Gameshow Marathon (UK game show)
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| Gameshow Marathon | |
|---|---|
| Format | Game show |
| Presented by | Ant & Dec (Series 1) Vernon Kay (Series 2) |
| Voices of | Peter Dickson |
| Country of origin |  United Kingdom |
| No. of series | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 15 |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | LWT now branded ITV Productions, talkbackTHAMES |
| Running time | 60 to 90 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | ITV |
| Picture format | 16:9 |
| Original run | 17 September 2005 – 26 May 2007 |
Gameshow Marathon is a British game show, broadcasted 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 the appropriate producer ident. All participants are celebrities, and any prizes won go into a "Viewer Prize Mountain" which is awarded to a viewer via a phone-in competition.
Contents |
[edit] Series 1
Ant & Dec's Gameshow Marathon is a seven-episode special event aired in 2005 on Britain's ITV, as part of a celebration of ITV's 50th Anniversary. In it, hosts Ant & Dec presided over recreations of seven classic game shows that had been seen on the network. Six celebrity contestants competed in a series-long tournament, receiving a donation to their favourite charity for their participation. In addition, home viewers were given the opportunity to win the cash and prizes each episode's winning contestant "won" via telephone. Series 2 began on Saturday, 7 April 2007 with Vernon Kay as host.
The programme is co-produced by LWT (known as Granada Productions/ITV Productions and talkbackTHAMES
The shows recreated were:
| Show | Run on ITV (at time of broadcast) | Original Producer | Date |
| The Price Is Right | 1984-1988, 1995-2001 | Central, then Yorkshire | 17 September 2005 |
| Take Your Pick | 1955-1968, 1992-1998 | Thames / Central | 24 September 2005 |
| The Golden Shot | 1967-1975 | ATV | 1 October 2005 |
| Sale of the Century | 1972-1983 | Anglia | 8 October 2005 |
| Play Your Cards Right | 1980-1987, 1994-1999, 2002-2003 | Grundy, LWT then Thames | 15 October 2005 |
| Bullseye | 1981-1995 | ATV, then Central | 22 October 2005 |
| Family Fortunes | 1980-2002 | ATV, Central, then Carlton | 29 October 2005 |
The celebrity contestants in series 1 were:
- Eamonn Holmes (Sky News presenter)
- Vernon Kay (TV presenter)
- Patsy Kensit (Actress)
- William Roache (Coronation Street actor)
- Carol Vorderman (TV presenter)
- Ruby Wax (TV presenter, comedienne)
The series was run as a three-round tournament. In the first round, each show was played by every contestant who hadn't already won a show. The four winners from the first round then competed in single-elimination format.
Carol Vorderman was the eventual winner of the series. The Golden Shot was broadcast live like the original show, and Sale of the Century had a dedication at the end to comedian Ronnie Barker, who had died a few days earlier.
Following the series, several of the shows were revived; Bullseye returned on the game show channel Challenge, followed by The Price Is Right and Family Fortunes (in a celebrity format) on ITV, the latter hosted by one of the Gameshow Marathon celebrities, Vernon Kay.
Les Dennis presented the prizes each week to the winners of the home viewer competition.
[edit] Progression
| Round | Show | Winner | Eliminated |
|---|---|---|---|
| First | The Price is Right | Carol Vorderman | |
| Take Your Pick | Patsy Kensit | ||
| The Golden Shot | William Roache | ||
| Sale of the Century | Vernon Kay | Eamonn Holmes, Ruby Wax | |
| Semi-finals | Play Your Cards Right | Carol Vorderman | Patsy Kensit |
| Bullseye | Vernon Kay | William Roache | |
| Final | Family Fortunes | Carol Vorderman | Vernon Kay |
[edit] Series 2
Gameshow Marathon was presented by series 1 runner-up Vernon Kay. The programme aired every Saturday night on ITV.
The shows that were played were:
| Show | Run on ITV (at time of broadcast) | Original Producer | Date |
| The Price Is Right | 1984-1988, 1995-2001, 2006-2007 | Central, Yorkshire, then talkbackTHAMES | 7 April 2007 |
| Blockbusters | 1983-1993 | Central | 14 April 2007 |
| Blankety Blank | 2001-2002 | Grundy / Thames* | 21 April 2007 |
| The Golden Shot | 1967-1975 | ATV | 28 April 2007 |
| Name That Tune | 1983-1987 | Thames | 5 May 2007 |
| Mr. and Mrs.** | 1964-1988, 1999 | Border, HTV then Carlton | 12 May 2007 |
| Bullseye*** | 1981-1995 | ATV, then Central | 19 May 2007 |
| Play Your Cards Right | 1980-1987, 1994-1999, 2002 | Grundy, LWT then Thames | 26 May 2007 |
* Was previously shown on BBC One, from 1979 to 1990 and 1997 to 1999.
** The Quarter Final show, Mr. and Mrs, had three show winners.
*** The Semi Final show, Bullseye, had two show winners.
Bold type indicates the pre-programme ident used.
