Winner Takes All

(Key moments)
("Michael Dixon's £7455 in 1986 remained the record cash prize for over a decade." Actually, only eight years later Wheel of Fortune contestants were winning £10,000 for solving the final puzzle ;))
 
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<div class="box">
<div class="box">
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== Host ==
== Host ==
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[[Jimmy Tarbuck]] (original host)
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[[Jimmy Tarbuck]] (1975-86)
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[[Geoffrey Wheeler]]
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[[Geoffrey Wheeler]] (1987-8)
[[Bobby Davro]] (1997)
[[Bobby Davro]] (1997)
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== Co-hosts ==
== Co-hosts ==
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Voiceover: [[Geoffrey Wheeler]], Gaynor Barnes (1997)
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Voiceover: [[Geoffrey Wheeler]] (1975-86)
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Vicky McDonald (1987-8)
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Announcer: Gaynor Barnes (1997)
== Broadcast ==
== Broadcast ==
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ITV (Yorkshire), 1976 to 1988
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Yorkshire Television for ITV, 20 April 1975 to 28 June 1988 (248 episodes in 14 series + 3 specials)
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Challenge TV, 1997
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Yorkshire Television for Challenge TV, 5 May to ? 1997
</div>
</div>
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Contestants start with fifty points and answer a series of five questions, wagering between five and fifty of their accumulated total on their ability to select the correct answer from the five displayed.
Contestants start with fifty points and answer a series of five questions, wagering between five and fifty of their accumulated total on their ability to select the correct answer from the five displayed.
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<div class="image">[[File:Winner takes all tarby1.jpg]]''I want my bathroom tiled like that''</div>
Each answer was associated with a set of odds, between 2-1 and 5-1 and the outsider at 10-1. Correct answers paid off at the illustrated odds.
Each answer was associated with a set of odds, between 2-1 and 5-1 and the outsider at 10-1. Correct answers paid off at the illustrated odds.
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<div class="image"><IMG src="/atoz/programmes/w/winner_takes_all/winner_takes_all1.jpg" width="320" height="240">
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<div class="image">[[File:Winner takes all jimmy with geoff hostesses.jpg]]''Geoffrey and Jimmy together''</div>
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''The set of winner takes all. The contestants indicated their "bet" via the lights in front of their desks.''</div>
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This takes place twice before the break, and once afterwards, but for pounds instead of points. There was a returning-champion complication somewhere along the line, too.
This takes place twice before the break, and once afterwards, but for pounds instead of points. There was a returning-champion complication somewhere along the line, too.
 +
 +
<div class="image">[[File:Winner_takes_all_tarby3.jpg]]''[[Jimmy Tarbuck]] and hostesses''</div>
"Ho-ho!" Tarbuck hosted in the early days, accompanied by the disembodied voice of [[Geoffrey Wheeler]] to read out the questions, answers and commentate upon the outcomes. Later shows dispensed with Tarbuck and Wheeler performed both jobs.
"Ho-ho!" Tarbuck hosted in the early days, accompanied by the disembodied voice of [[Geoffrey Wheeler]] to read out the questions, answers and commentate upon the outcomes. Later shows dispensed with Tarbuck and Wheeler performed both jobs.
-
<div class="image">[[Image:Winner_takes_all_tarby3.jpg]]
+
<div class="image"><IMG src="/atoz/programmes/w/winner_takes_all/winner_takes_all1.jpg" width="320" height="240">
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''[[Jimmy Tarbuck]] and hostesses''</div>
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''The set used in the late 1980s. The contestants indicated their "bet" via the lights in front of their desks.''</div>
A modern version starring Bobby Davro was made for cable station Challenge TV and two things strike you about the show. Firstly, Davro's actually a very quick witted host, and secondly how inconsequential the betting procedure is. If you'd just count how many questions each contestant got right, most of the time you'd reach exactly the same outcome. The Davro revival also saw the return of the disembodied voiceover reading the questions, in the form of YTV newsreader Gaynor Barnes.
A modern version starring Bobby Davro was made for cable station Challenge TV and two things strike you about the show. Firstly, Davro's actually a very quick witted host, and secondly how inconsequential the betting procedure is. If you'd just count how many questions each contestant got right, most of the time you'd reach exactly the same outcome. The Davro revival also saw the return of the disembodied voiceover reading the questions, in the form of YTV newsreader Gaynor Barnes.
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 +
<div class="image">[[File:Winner takes all davro1.jpg]]''Bobby Davro hosted the most recent version''</div>
For this reason, we can't praise this show to the heights, but nevertheless it's a quiz that was popular in its day.
For this reason, we can't praise this show to the heights, but nevertheless it's a quiz that was popular in its day.
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== Key moments ==
== Key moments ==
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In 1981, redundant sausage cook John Smith won £6620, the highest prize awarded on a British game show at the time. This remained the record prize for over a decade as that year's Broadcasting Act gave the IBA the power to cap game show prizes, which it did at £6000, a limit which remained in force until 1993.
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In 1981, redundant sausage cook John Smith won £6620, the highest prize awarded on a British game show at the time. This was bettered in 1986, when Michael Dixon's winnings totalled £7455. It remained the record cash prize for almost a decade.
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In the Wheeler version, one outtake concerned a hostess introducing one contestant as "Tony Gold from Haughton-le-Spring" when his nametag actually said Chris. <!-- It'll Be Alright on the Night's Cockup Trip - 3mins in-->
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An outtake from the Tarbuck version, when Jimmy was just about to introduce a contestant, the pneumatic cylinder on the chair collapsed and the contestant dropped down with it. <!-- It'll Be Alright on Christmas Night (It'll Be Alright on the Night 5 for repeats) - 3mins in-->
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Another outtake, this time from the Wheeler version, concerned a hostess introducing one contestant as "Tony Gold from Haughton-le-Spring" when his nametag actually said Chris. <!-- It'll Be Alright on the Night's Cockup Trip - 3mins in-->
== Catchphrases ==
== Catchphrases ==
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Classic early-'80s quiz show dialogue. Jim: "Press your buttons and gamble away!" Geoffrey: "Wide difference of opinion here, Jim!"
Classic early-'80s quiz show dialogue. Jim: "Press your buttons and gamble away!" Geoffrey: "Wide difference of opinion here, Jim!"
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== Theme music ==
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== Inventor ==
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<div class="video"><object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/WvMzma1NJBg"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/WvMzma1NJBg" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>''Opening titles of Winner Takes All, with Tarby''</div><br>
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The show was actually invented by [[Geoffrey Wheeler]], who originally was the voiceover and later the host.
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<div class="image"><IMG src="/atoz/programmes/w/winner_takes_all/winner_takes_all2.jpg" width="320" height="240">
 +
 
