The National Lottery Draws
| The National Lottery Draws | |
|---|---|
|
Graphics used from 2006–13 | |
| Also known as | The National Lottery Live |
| Presented by |
Gaby Roslin Kate Garraway |
| Narrated by | Alan Dedicoat |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| Production | |
| Location(s) |
BBC Television Centre (1994–2005) Arqiva Chalfont Grove Studio (2006–2012) Pinewood Studios (2013–) |
| Running time | 10–60 minutes |
| Production company(s) |
Endemol (2006–14) Princess Productions (2014–)[1] |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | BBC One |
| Picture format |
4:3 (1994–98) 16:9 (1998–present) |
| Original run | 19 November 1994 – present |
The National Lottery Draws (previously The National Lottery Live) is the television programme that broadcasts the drawing of the National Lottery in the United Kingdom. Since January 2013, the programme, usually broadcast by BBC One, airs only on Saturday nights.
The National Lottery Live
The National Lottery Live was a one-off hour-long special presented by Noel Edmonds and Anthea Turner on Saturday 19 November 1994, the night of the first National Lottery draw, in which 49 contestants competed to become the first person to start the draw. Turner remained as sole host until 20 April 1996, when she defected to ITV. (see 'Presenters') The current format was adopted in 2006.
The National Lottery Live returned on 5 October 2013, with presenter Chris Evans. Each show lasted between 10 and 15 minutes.
Current shows
Saturday night draws
The Saturday night draws are usually presented as part of a game show that is shown to be associated with the lottery branding. The game shows were previously broadcast live, with the game show host also presenting the lottery draws. Since 2006, the game shows are now pre-recorded, with the live lottery draws included as a separate segment with a different presenter. The draws on Saturday night consist of "Thunderball" followed by "Lotto" a few minutes later. Since 2014, "Lotto Raffle" is no longer featured during the draws.
Gaby Roslin took over as presenter starting on 4 January 2014, coinciding with the return of The National Lottery: Who Dares Wins!. Kate Garraway presented her first draw on 1 February 2014.
Saturday night game shows
Since 1998, seventeen National Lottery game shows have aired. As of 2014, three of the following are still broadcast on BBC One:
| Show | Start date | End date | Series (to date) | Presenter(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Big Ticket | 28 March 1998 | 11 July 1998 | 1 | Patrick Kielty & Anthea Turner |
| We've Got Your Number | 27 February 1999 | 15 May 1999 | 1 | Brian Conley |
| Winning Lines | 12 June 1999 | 16 October 2004 | 6 | Simon Mayo (1999–2000) Phillip Schofield (2001–04) |
| Red Alert | 13 November 1999 | 8 April 2000 | 2 | Lulu & Terry Alderton |
| On the Spot | 29 July 2000 | 2 September 2000 | 1 | Des O'Connor |
| Jet Set | 13 January 2001 | 8 August 2007 | 8 | Eamonn Holmes |
| In It to Win It | 18 May 2002 | Present | 17 | Dale Winton |
| Wright Around the World | 25 October 2003 | 8 January 2005 | 2 | Ian Wright |
| Come and Have a Go If You Think You're Smart Enough | 3 April 2004 | 25 June 2005 | 2 | Nicky Campbell (2004) Julian Clary (2005) |
| Millionaire Manor | 3 December 2005 | 4 March 2006 | 1 | Mark Durden-Smith |
| 1 vs. 100 | 30 September 2006 | 23 May 2009 | 4 | Dermot O'Leary (2006–07) Ben Shephard (2008–09) |
| The People's Quiz | 24 March 2007 | 23 June 2007 | 1 | Jamie Theakston |
| Who Dares Wins! | 17 November 2007 | Present | 7 | Nick Knowles |
| This Time Tomorrow | 5 July 2008 | 23 August 2008 | 1 | Tess Daly |
| Guesstimation | 11 July 2009 | 29 August 2009 | 1 | Nick Knowles |
| Secret Fortune | 12 February 2011 | 29 December 2012 | 3 | |
| Break the Safe | 27 July 2013 | 30 August 2014 | 2 | |
| Win Your Wish List | 27 December 2014 | Present | 1 | Shane Richie |
Former shows
Wednesday night draws
The Wednesday night draws were usually broadcast at 22:35 and present the Thunderball and Lotto draws. Until 2006, the draw was presented by the game show host and would often include a challenge for the winner of the previous Saturday's game show, offering a chance to win more prizes. From January 2013, the Wednesday draws are available to watch exclusively on the National Lottery's website. There is still a results update on BBC One at 22:35.
