The Whole 19 Yards was a physical/general knowledge game show broadcast 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...

 and on ITV1 HD/STV HD. It first aired on 17 April 2010 and currently airs on Saturday nights at 19:00. It is presented by Vernon Kay

Vernon Kay

Vernon Charles Kay is a British television presenter, radio DJ, american footballer and former model. He began television presenting on the BBC children's programme FBi, a spin-off of Fully Booked. Since he has presented various programmes, most notably T4, Beat the Star and All Star Family...

 and is assisted throughout by Caroline Flack

Caroline Flack

Caroline Louise Flack is a British television presenter. She is known for presenting I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! NOW! from 2008 to 2010....

 who explains how each game is played, thereby being known as the "Games Guru". Glenn Hugill

Glenn Hugill

Glenn Hugill is a British television presenter and producer.He was educated at Barnard Castle School and Christ Church, Oxford....

 is the announcer and commentates on events for viewers at home. It is filmed at Pinewood Studios

Pinewood Studios

Pinewood Studios is a major British film studio situated in Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, approximately west of central London. The studios have played host to many productions over the years from huge blockbuster films to television shows to commercials to pop promos.The purchase of Shepperton...

 in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 and produced by Initial, a subsidiary of Endemol

Endemol

Endemol is an international television production and distribution company based in the Netherlands, with subsidiaries and joint ventures in 23 countries, including the United Kingdom, the United States, France, Mexico, Spain, Italy, Germany, Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Dominican Republic, Poland,...

, which owns the worldwide format.

Format

The principle of the game is to test both the contestants mind and physical ability. Four contestants begin at the start and are given a series of general knowledge questions, each relating to the same subject given in that round. If they think that they know the answer, they begin the physical challenge that has been set across the "19 Yards", to get to the buzzer. If they get their question right, they move on to the next challenge but if they get it wrong, it is passed onto the next contestant to hit the buzzer. The round is then repeated with the remaining contestants, with alterations made to the course, known as "twists" that they are not informed of (examples include having less building blocks to use or placing a second buzzer that is unresponsive, known as a "dummy buzzer"). When there is one contestant left at the end of each round, they are eliminated. The format is then repeated itself until one remains to take on the final 19 Yards challenge and the chance to win up to the jackpot of £100,000.

Games

These are a list of games used so far in the series.
Key

First Round - Four Players

Second Round - Three Players

Third Round - Head to Head

Title	Information
Twin Peaks	Contestants must scale two mountain-style peaks using building blocks. The first peak is in place and once having climbed over, they must use the blocks on the other side of the first peak and those on the floor to assemble the second, much taller peak with the golden rule being that it must reach the black line in order for them to climb it and hit the buzzer.
A Walk in the Dark	For this game, the contestants are blindfolded and are never given any idea what is in front of them. For the visibility of the studio audience and the viewers at home, the course begins with them breaking through a paper burst, before making a run up to a circular wall, squeezing through a narrow gap. The same theory is used for the other two sections with the exception that the second section is bombarded with pressure pads that activate either a plume of dry ice or a flamethrower and the third section is based on a turntable. Once having gotten past the final circular wall, they can hit the buzzer.
Lock and Key	The buzzers are padlocked and the contestants must negotiate through four different stations, each hiding a key that unlocks the next station. The first key is hidden inside a bath of foam which unlocks the second station which contains a pit of sawdust. The second key inside there unlocks the third station that releases a coloured gunge substance and the contestant must scramble through the resulting wreckage to find the third key, which unlocks the final station, where they have to climb into a pit of sticky balls, which are made to look like a snowglobe. Inside there contains the key that unlocks the padlock on the buzzer. On Episode 3, the foam is replaced by a mixture of blancmange and spaghetti and the sawdust is replaced by confetti. In Episode 5, the first two stations are a mixture of blacmange and rice pudding and a pit of feathers.
Caught in the Net	Contestants must climb underneath a diagonal net before scrambling through a second, circular net full of balloons, some filled with gunge. Once having gotten through it, they can hit the buzzer.
Stick 'em Up	The contestants are dressed up in velcro suits for this challenge and must overcome several obstacles all designed with velcro. They include curtains which lead into circular walls and squeezing through a narrow gap, a floor tunnel, and having to also negotiate the prospect of having to also run on the floor made entirely of velcro blocks. After having successfully completed, they can hit the buzzer.
Power Trip	On specially designed battery machines, the contestants must drive three laps around a grand prix style circuit. Before they can begin and take another lap, they must stop off at a "recharge station" in order for them to have enough power to get around. After having completed three laps and have fully charged their battery at the finish, they are free to hit the buzzer.
Knotting Hills	Contestants scale two peaks, the second being larger than the first, using climbing ropes. At certain points, they must untie knots on the ropes. All knots have to be untied before unclipping themselves from the rope to hit the buzzer.
It's a Wrap!	Wearing a body wrap and having their legs tied together, contestants must negotiate a staircase, tunnel and a slope while being limited to any body activity. They must then use their head to hit the buzzer.