 +
''Host, [[Geoffrey Wheeler]] (he's the one on the left) with hostess.''</div>
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== Theme music ==
The original theme was an instrumental piece of library music called ''Joy Ride'' by Jim Lawless.
The original theme was an instrumental piece of library music called ''Joy Ride'' by Jim Lawless.
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The grand prize was &pound;1,000 in the form of one thousand one-pound notes (remember them?) in a display case - much like ''[[Who Wants to be a Millionaire?]]''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s &pound;1,000,000-worth of thick wads of fifties (albeit fake), but not nearly as impressive. We were all hard up in those days, y'see.
The grand prize was &pound;1,000 in the form of one thousand one-pound notes (remember them?) in a display case - much like ''[[Who Wants to be a Millionaire?]]''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s &pound;1,000,000-worth of thick wads of fifties (albeit fake), but not nearly as impressive. We were all hard up in those days, y'see.
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== Inventor ==
+
The first series was shown in the Yorkshire, Tyne Tees, and Border regions only. It was shown later in 1975 in some other regions, including LWT from 22 August 1975.
-
The show was actually invented by [[Geoffrey Wheeler]], who originally was the voiceover and later the host.
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== Web links ==
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<div class="image"><IMG src="/atoz/programmes/w/winner_takes_all/winner_takes_all2.jpg" width="320" height="240">
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[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winner_Takes_All_(game_show) Wikipedia entry]
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''Host, [[Geoffrey Wheeler]] (he's the one on the left) with hostess.''</div>
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== Pictures ==
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== Videos ==
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<div class="image">[[File:Winner takes all jimmy with logo.jpg]]''Jimmy's just got in''</div>
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<div class="video"><object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/8m-lyPbmEs8"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/8m-lyPbmEs8" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>''Early version of the opening titles''</div><br>
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<div class="image">[[File:Winner takes all jimmy with hostess.jpg|200px]]''The 1970s truly were the decade that taste forgot''</div>
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<div class="video"><object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/2H07vL98Xo4"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/2H07vL98Xo4" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>''Geoffrey Wheeler title sequence''</div>
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[[Category:General Knowledge Quiz]]
[[Category:General Knowledge Quiz]]
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[[Category:Gambling]]
[[Category:Host Out Of Vision]]
[[Category:Host Out Of Vision]]
[[Category:Long-Running]]
[[Category:Long-Running]]
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[[Category:Gambling]]
 