The celebrities competing in series 2 were:
- Andrea Catherwood (The Sunday Edition presenter)
- Jamelia (Singer)
- Graeme Le Saux (Footballer)
- Michael Le Vell (Coronation Street actor)
- Wendy Richard (Former EastEnders actress)
- Ben Shephard (TV presenter)
There was a slight change to the format for this series. The five celebrities who won the first five shows of the series went through to the quarter-final with only three going on to the semi-final and then two remaining for the grand final.
The celebrity panelists for Blankety Blank were Andrew Castle, Fern Britton, Joe Pasquale, Holly Willoughby, Vic Reeves, and Lorraine Chase.
The special guests on The Golden Shot were Jo Brand and Jim Bowen.
The celebrity conductor on Name That Tune was Noddy Holder. The celebrity instrument players were Antony Cotton on the tubular bells, Carley Stenson on the recorder, Adele Silva on the xylophone and Kelvin Fletcher on the swanee whistle. The celebrity pianist in the Bid-A-Note round was Myleene Klass.
In Mr. and Mrs., the celebrities invited their real-life partners to play along.
On Bullseye, the celebrities were paired up with professional dart players. Andrea Catherwood was paired with Martin Adams, Graeme Le Saux was paired with Phil Taylor and Michael Le Vell was paired with Raymond van Barneveld. Tony Green reprised his role as the scorer.
On Play Your Cards Right, each celebrity invited another celebrity to play with them. Graeme Le Saux played with Kyran Bracken and Michael Le Vell played with Kym Ryder.
On the Blankety Blank and Mr and Mrs editions, the more recent revivals of both series were not mentioned on Gameshow Marathon, due to Blankety Blank having been presented by Paul O'Grady, who is currently in a legal dispute with ITV. It is unknown why the recent Mr and Mrs wasn't mentioned on the Gameshow Marathon.
Lionel Blair presented the prizes each week to the winners of the home viewer competition.
[edit] Progression
| Round | Show | Winner | Eliminated |
|---|---|---|---|
| First | The Price is Right | Graeme Le Saux | |
| Blockbusters | Ben Shephard | ||
| Blankety Blank | Michael Le Vell | ||
| The Golden Shot | Andrea Catherwood | ||
| Name That Tune | Jamelia | Wendy Richard | |
| Quarter-final | Mr. and Mrs. | Andrea Catherwood | Jamelia, Ben Shephard |
| Semi-final | Bullseye | Graeme Le Saux | Andrea Catherwood |
| Final | Play Your Cards Right | Michael Le Vell | Graeme Le Saux |
[edit] International Versions
The format was later sold to the United States, where CBS aired its own Gameshow Marathon in June 2006. This featured The Price Is Right, Card Sharks (Play Your Cards Right) and Family Feud (Family Fortunes). The other games played (not featured in series 1 of the UK version) included Let's Make a Deal, Beat the Clock, Press Your Luck, and Match Game (Blankety Blank).
In August 2006 France 2 aired a French version called Le Marathon des Jeux TV. It featured Le juste Prix ("The Price Is Right"), I've Got a Secret, A la tiro! ("Match Game"), L'academie des 9 ("Hollywood Squares") Carton Matériau ("Card Sharks") and Une Famille en Or ("Family Feud"). Clips were shown of each show - of particular note was that L'academie des 9 was originally hosted by Jean-Pierre Foucault, better know as the presenter of the French version of "Who Wants to be a millionaire", and that several US Family Feud clips were shown, dubbed by the announcer. French radio and TV presenters Nagui (formermly of Que le Meilleur gagne) and Pascal Sellem (formerly of La famille on Or were the co-hosts; no prize delivery was done as the show was a one-off, with members of the studio audience winning prizes depending on how their celebrity partners did.
A German version for Pro Sieben premiered on 15 January 2007. The games played are Der Preis ist Heiss (The Price is Right), Geh aufs Ganze! (Let's Make a Deal), Hopp oder Top (Sale of the Century), Bube, Dame, Hörig (Card Sharks), Ruck Zuck (Bruce Forsyth's Hot Streak), Familien Duell (Family Feud), and Glücksrad (Wheel of Fortune). The hosts are Oliver Pocher and Oliver Petszokat. It has the same title as the US version.
In the works is an Italian version of the Marathon for Canale 5. It is unknown what shows will be used (though it's likely the Italian versions of The Price is Right, Password, and Family Feud will be included) and who will host, though it's likely there will be two people hosting, as with all other European versions aired.
It appears Mexico also has its own version of Gameshow Marathon as well, as part of Teleton's charity funds for 2007. Marco Antonio Regil hosts the marathon, which includes its versions of The Price is Right (Atínale al Precio) and Family Feud (100 Mexicanos Dijeron). It's on Televisa.
Turkey also has its own version of the Marathon, among the games played being their own versions of Kaç Para? (The Price is Right), Seç Bakalım(Let's Make a Deal), Şansını Dene (Match Game), Yüzyılın İndirimi (Sale of the Century), Aşağı Yukarı (Card Sharks), Parola (Password) and Aileler Yarışıyor (Family Feud), though "Password" was not played on the US or UK versions.