Friday night draws
The Friday night draws showed the Euromillions results and the Thunderball draw and are usually broadcast at 23:15. The Friday night draws were the only draws not to be broadcast live. From January 2013, the Friday draws are available to watch exclusively on the National Lottery's website. There is still a results update on BBC One at 22:35.
Lottery update
On BBC One on Saturday nights straight after Match of the Day, a segment known as Lottery update is broadcast showing the results of the days Lotto and Thunderball draws and also how many winners there are. The same thing is also broadcast on BBC One on Tuesday nights after the local news opt-out showing the results of the Tuesday Euromillions draw and UK millionaire raffle.
Studios
The National Lottery draws were originally filmed at BBC Television Centre in London. From 2006 to 2012, it was filmed at Arqiva Chalfont Grove studios in Chalfont St Peter, Buckinghamshire in a set known as Lottery HQ. From January 2013, it has been filmed from Pinewood Studios. The Euromillions draw takes place in a dedicated studio in Paris, France. The draw is occasionally shown at other locations for special events such as The National Lottery Awards ceremony.
Presenters
The first show was presented by Noel Edmonds. After the first show, it was either co-presented by Anthea Turner and Gordon Kennedy, or Bob Monkhouse, all of them assisted by the psychic Mystic Meg. Carol Vorderman had a segment during the early years of the show whereby, she would use mathematical techniques to predict the winning numbers. When Gordon left, Anthea remained as solo host. Other presenters of the show during this period included Ulrika Jonsson, Carol Smillie and Terry Wogan. The show would often feature an appearance from a celebrity guest and/or a live music performance.
The current main presenters are Gaby Roslin and Kate Garraway.
Former presenters have included John Partridge, Jenni Falconer, OJ Borg, Myleene Klass, Matt Johnson and Scott Mills. Occasional presenters include John Barrowman, Sarah Cawood and Melinda Messenger. The voice-overs are provided by Alan Dedicoat, In the event of Alan Dedicoat being unavailable, commentary is provided by fellow Radio 2 announcer Charles Nove.
Previously, the presenter of the game show would present both the Wednesday and Saturday night Draws.
Broadcasting
The programme is usually broadcast on BBC One, although it's occasionally shown on BBC Two if BBC One is unable to show it. BBC were granted the rights in 1994 after defeating a rival bid from ITV. The programme was also broadcast on BBC Radio 1 (or Radio 1 FM as it was then known) and later, it was broadcast on BBC Radio 5 Live.
Following their defeat, ITV quickly created a rival as they launched their Bingo-based game show Lucky Numbers which was one of the first UK game shows which allowed viewers to take part at home and win. Sponsored by national tabloid The Sun, each week the viewers who had purchased a copy of The Sun were supplied with a game-card. They had to cross off numbers that appeared on that week's show and those that crossed off all their numbers by the time the 'big hooter' sounded on the show would win (or share if there was more than one winner) a prize of £20,000. Whilst it lasted three series from January 1995 until July 1997, it was not as popular as The National Lottery Draws. Unlike the latter show it never aired on Saturdays, with its inaugural series airing on Mondays and the two successive series airing on Fridays. In 2001, ITV would air a single series of The Biggest Game in Town which was similar in its interactive style to Lucky Numbers.
Incidents
- On 30 November 1996, live on BBC, the draw machine failed to start, causing the draw to be delayed by 50 minutes; Mystic Meg later said that she had been predicting it all day.[2]
- On 19 February 2001, during the Thunderball draw, the column that lifts the balls up in the first draw machine failed to lift a ball initially for the second number, and the column did not lower for some time for it to retry lifting a second ball. It later repeated this for the fifth ball
- On 20 May 2006, during the draw on the National Lottery game show Jet Set, several members of the group Fathers 4 Justice protested on the set, causing the show to be taken off air for several minutes while the protesters were removed from the studio. The Lotto and Lotto Extra draws then took place quickly and finished on time for the broadcast of the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 on BBC One, as missing the start of the contest would be a breach of rules.[3][4]
References
- ↑ "Princess wins Lottery deal from Endemol". Broadcast. 9 June 2014. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
- ↑ Video of the show
- ↑ "Lottery show delayed by protest". BBC News (London). 20 July 2006. Retrieved 6 February 2011.
- ↑ Video footage of the protest