[[Category:Yorkshire TV Productions]]
[[Category:Yorkshire TV Productions]]
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[[Category:Challenge Programmes]]

Current revision as of 21:08, 18 December 2024

Contents

Host

Jimmy Tarbuck (1975-86)

Geoffrey Wheeler (1987-8)

Bobby Davro (1997)

Co-hosts

Voiceover: Geoffrey Wheeler (1975-86)

Vicky McDonald (1987-8)

Announcer: Gaynor Barnes (1997)

Broadcast

Yorkshire Television for ITV, 20 April 1975 to 28 June 1988 (248 episodes in 14 series + 3 specials)

Yorkshire Television for Challenge TV, 5 May to ? 1997

Synopsis

Contestants start with fifty points and answer a series of five questions, wagering between five and fifty of their accumulated total on their ability to select the correct answer from the five displayed.

File:Winner takes all tarby1.jpgI want my bathroom tiled like that

Each answer was associated with a set of odds, between 2-1 and 5-1 and the outsider at 10-1. Correct answers paid off at the illustrated odds.

File:Winner takes all jimmy with geoff hostesses.jpgGeoffrey and Jimmy together

This takes place twice before the break, and once afterwards, but for pounds instead of points. There was a returning-champion complication somewhere along the line, too.

File:Winner_takes_all_tarby3.jpgJimmy Tarbuck and hostesses

"Ho-ho!" Tarbuck hosted in the early days, accompanied by the disembodied voice of Geoffrey Wheeler to read out the questions, answers and commentate upon the outcomes. Later shows dispensed with Tarbuck and Wheeler performed both jobs.

The set used in the late 1980s. The contestants indicated their "bet" via the lights in front of their desks.

A modern version starring Bobby Davro was made for cable station Challenge TV and two things strike you about the show. Firstly, Davro's actually a very quick witted host, and secondly how inconsequential the betting procedure is. If you'd just count how many questions each contestant got right, most of the time you'd reach exactly the same outcome. The Davro revival also saw the return of the disembodied voiceover reading the questions, in the form of YTV newsreader Gaynor Barnes.

File:Winner takes all davro1.jpgBobby Davro hosted the most recent version

For this reason, we can't praise this show to the heights, but nevertheless it's a quiz that was popular in its day.

Key moments

In 1981, redundant sausage cook John Smith won £6620, the highest prize awarded on a British game show at the time. This was bettered in 1986, when Michael Dixon's winnings totalled £7455. It remained the record cash prize for almost a decade.

An outtake from the Tarbuck version, when Jimmy was just about to introduce a contestant, the pneumatic cylinder on the chair collapsed and the contestant dropped down with it.

Another outtake, this time from the Wheeler version, concerned a hostess introducing one contestant as "Tony Gold from Haughton-le-Spring" when his nametag actually said Chris.

Catchphrases

Classic early-'80s quiz show dialogue. Jim: "Press your buttons and gamble away!" Geoffrey: "Wide difference of opinion here, Jim!"

Inventor

The show was actually invented by Geoffrey Wheeler, who originally was the voiceover and later the host.

Host, Geoffrey Wheeler (he's the one on the left) with hostess.

Theme music

The original theme was an instrumental piece of library music called Joy Ride by Jim Lawless.

Trivia

The grand prize was £1,000 in the form of one thousand one-pound notes (remember them?) in a display case - much like Who Wants to be a Millionaire?'s £1,000,000-worth of thick wads of fifties (albeit fake), but not nearly as impressive. We were all hard up in those days, y'see.

The first series was shown in the Yorkshire, Tyne Tees, and Border regions only. It was shown later in 1975 in some other regions, including LWT from 22 August 1975.

Web links

Wikipedia entry

Pictures

File:Winner takes all jimmy with logo.jpgJimmy's just got in
The 1970s truly were the decade that taste forgot

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