Sale of the Century (UK game show)
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Sale of the Century, produced by Anglia Television was shown on ITV weekly from 1971 to 1983. See the main article for details of the game format. The following sets out Uk-specific information.
For the first year, the programme was only shown in the Anglia region, before it was fully networked across ITV regions.[1]
As in the original US edition, there was no "Who am I"; instead, six instant bargains would be offered throughout the show. Any of the three players were allowed to buzz in and purchase the Instant Bargain, rather than only offering the prize to the player in the lead. There were three distinct rounds of questioning, with the values rising appropriately (e.g. £1, £3, £5).
Also, in the earliest days, a mini-sale was offered just before intermission, in which a number of smaller gifts were offered for less than £5 each. In this situation, more than one player could buy a given gift, and a player could buy any or all of the prizes on offer.
The original version was hosted by Nicholas Parsons and announced by John Benson, who delivered the memorable opening And now ... from Norwich...It's the Quiz of the Week!. The series was one of the most consistently high-rating entertainment shows of the 1970s, gaining peak viewing figures of 20million. This original version of the show was restricted in the prize amount through then national agreements, meaning that the featured cars has to be below £1,500. The producers hence preferred to engage with foreign manufacturers to provide better value prize, often including top of the range Lada's.
Peter Marshall (not related to the host of the American Hollywood Squares) hosted a 1989 revival on Sky television, and Keith Chegwin hosted a 1997 remake on Challenge. Sale was also one of seven game shows played on Ant & Dec's Gameshow Marathon, on the episode aired 8 October 2005.
On 22 December 1978 (at the time that Nicholas Parsons was hosting the show), an all-out strike at the BBC meant that 21.2 million viewers watched the programme, the highest ever rating for a game show produced by ITV.
The 1989 version followed the Grundy format; oddly, the 1997 version reverted to the original rules (except for the mini-sale), despite being produced by the then-parent company of Grundy.
No UK editions to date have offered a cash jackpot.
[edit] References
- ^ "Nicholas Parsons". Mark Lawson Talks To. BBC. BBC Four. 2008-02-27.
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