warman attended Wrekin College in Wellington, Shropshire. He has spent most of his television career at ATV and Central, presenting regional news programmes.He was also a regional presenter...

, Bruce Forsyth
Bruce Forsyth
Sir Bruce Joseph Forsyth-Johnson, CBE , commonly known as Bruce Forsyth, or Brucie, is an English TV personality...

, and 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!...

. It ran from 24 March 1984 to 12 January 2007.

Crowther era (The Price is Right)

The Leslie Crowther version is popular with fans of the show for its near-campiness, glamour, and endearing presenting skills of its host, not for its cheaper prizes (which were forced on it by the Independent Broadcasting Authority
Independent Broadcasting Authority
The Independent Broadcasting Authority was the regulatory body in the United Kingdom for commercial television - and commercial/independent radio broadcasts...

's prize limits). Its format was nearly identical to that of CBS's daytime show in the United States. It initially used the Big Wheel to decide who would go through to the Showcase, but the IBA forced Central to abandon this because of the lack of skill involved. In fact, the show had to go off air for a while during its first season on the IBA's instructions (the regulator was also unhappy that prize values had exceeded its limits), so that the format could be adapted to fit into a much more tightly-regulated UK broadcasting environment.

After this ruling was made, the show replaced the Big Wheel rounds with a game called "Supermarket", in which each of the three people would select up to four of six presented grocery products; the one whose total was closest to £20, above or below, advanced to the Showcase Final.

Series two saw the Big Wheel return for a spin-off to see who would have the option of bidding or passing on the first showcase; each contestant had to take two spins. If a person scored 100, £400 would be donated to charity on their behalf, and Leslie would ask the person a consumer-related question to win £100 for him/herself. The winner was the contestant who came closer to 100 in either direction.

The Crowther version later used a game called "the Showcase Questions", where all six on-stage contestants played a series of estimated-guess questions and the person farthest away from the actual prize was eliminated. This was done until the last two contestants were left, and they then advanced to the Showcase Final.

The showcase was played largely the same way as on the American version. In the first season, the winner wouldn't win the largest prize in their showcase if their winning guess was not within 10% of the showcase total.

Pricing Games

  • Any Number
  • Bargain Bar ("Barker's Bargain Bar" in the U.S.)
  • Blank Cheque (Now known as "Check Game" in the U.S.)
  • Bonus Game
  • (The) Card Game
  • Check-Out
  • Cliffhanger ("Cliff Hangers" in the U.S.)
  • The Clock Game
  • Danger Price
  • Dice Game
  • Escalator ("Walk of Fame" in the U.S.)
  • Five Price Tags
  • Give or Keep
  • Hi Lo (played with small prizes instead of grocery items)
  • Hole in One
  • Lucky 7 (Played with seven £1 coins for a prize with a three-digit price)
  • Master Key
  • Matchmaker (not based on any U.S. game; a pricing game in name only, as it actually involved no prices at all)
  • Money Game (played for a vehicle with a three-digit price)
  • Most Expensive (An original game later introduced in the U.S. as "Easy as 1 2 3"; not the U.S.'s "Most Expensive")
  • One Away
  • Partners (Loosely based on Double Bullseye)
  • The Penny Drops ("Penny Ante" in the U.S.)
  • Permutation (not based on any U.S. game; played much like Balance Game)
  • Pick-a-Pair (played with small prizes instead of grocery items)
  • Punch a Bunch
  • Race Game
  • Range Game
  • Safecracker ("Safe Crackers" in the U.S.)
  • Secret X
  • Side by Side (not based on any U.S. game; not related to the U.S.'s Side by Side in any way)
  • Squeeze Play (players remove two numbers instead of one)
  • Switcheroo (played for four two-digit prizes and one three-digit prize)
  • Take Two
  • Temptation
  • Ten Chances (played for two two-digit prizes and one three-digit prize)
  • 3 in a Row (not based on any U.S. game)
  • 3 Strikes
  • Tic-Tac-Toe (a variation on Secret X)
  • Time-Play (a variation on Clock Game)
  • Trade Up ("Trader Bob" in the U.S.)


Models

  • Marie-Elise Grepne (1984–1985)
  • Jacqueline Bucknell (1984–1986)
  • Julia Roberts
    Julia Roberts (QVC presenter)
    Julia Roberts is a British television home shopping host on the shopping channel QVC.-Biography:Roberts started her career as a cabaret dancer, supporting Cannon and Ball on a summer season in Guernsey, and then followed their act on to television...

