Safeword (game show)

Safeword
Genre	Comedy Panel game
Directed by	Steve Smith
Presented by	Rick Edwards
Starring	David Morgan Katherine Ryan
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language(s)	English
No. of series	1
No. of episodes	7 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Abigail Adams Gary Chippington
Producer(s)	Alan Thorpe
Editor(s)	Matt Roberts
Location(s)	The London Studios
Running time	45 minutes
Production company(s)	STV Productions in association with GroupM
Distributor	STV Group
Release
Original network	ITV2
Picture format	1080i (HDTV)
Original release	23 July 2015 (2015-07-23) – present

Safeword is a British television comedy panel game show hosted by Rick Edwards and broadcast on ITV2. It has been broadcasting since 23 July 2015.

Background

Safeword is a game show presented by Rick Edwards with team captains Katherine Ryan and David Morgan. It was developed and produced by STV Productions^[1] and was first transmitted on 23 July 2015 on ITV2. There are two guests on each team; one of these receives a roasting. Once they have had enough, they may use their safeword to end it. In promotion of the show, ITV's commissioning editor of comedy Claire Zolkwer said: "Rick's love for celebrity culture paired with Katherine and David's comedic talents is a perfect combination for a great, fun ITV2 watch."^[2]

Gameplay

The show begins with the teams conjuring up a safeword; to aid them, they are shown two particularly humiliating photos from their life with a succinct caption selected from the "safe word generator". A safeword is then picked by the team.^[3]

The first round, Hacked, involves the social media accounts of the guests being handed over to the opposing teams. The more posts they can stomach being posted, the more points they receive.^[3]

The second round, Burned, involves the team captains mocking^[4] the other team's guest using an image and caption from the roulette until either the time ends or they uses their safeword. The team captains take it in turns; one captain will attack, and once the time ends, the other captain will get up and attack. The guest receives one point for surviving each captain's diatribe, with two points available to each guest.^[3]

The third round, Slam Down, involves the guests insulting each other, with each guest obtaining one point per insult delivered. If they are unable think of an insult, they may use their safeword, by doing so they delegate to their team captains who may then issue an insult on their behalf. For each caustic remark successfully delivered, a point is awarded. The guest with the most points at the end of this round wins the game; the guest that loses is subjected to "a swift and nasty exit": Edwards pulls a chain which flings the guest's seat backwards causing the guest to disappear into the scenery.^[3]

Criticism

Between the broadcast of the first and second episodes contestant Sinitta berated the show, saying that she "hated Everything about your show. Language and topics were vile! Meant to only roast Me #cleverEditNeeded wish I'd walked out"."^[5] In response whilst on Lorraine, Edwards said that he had "no sympathy for her" and that "she could have used her safe word".^[6]

Episodes

The coloured backgrounds denote the result of each episode:

     indicates David's team won

     indicates Katherine's team won

     indicates the game ended in a draw

References

External links

• Safeword at the British Comedy Guide
• Safeword at UKGameshows.com