The Price Is Right (UK game show)

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For more information on The Price Is Right in other countries, see The Price is Right around the world.
The Price Is Right UK

Format Game show
Run time 30 to 60 minutes
Creator(s) Bob Stewart
Starring Joe Brown
(1984 - Unaired pilot);
Leslie Crowther
(1984-1988);
Bob Warman
(1989);
Bruce Forsyth
(1995-2001);
Ant & Dec
(2005-special);
Joe Pasquale
(2006-Present)
Channel ITV (1984-1988);
Sky One (1989);
ITV (1995-2001);
ITV1 (2005);
ITV1 (2006-Present)
Production company Central Television
(1984-1988);
Talbot Telegame
(1989);
Grundy/Yorkshire TV
(1995-2001);
Granada/talkbackTHAMES
(2005);
talkbackTHAMES
(2006-Present)
Related shows The Price Is Right
Air dates 1984 – Present
The Price Is Right
Enlarge
The Price Is Right

The Price Is Right in the UK has been hosted by Leslie Crowther, Bob Warman, Bruce Forsyth and Joe Pasquale.

Contents

[edit] Crowther era (The Price Is Right)

The 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'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 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 his behalf, and Leslie would ask the person a consumer-related question to win £100 for himself. 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.

[edit] Pricing Games

(All links below will direct to US description of games)

[edit] Announcers

[edit] Models

  • Marie Elise (1984-85)
  • Jacqueline Bucknell (1984-86)
  • Julia Roberts (1984-86)
  • Denise Kelly (1984-88)
  • Sandra Easby (1985)
  • Cindy Day (1986-88)
  • Carol Greenwood (1986-88)
  • Gillian de Terville (1986-88)
  • Elsa O'Toole (1986)
  • Judy Bailey (1986-88)

[edit] Warman era (The New Price Is Right)

The New Price Is Right
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The New Price Is Right

The second version hosted by Bob Warman is considered to be a precursor to the third version hosted by Bruce Forsyth, as it was half hour, and had 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 a lot more "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; this was 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, the Showdown winner selected a range at random from £100 to £1,000; if his bid was within the selected range of the price of the presented showcase without going over, he won the showcase. This version was rarely-seen (Sky TV having only just started, and having very few subscribers at the time); even so, its format and its version of the Showcase have since carried over to many other European versions of the show, including Bruce's Price Is Right.

[edit] Announcers

  • Bobby Bragg (1989)
  • Allan Sherwin (1989)

[edit] Models

  • Suzie Marlowe (1989)
  • Tracie Williams (1989)
  • Katrina Maltby (1989)
  • Julie Broster (1989)

[edit] Forsyth era (Bruce's Price Is Right)

Bruce's Price Is Right
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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'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 cars, one in a pricing game and one in the showcase, which would have been utterly unthinkable on British TV in the 1980s).

On the Forsyth version, the game Plinko 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.

[edit] 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)

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 "Eazy az 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)

Introduced Series 5 (1999)

Introduced Series 6 (2000)

Introduced Series 7 (2001)

  • No new games were introduced.

[edit] Announcers

[edit] Models

  • Kimberley Cowell (1995-2001)
  • Emma Noble (1995-97)
  • Emma Steadman (1995-2001)
  • Brian Tattersall (1995-97)
  • Simon Peat (1998-2001)
  • Lea Kristensen (1998-2001)

[edit] Catchphrases

  • "Here we go. It's TV's/Britain's biggest/brightest game show, Bruce's Price Is Right." - Peter Dickson
  • "It's nice to see you, to see you, nice!" - Bruce Forsyth/Audience
  • "Lets meet the stars of our show, whoever you are..." - Bruce Forsyth
  • "{Contestant's name}, come on down!" - Peter Dickson
  • "You are the first four contestants on Bruce's Price Is Right!" - Peter Dickson
  • "One of you has won a Brucie Bonus!" - Bruce Forsyth
  • "Here's a hundred pounds for being right on the nose!"
  • "Who's going to win this..." - Bruce Forsyth
  • "How would you like to win this/these..." - Bruce Forsyth
  • "It's bidding time." - Bruce Forsyth
  • "The actual retail price we were looking for is..." - Bruce Forsyth
  • "There's a space left in Contestants Row, Peter who's it gonna be..." - Bruce Forsyth
  • "Plin-ko, Plin-ko, Plin-ko!" - Audience
  • "Flash the cash!" - Bruce Forsyth
  • "You are in tonight's Showcase!" - Bruce Forsyth
  • "Push down on your plunger." - Bruce Forsyth
  • "This is your Showcase..." - Bruce Forsyth
  • "All this could be yours, if The Price Is Right." - Peter Dickson
  • "What is the price of tonight's Showcase..." - Bruce Forsyth
  • "Remember, no matter what happens, Bruce's Price is always Right, Goodnight!" - Bruce Forsyth

[edit] Gameshow Marathon (The Price Is Right)

Gameshow Marathon
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Gameshow Marathon

On September 17, 2005, as part of a celebration of the 50th birthday of the UK broadcast network of commercial regionalised broadcasters commonly known as ITV, Ant & Dec hosted a one-off revival of The Price Is Right as part of Ant & Dec's Gameshow Marathon; they also hosted revivals of several other game shows that were once popular on the ITV network.

[edit] Announcers

[edit] Pasquale era (The Price Is Right)

The Price Is Right
Enlarge
The Price Is Right

talkbackTHAMES debuted a revival on ITV1 on 8 May 2006, this time with "I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!" winner Joe Pasquale as host. It follows the same gameplay format as Bob Warman and Bruce Forsyth's versions, with Showcase ranges going from £500 to £4,000. It has a very "panto" 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, makes appearances as his "twin" in various pricing games. The current series should draw to an end in December 2006

The show expanded to an hour from 3 July 2006. This involves 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. This also brought back the £1,000 reward for spinning 100; the prize had previously been a car, though this was for spinning 100 twice. Currently, the show is broadcast as a double bill, rather than a full hour show.

After the first three games and showcase showdown contestants row is cleared of people and a new set of four people are called down.

In all four versions of the program, a perfect bid in Contestants' Row resulted in a £100 bonus in either cash or (in the Warman version), vouchers.

[edit] Pricing Games

(List to be added as revival continues.)

[edit] Announcers

  • Peter Dickson (2006-present)
  • Mike Hurley (2006-present) (occasional cover for Peter Dickson)

[edit] Models

  • Natalie Denning (2006-present)
  • Amanda Robbins (2006-present)
  • Richard Kyte (2006-present)
  • Natalie Pike (2006-present)

[edit] Catchphrases

  • "There'd be no show without Joe... Joe Pasquale!" - Peter Dickson/Mike Hurley
  • "{Contestant's name}, come on down!" - Peter Dickson/Mike Hurley

[edit] External links


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The Price Is Right
United States | Australia | United Kingdom | Other international versions
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