     (1984–1986)
  • Denise Kelly (1984–1988)
  • Sandra Easby (1985)
  • Cindy Day (1986–1988)
  • Carol Greenwood (1986–1988)
  • Gillian de Terville (1986–1988)
  • Elsa O'Toole (1986)
  • Judy Bailey (1986–1988)
  • Laura Calland (1987-1988)
  • Sarah Wynter (1988)

Warman era (The New Price is Right)

The second version hosted by Bob Warman
Bob Warman
Bob Warman is a British television presenter, born in Walsall, West Midlands .Between the ages of 13 and 18, Warman attended Wrekin College in Wellington, Shropshire. He has spent most of his television career at ATV and Central, presenting regional news programmes.He was also a regional presenter...

 is considered to be a precursor to the third version hosted by Bruce Forsyth
Bruce Forsyth
Sir Bruce Joseph Forsyth-Johnson, CBE , commonly known as Bruce Forsyth, or Brucie, is an English TV personality...

, as it was a half-hour and used the Showcase range game. Having premiered shortly after Leslie Crowther's version went off the air, it retained many elements from the set and props, but was somewhat "Americanized". The show was hence called "The New Price is Right" and had a red, yellow, and green pound sign. The Warman version also had slightly better and more expensive prizes than the Crowther version due to the program's shorter length, in-show sponsorship, and lighter regulation of satellite television channels. The show also had a light border in the opening (mimicking the American version), used US music (including the opening theme), and had more colour on the set.

The Showcase round was played considerably differently: After three games and a single Showcase Showdown at the Big Wheel (in which spinning 100 earned a bonus spin worth a bonus prize), the Showdown winner selected a range at random from £250 to £1,000; if the bid was within the selected range of the price of the presented showcase without going over, they won the Showcase.

The Warman era was very short-lived, partly due to Sky TV being relatively new and having very few subscribers at the time; only 30 episodes were produced, airing over a period in 1989. Despite this, its format and version of the Showcase since carried over to many other European versions of the show, including Bruce's Price Is Right.

Pricing Games

  • Cliffhanger
  • Danger Price
  • Five Price Tags (Played with grocery items, and players are given a free pick at the start)
  • Hi Lo
  • Lucky 7 (Played with seven tokens)
  • Money Game (Played for a car, as in America)
  • Pick-a-Pair (Played with grocery items)
  • Race Game
  • Side by Side (Not based on any American pricing game, including "Side by Side")
  • Switcheroo
  • Ten Chances

Forsyth era (Bruce's Price is Right)

When it started in the mid-1990s, Bruce's Price is Right was one of the first shows to fully take advantage of the Independent Television Commission
Independent Television Commission
The Independent Television Commission licensed and regulated commercial television services in the United Kingdom between 1 January 1991 and 28 December 2003....

's lifting of the prize limits and the general deregulation of the UK broadcasting environment. The Showcase Showdown was played on the Big Wheel (objections to lack of skill no longer being a factor), with the highest-scoring contestant on one spin or a combination of two spins going through to the Showcase, and any contestant who scored 100 on one spin or a combination of two spins would win £1,000. The ranges for the Showcase in this version went from £1,000 to £5,000. Although it was only in a half-hour format with three pricing games per show (the Crowther show had been an hour long with six games) it still gave away more valuable prizes each week than the previous ITV version had done (for example, it was possible for a contestant to win two car
Čar
Čar is a village in the municipality of Bujanovac, Serbia. According to the 2002 census, the town has a population of 296 people.-References:...

s, one in a pricing game and one in the showcase, which would have been utterly unthinkable on British TV in the 1980s). Cars offered were usually superminis
Supermini car
A supermini is a British term that describes automobiles larger than a city car but smaller than a small family car. This car class is also known as the B-segment across Europe, and as subcompact in North America....

, from makers like Daihatsu and Daewoo
Daewoo
Daewoo or the Daewoo Group was a major South Korean chaebol . It was founded on 22 March 1967 as Daewoo Industrial and was dismantled by the Korean government in 1999...

, or models like a Ford Ka
Ford Ka
The Ford Ka is a city car from the Ford Motor Company marketed in Europe and elsewhere.The current European version is produced by Fiat Auto in Tychy, Poland, while the model sold in Latin America is built in Brazil and Argentina....

 or Mazda Demio
Mazda Demio
The Mazda Demio is a subcompact car manufactured by Mazda introduced in 1996, now in its third generation, marketed globally also as the Mazda2 — and previously marketed under nameplates including Mazda 121, Mazda Metro and Ford Festiva Mini Wagon.The third generation Demio earned the 2008...

