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The Vault (game show)
Encyclopedia
The Vault is a game show created in Israel
(known as HaKasefet), by Erez Tal
. It was later a British hit on ITV
, running from 2002 until 2004. It was hosted by Davina McCall
(Series 1), Melanie Sykes
(Series 2 & 3) and Gabby Logan
(Series 3). Logan stepped in for Sykes on July 6, 2004 when she went on maternity leave partway through Series 3 due to her pregnancy.
The four contestants who guessed the closest to the actual vault combination became players, and the other four became brokers, who could offer answers to questions in return for cash that players earned in the question rounds. In the final round, 10 home brokers were also on hand to offer their answers for similar cash rewards, which they negotiated with the player.
After the first round, which consisted of the four players being given three minutes to answer 10 general knowledge questions correctly, and the two highest scoring players going through to the semi-final, came the final round, which saw the player with the highest amount of money trying to unlock the vault by answering a further ten questions correctly. If they reached the ninth question and answered that correctly, the clock would be stopped and the player would be given three categories for their last question. If they answered that correctly, then they had the knowledge to unlock the Vault and would win the jackpot contained within it.
If the Vault was not opened by the studio contestant at the end of their final two minute round, then the same Vault jackpot was offered to someone watching at home, selected randomly by the computer from all the people who had registered over the past week. The lucky selected viewer had to answer six questions in 60 seconds, two of which had already been asked in the show. If they succeeded, the viewer would win the jackpot themselves. If they didn't, £100,000 was added to the jackpot for next week's show. In Series Three, the jackpot rolled over for nine weeks consecutively and reached £1 Million.
In Series One, Kwan Loo, a business/management consultant, was the first ever studio winner, when he scooped £100,000, and £300,000 was won by Leah Nichols after she answered Davina's six questions correctly on the phone. In Series Two, £200,000 went to home viewer Anne Parkinson.
Karen Shand, a home viewer in Series Three, answered the six questions correctly within the time limit and won one million pounds, which earned 'The Vault' a record for being the first quiz show in Britain to give away £1 million live on national television.
£300,000 - What is the longest river in the United Kingdom? (Answer: River Severn) - Won by Leah Nichols, phone winner, Series One
£200,000 - Which nut is used to flavour the liqueur Amaretto? (Answer: Almond) - Won by Anne Parkinson, phone winner, Series Two
£700,000 - What does an arctophile collect? (Answer: Teddy Bears) - Won by Mary Swain, studio player, Series Two
£1 Million - What was the maiden name of the former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy? (Answer: Bouvier) - Won by Karen Shand, phone winner, Series Three
drama Holby City
. It was revealed shortly after Series 3 ended that ITV intended to halt the production of a fourth series due to declining ratings.
in 2003 but was never produced.
A French version known as Le Coffre was aired on France 2
in 2003 to 2004 and hosted by Nagui
.
This show has also aired in Australia (on Nine Network
), Spain (on Tele5
) and Thailand (on iTV
).
Russian version aired on TV6 Moscow Channel in 2001 and called "The Countdown".
Hong Kong version aired on ATV
in 2002 and called 群雄奪寶, the host was Jaclyn Chu.
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
(known as HaKasefet), by Erez Tal
Erez Tal
Erez Tal is an Israeli broadcasting personality.-Biography:His first hit program was "Ma Yesh" , broadcast on Galatz, Israel's Army radio, where he started his partnership with Avri Gilad....
. It was later a British hit 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...
, running from 2002 until 2004. It was hosted by Davina McCall
Davina McCall
Davina McCall is an English television presenter and actress, most notable as the presenter of the UK version of Big Brother up until its move to Channel 5.- Early life :...
(Series 1), Melanie Sykes
Melanie Sykes
Melanie Ann Sykes is an English television presenter and model.-Career:Melanie Sykes was born to an English father, and an Anglo-Indian mother. She first came to public attention as the bikini-clad girl in the Boddingtons beer advertisements with the broad "Northern" accent in the mid-1990s...
(Series 2 & 3) and Gabby Logan
Gabby Logan
Gabby Logan is a television presenter and radio presenter, as well as a former Wales international gymnast. She currently hosts programmes for BBC Sport, mainly focusing on football.- Early life :...
(Series 3). Logan stepped in for Sykes on July 6, 2004 when she went on maternity leave partway through Series 3 due to her pregnancy.
Format
At the start of each show, 8 contestants (7 in series one and 9 in series three) tried to guess the four-digit combination to The Vault, which contained the jackpot money, starting at £100,000 and increasing by a further £100,000 every week it remained unopened.The four contestants who guessed the closest to the actual vault combination became players, and the other four became brokers, who could offer answers to questions in return for cash that players earned in the question rounds. In the final round, 10 home brokers were also on hand to offer their answers for similar cash rewards, which they negotiated with the player.
