Divided (game show)

Divided was a British game show, first broadcast on 18 May 2009. The programme was hosted by Andrew Castle with Charlotte Hudson as the Question Master for Series 1, and Rachel Pierman as the Question Master for Series 2.

The programme was produced by Endemol for ITV and was filmed at Studio 8 at Granada Studios, Manchester in conjunction with 3SixtyMedia.

Format

A team of 3 complete strangers are tasked to answer up to 15 general knowledge questions to amass as much money for a communal pot as possible. The round structure is as follows:

• Round 1 has 5 questions, each worth up to £3,000, making a potential maximum of £15,000.
• Round 2 has 4 questions, each worth up to £7,500, making a potential maximum of a further £30,000 (running total: £45,000).
• Round 3 has 3 questions, each worth up to £15,000, making a potential maximum of a further £45,000 (running total: £90,000).
• Round 4 has 2 questions, each worth up to £30,000, making a potential maximum of a further £60,000 (running total: £150,000).
• Round 5 has 1 question, worth up to a further £75,000, making a potential grand total of £225,000.

Each question is either in the format of a multiple choice question, with one of three answers being correct, or the question is to put 3 answers in a particular order (for example, to put the first names of 3 Harry Potter characters into alphabetical order). If a team makes it to the fifth round and decided to play, the question has 3 possible answers and the team must select all of the correct answers, of which there may be more than one. The value of each question falls by 1% for every second taken before an answer is submitted. For example, in Round 1, each second of hesitation costs £30, in Round 2: £75, in Round 3: £150, in Round 4: £300 and in Round 5: £750. Each question has a time limit of 100 seconds to come to a unanimous decision about the right answer/order and press an illuminated red triangle on the desk to lock in their answer. If the answer is correct and the studio goes green, then the amount of money remaining is added to the pot. If the answer is wrong and the studio goes red, then whatever money that is in the pot at the time is halved, and one mistake is earned. If a team earns 3 mistakes, then they are relegated from the show by going home with nothing.

When each round is completed, the team is given 15 seconds to come to a unanimous decision about whether to play on, or stop and get promoted to dividing whatever money has been earned. If the team does not come to a unanimous decision after 15 seconds or the team elects to play, then the next round will start automatically.

If the team elects to stop and get promoted to cash dividing round at any time, then they are made aware of how much has been won, and that is what will be divided between them. However, the shares are unequal: the players are shown 3 shares marked A, B and C. Share A is the largest (50-70% of the total amount), Share B is a middling amount (20-40% of the total amount), and Share C is the smallest (generally 10% of the total amount). Usually, the split is extremely close to 50/40/10, 60/30/10 or 70/20/10. Each player is given 15 seconds to state their case for which share they feel they deserve, generally based on how well they have performed in the game. If the team reaches a decision of each player receiving one share each, then that is what they will win. However, if a decision is not reached, such as 2 or all 3 players wanting the same share, then a timer of 100 seconds starts and the money will start counting down, and the players argue among themselves, trying to change a player's mind about which share they should take. After 50 seconds have elapsed, there is a short pause. The host will remind the players that half of the money has gone and that they have 50 seconds left to reach a decision or they will all be relegated from divided and leave with no money at all.

Transmissions

International versions

External links

• Divided at UKGameshows.com
• Article about the arabian version (In Arabic)