, but small sports cars like a Hyundai Accent
Hyundai Accent
The Hyundai Accent , or Hyundai Verna in South Korea, is a subcompact car produced by Hyundai. In Australia, the first generation models carried over the Hyundai Excel name used by the Accent's predecessor. The Accent was replaced in 2000 by the Hyundai Verna in South Korea, although most...

 or Vauxhall Tigra were offered on occasion.

On the Forsyth version, the game Plinko
Plinko
Plinko is a pricing game on the American television game show The Price Is Right. The game involves guessing the prices of prizes to win "Plinko chips," which are later dropped down a large bean machine-style board to determine the contestant's cash prize...

 was played to very different rules from the US version; considerably less money could be won, and contestants could risk their cash winnings on one final Plinko chip in hopes of adding a car or other large prize to their winnings (the cash spaces on the board were replaced with alternating "WIN" and "LOSE" tags).

Many European versions of the show that debuted after the Forsyth version based their games and sound cues on that show. The main theme, an update of the US theme, and the "come on down" music are from the short-lived 1994 US syndicated version
The New Price Is Right (1994 game show)
The New Price Is Right was a short-lived syndicated version of the American game show The Price Is Right, which aired from September 12, 1994 to January 27, 1995. This version of the show did not use the same on-air personnel as the daytime version which ran concurrently on CBS...

.

Bruce would start some of these shows also with his trademark line of "Nice to see you, to see you...NICE!" (where the audience yells the word "nice" at the end).

Pricing Games

Introduced Series 1 (1995)
  • Cliffhanger ("Cliff Hangers" in the US; contestants were told that the prices increased as the game progressed)
  • Clock Game (rules modified after Series 1 so that all prizes ended in either '0' or '5')
  • Danger Price (contestant could not win the prize that cost the danger price)
  • Double Price Tags ("Double Prices" in the US)
  • Hole in One (played with four small prizes instead of six grocery products)
  • Master Key
  • Money Game
  • Most Expensive (contestant only won the most expensive prize)
  • 1 Right Price (regularly played for two cars, though the contestant could only choose one)
  • Pathfinder
  • Pick-a-Pair (played with the prizes themselves instead of with grocery products)
  • Plinko
  • Race Game (played with a 30-second timer)
  • Secret "X" (except on earliest playings, contestants had three chances to win the two additional Xs)
  • Swap ("Switch?" in the US; contestant could only win one prize)
  • Switcheroo


Introduced Series 2 (1996)
  • Check-Out
  • Lucky Seven (modified so that no numbers appeared in the price more than once)
  • Make Your Move
  • Pick-a-Number


Introduced Series 3 (1997)
  • Credit Card (contestant won the three prizes they picked, rules modified later on so that they also kept the remaining money on the card)
  • Most Expensive (replaced original "Most Expensive" from Series 1; now a renamed version of "Easy as 1 2 3")
  • Split Decision (used the game's timed format)
  • 3 Strikes ('one strike in the bag' rule implemented from Series 5 onward)


Introduced Series 4 (1998)
  • Any Number
  • Bruce's Bargain Bar ("Barker's Bargain Bar" in the US, contestant only won one of the prizes)
  • Hi Lo
  • Price Tags (known in the US as "Barker's Markers" from 1994–2007 on the daytime version, and as "Make Your Mark" in the 1994 syndicated version and from 2008–2009 on the daytime version)


Introduced Series 5 (1999)
  • Joker
  • Side by Side


Introduced Series 6 (2000)
  • Clearance Sale
  • Let 'em Roll (except on earliest playings, the number of rolls was determined a la the first half of On the Nose, using a grocery product and three price choices)
  • Push Over (blocks went "to Australia")


Introduced Series 7 (2001)
  • No new games were introduced.

Models

  • Kimberley Cowell (1995–2001)
  • Emma Noble
    Emma Noble
    Emma Jane Noble is an English model and actress. From 1999 to 2004 she was married to James Major, the son of former Prime Minister John Major.Noble was born and brought up in Sidcup, London...

     (1995–1997)
  • Emma Steadman (1995–2001)
  • Brian Tattersall (1995–1997)
  • Simon Peat (1998–2001)
  • Lea Kristensen (1998–2001)

Ant & Dec's Gameshow Marathon (The Price is Right)

On September 17, 2005, as part of a celebration of the 50th birthday of 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...