After the first round, which consisted of the four players being given three minutes to answer 10 general knowledge questions correctly, and the two highest scoring players going through to the semi-final, came the final round, which saw the player with the highest amount of money trying to unlock the vault by answering a further ten questions correctly. If they reached the ninth question and answered that correctly, the clock would be stopped and the player would be given three categories for their last question. If they answered that correctly, then they had the knowledge to unlock the Vault and would win the jackpot contained within it.
If the Vault was not opened by the studio contestant at the end of their final two minute round, then the same Vault jackpot was offered to someone watching at home, selected randomly by the computer from all the people who had registered over the past week. The lucky selected viewer had to answer six questions in 60 seconds, two of which had already been asked in the show. If they succeeded, the viewer would win the jackpot themselves. If they didn't, £100,000 was added to the jackpot for next week's show. In Series Three, the jackpot rolled over for nine weeks consecutively and reached £1 Million.
Notable Contestants
A notable contestant in series 2 was a music technology student, Mary Swain, who reached the tenth question with nine seconds remaining, and after choosing 'Language', from 'Language' 'Science' and 'Literature' for her final question, correctly identified that 'arctophiles' collect teddy bears, and in doing so won a huge vault jackpot of £700,000, which had built up because the vault had remained unopened for six weeks.In Series One, Kwan Loo, a business/management consultant, was the first ever studio winner, when he scooped £100,000, and £300,000 was won by Leah Nichols after she answered Davina's six questions correctly on the phone. In Series Two, £200,000 went to home viewer Anne Parkinson.
Karen Shand, a home viewer in Series Three, answered the six questions correctly within the time limit and won one million pounds, which earned 'The Vault' a record for being the first quiz show in Britain to give away £1 million live on national television.
Jackpot Questions
£100,000 - Of what are phasmophobics afraid? (Answer: Ghosts) - Won by Kwan Loo, studio player, Series One£300,000 - What is the longest river in the United Kingdom? (Answer: River Severn) - Won by Leah Nichols, phone winner, Series One
£200,000 - Which nut is used to flavour the liqueur Amaretto? (Answer: Almond) - Won by Anne Parkinson, phone winner, Series Two
£700,000 - What does an arctophile collect? (Answer: Teddy Bears) - Won by Mary Swain, studio player, Series Two
£1 Million - What was the maiden name of the former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy? (Answer: Bouvier) - Won by Karen Shand, phone winner, Series Three
Cancellation
Series 1 and Series 2 were both broadcast on Saturday evening primetime slots and were hugely popular. However, Series 3 was broadcast on a Tuesday evening and had a fierce competition from a BBC OneBBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
drama Holby City
Holby City
Holby City, stylised as Holby Ci+y, is a British medical drama television series that airs weekly on BBC One.The series was created by Tony McHale and Mal Young as a spin-off from the established BBC medical drama Casualty, and premiered on 12 January 1999...
. It was revealed shortly after Series 3 ended that ITV intended to halt the production of a fourth series due to declining ratings.
Other versions
A US version was planned for ABCAmerican Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
in 2003 but was never produced.
A French version known as Le Coffre was aired on France 2
France 2
France 2 is a French public national television channel. It is part of the state-owned France Télévisions group, along with France 3, France 4, France 5 and France Ô...
in 2003 to 2004 and hosted by Nagui
Nagui
Nagui Fam is an Egyptian-born French TV and radio personality of Egyptian and Italian descent. In his professional life, he goes by his first name Nagui.- Biography :...
.
This show has also aired in Australia (on Nine Network
Nine Network
The Nine Network , is an Australian television network with headquarters based in Willoughby, a suburb located on the North Shore of Sydney. For 50 years since television's inception in Australia, between 1956 and 2006, it was the most watched television network in Australia...
), Spain (on Tele5
Telecinco
Telecinco is a Spanish commercial television channel operated by Mediaset España. Launched in 1990 as Tele 5, it was the fifth of the national terrestrial television channels. In 1997, Tele 5 was rebranded as Telecinco, dropping the flower logo seen in other Mediaset channel...
) and Thailand (on iTV
ITV (Thailand)
iTV was a television station in Thailand, owned by ITV Public Company Limited , a unit of Shin Corporation. Thailand's first UHF channel, the station was started in 1995 when the company was granted a 30-year concession by the Office of the Permanent Secretary to the Prime Minister's Office to...
).
Russian version aired on TV6 Moscow Channel in 2001 and called "The Countdown".
Hong Kong version aired on ATV
Asia Television Limited
Asia Television Limited is one of the two free-to-air television broadcasters in Hong Kong, the other being rival Television Broadcasts Limited . It launched in 1957 under the name Rediffusion Television as the first television station in Hong Kong...
in 2002 and called 群雄奪寶, the host was Jaclyn Chu.
Theme Music
The theme music used on 'The Vault' was the score from the original Israeli version of the quiz, composed by Tomer Biran Music.Transmissions
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