The Final 19 Yards

The last challenge that is used on each episode is called "The Final 19 Yards". The one surviving contestant has to answer five questions, each worth an increasing value of money. The first question is worth £5,000, the second is worth £10,000, the third is worth £20,000, the fourth is worth £50,000 and the final question earns the jackpot of £100,000. On each question, the contestant is read out a series of clues that leads them to the answer. After the first clue is read out, the buzzer begins to move down the 19 yard track from the start when the first question is played and from then on, where it left off. Once the contestant thinks they know what the answer is, they can make the run up to hit the buzzer, a correct answer earns them that value of money the question is worth but if they give a wrong answer, they go back down to the value of the last question and leave with that amount and if the buzzer reaches the end of the 19 yards before they either give a wrong answer or decide to take the money, they lose everything they have earned to that point and leave with nothing. Playing the first question is compulsory but after then, they can decide to play the next question or stop and take the money.

International versions

Country	Name	Host	Network	Date premiered	Prize
Austria	Powerplay - Ganze 17 Meter	Christian Clerici	ORF eins	September 2010	Voyage
Brazil	Sufoco	Fausto Silva	Rede Globo Rede Globo Rede Globo , or simply Globo, is a Brazilian television network, launched by media mogul Roberto Marinho on April 26, 1965. It is owned by media conglomerate Organizações Globo, being by far the largest of its holdings...	April 2010	New car
Germany	17 Meter	Joko Winterscheidt & Klaas Heufer-Umlauf	ProSieben	June 2011	€25.000
Spain	Los últimos 20 metros	Óscar Martínez	Antena 3 Antena 3 (Spain) Antena 3 is a Spanish terrestrial television channel owned by Antena 3 de Televisión. Some of the more popular programmes broadcast by Antena 3 include Aquí no hay quien viva, El Barco, Los Protegidos, Los Simpson and El Internado....	July 2009	€50.000

Episodes and ratings

Episode viewing figures from BARB

Barb

Barb may refer to:* A backward-facing point on a fish hook or similar implement, rendering extraction from the victim's flesh more difficult* Wind barbs for each station on a map of reported weather conditions...

.

Episode	Airdate	Game 1	Game 2	Game 3	Viewers
#1	17 April 2010	'Twin Peaks'	'A Walk In The Dark'	'Lock And Key'	4.52m
#2	24 April 2010	'Caught In The Net'	'Stick 'Em Up'	'Power Trip'	4.41m
#3	1 May 2010	'Knotting Hills'	'It's A Wrap!'	'Lock And Key'	4.31m
#4	8 May 2010	'Caught In The Net'	'A Walk In The Dark'	'Power Trip'	4.44m
#5	15 May 2010	'Twin Peaks'	'It's A Wrap!'	'Lock And Key'	4.46m
#6	22 May 2010	'Knotting Hills'	'Stick 'Em Up'	'Power Trip'	Under 2.61m
#7	29 May 2010	'Caught In The Net'	'A Walk In The Dark'	'Lock And Key'	4.68m
#8	5 June 2010	'Knotting Hills'	'Stick 'Em Up'	'Lock And Key'	3.44m