, Ant & Dec
Ant & Dec
Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly , known collectively as Ant & Dec, are an English comedy and TV presenting duo from Newcastle upon Tyne, England...

 hosted a one-off revival of The Price is Right as part of Ant & Dec's Gameshow Marathon
Gameshow Marathon (UK game show)
Gameshow Marathon is a British game show, broadcast from 17 September 2005 to 26 May 2007 on ITV .After a quick retrospective look at the history of the particular show, the show itself is recreated. This involved recreating the original set and using original opening programme titles, including...

; they also hosted revivals of several other game shows that were once popular on the ITV network. The original titles was from the Central
Central
Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center.Central may also refer to:-Directions and generalised locations:* Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as Middle Africa...

 version, however the 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...

 was used instead.

Pasquale era (The Price is Right)

Talkback Thames debuted a revival on ITV on 8 May 2006, this time with former "I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!
I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!
I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here is a reality television game show series in which 8 to 15 celebrities live together in a jungle environment for a few weeks. They have no luxuries, and compete to win a cash prize...

" winner 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!...

 as host. It followed the same gameplay format as Bob Warman and Bruce Forsyth's versions, with Showcase ranges going from £500 to £3000, and the Showcase Showdown adapted the rules from the Warman version, with a car at stake; later on, the £1000 bonus was reinstated. It had a very "panto
Pantomime
Pantomime — not to be confused with a mime artist, a theatrical performer of mime—is a musical-comedy theatrical production traditionally found in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Jamaica, South Africa, India, Ireland, Gibraltar and Malta, and is mostly performed during the...

" feel to it, and it relies on nostalgia of the Crowther version, which was known for its cheap prizes because of the regulations of the time. Joe's tour manager, Ray Tizzard, made appearances as his "twin" in various pricing games.

The show expanded to an hour from 3 July 2006. This involved three games being played, a Showcase Showdown, three more games, another Showcase Showdown, and then the winners from both showdowns take part in the 'Pasquale Finale', a spin-off on the wheel to see who will go through to the Showcase. During this format, spinning 100 in one or two spins won £1000; the player then spins for the car. In addition, prior to this, the maximum range in the Showcase increased to £4000, as the budget increased.

After the first three games and Showcase Showdown, Contestants' Row was cleared of people, and a new set of four contestants was called down.

In all versions of the programme, a perfect bid in Contestants' Row resulted in a £100 bonus in either cash or, in the Warman version, gift certificates.

Pricing Games

  • Any Number
  • Cliffhanger ("Cliff Hangers" in the US)
  • Danger Price
  • Deck of Cards ("Card Game" in the US; introduced when the show went hour-long)
  • Easy as 1 2 3
  • Find the Lady ("Shell Game" in the US, played here with playing cards, including a Queen)
  • Half & Half ("Money Game" in the US)
  • Hi Lo
  • Hole in One
  • Joe's Bargain Bar ("Barker's Bargain Bar" in the US)
  • Joe's Lucky Bags ("3 Strikes" in the US)
  • Joe Ker (introduced when the show went hour-long; known as "Joker" in the US)
  • Lucky 7 ("Lucky Seven" in the US; introduced when the show went hour-long, follows the same rules as Bruce Forsyth's version)
  • On the Nose
  • 1 Right Price (not the US's 1 Right Price; actually more similar to the US's Double Prices, with three choices, so you could call it "Triple Prices".)
  • 1 Wrong Price
  • Pick a Number
  • Pick-a-Pair (played with only four items)
  • Plinko
  • Price Tags ("Five Price Tags" in the US; introduced when the show went hour-long)
  • Push Over
  • Safecracker ("Safe Crackers" in the US)
  • Side by Side
  • Swap ("Switch?" in the US)
  • Take 2
  • Walk the Line (the grocery portion of Let 'em Roll with five items; based on the high-low game on Play Your Cards Right
    Play Your Cards Right
    Play Your Cards Right is a British television game show based on the American show known as Card Sharks. The gameplay was basically the same as in the American version.-Broadcast History:...

     with prices of grocery items instead of playing cards; to win, a contestant must correctly run the board with no mistakes)

Announcers

  • Peter Dickson (2006–2007)
  • Mike Hurley (2006–2007) (occasional cover for Peter Dickson)

Models

  • Natalie Denning
    Natalie Denning
    Natalie Denning is an English glamour model.-Career:Natalie Denning first found fame in the British reality TV series Poor Little Rich Girls and has since gone on to pose topless in many of the major British lads mag's including Nuts, ZOO, Loaded and Maxim...

     (2006–2007)
  • Amanda Robbins (2006–2007)
  • Richard Kyte (2006–2007)
  • Natalie Pike
    Natalie Pike
    Natalie Pike is a British model, raised in Berwick-on-Tweed and Stockport in England, who won the Miss British Isles Competition and the FHM High Street Honeys competition in 2004.- Education :...

     (2006–2007)

Cancellation

ITV chiefs cancelled The Price is Right at the end of its latest run on January 12, 2007.

While The Paul O'Grady Show
The Paul O'Grady Show
The Paul O'Grady Show was a BAFTA award-winning British comedy chat show hosted by Birkenhead-born comedian Paul O'Grady. The format was originally devised by Granada Television and was broadcast on ITV before moving to Channel 4...

on Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...

 regularly attracts over 2.5 million viewers, Pasquale has only managed to pull in 800,000.

Vernon Kay's Gameshow Marathon (The Price is Right)

After the success of Ant & Dec's Gameshow Marathon
Gameshow Marathon (UK game show)
Gameshow Marathon is a British game show, broadcast from 17 September 2005 to 26 May 2007 on ITV .After a quick retrospective look at the history of the particular show, the show itself is recreated. This involved recreating the original set and using original opening programme titles, including...

in 2005, 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...

 brought the show back, this time hosted by Vernon Kay, a contestant in the first series. Vernon Kay's Gameshow Marathon
Gameshow Marathon (UK game show)
Gameshow Marathon is a British game show, broadcast from 17 September 2005 to 26 May 2007 on ITV .After a quick retrospective look at the history of the particular show, the show itself is recreated. This involved recreating the original set and using original opening programme titles, including...

began on 7 April 2007 with The Price is Right.

Contestants

  • Michael Le Vell
    Michael Le Vell
    Michael Le Vell is an English character actor, who since 1983 has played the role of garage mechanic, Kevin Webster, in the soap opera Coronation Street....

     (Coronation Street
    Coronation Street
    Coronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960...

    actor)
  • Jamelia
    Jamelia
    Jamelia Niela Davis , best known mononymously as Jamelia, is an English singer-songwriter, model, entertainer, television presenter and actress. She is most famous for her use of a cappella and prolific work in the R&B genre...

     (Singer)
  • Graeme Le Saux
    Graeme Le Saux
    Graeme Pierre Le Saux is a retired English footballer of French ancestry who played for the Premier League clubs Chelsea, Blackburn Rovers and Southampton, and for the England national football team. Primarily a left back, he was sometimes also played in midfield or on the left wing.After...

     (Footballer)
  • Wendy Richard
    Wendy Richard
    Wendy Richard, MBE was an English actress best known for playing Miss Brahms in Are You Being Served? and Pauline Fowler in EastEnders...

     (Former EastEnders
    EastEnders
    EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...

    actress)
  • Ben Shephard
    Ben Shephard
    Benjamin Peter "Ben" Shephard, also known as "Sheps" is an English television presenter who currently works for Sky Sports, as well as ITV.-Personal life:...

     (TV presenter)
  • Andrea Catherwood
    Andrea Catherwood
    Andrea Catherine Catherwood is a Northern Irish television presenter and journalist.-Early life:Andrea Catherwood was born and raised in Belfast where her mother, 'Adrienne McGuill', was an announcer and newsreader at Ulster Television from 1959 to 1969, and also presented 'The Romper Room', from...

     (The Sunday Edition
    The Sunday Edition
    For the CBC Radio One radio show, see Sunday EditionThe Sunday Edition was a television programme broadcast on the ITV Network in the United Kingdom focusing on political interview and discussion, produced by London Weekend Television...

    presenter)


The winner of the show was Graeme Le Saux
Graeme Le Saux
Graeme Pierre Le Saux is a retired English footballer of French ancestry who played for the Premier League clubs Chelsea, Blackburn Rovers and Southampton, and for the England national football team. Primarily a left back, he was sometimes also played in midfield or on the left wing.After...

, who as a result advanced to the quarter-final of the show. The five remaining contestants returned in the next week's show, Blockbusters, to battle for the second spot in the quarter-final round.

Transmissions

Series Start date End date Episodes
1
24 March 1984
16 June 1984
13
2
29 December 1984
15 June 1985
25
3
18 January 1986
14 June 1986
22
4
27 December 1986
30 May 1987
23
5
4 December 1987
7 April 1988
17
6
1989
1989
20
7
4 September 1995
1 January 1996
17
8
2 September 1996
23 December 1996
17
9
29 August 1997
9 January 1998
17
10
4 September 1998
15 January 1999
17
11
10 September 1999
17 December 1999
11
12
24 July 2000
16 December 2000
23
13
23 June 2001
16 December 2001
15
14
8 May 2006
12 January 2007
150
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