Where in the World? (1)
Contents |
Host
Michael Parkinson (1971)
Ray Alan (1972, 1984-5)
Co-hosts
Team captains: John Carter (throughout) and Fyfe Robertson (first series), John Julius Norwich (second series and revival)
Hostess (1980s): Beverley Isherwood
Broadcast
BBC1, 12 January 1971 to 15 June 1972
HTV for Channel 4, 1984-5
Synopsis
Impressionist Ray Alan posed questions to two teams and their guests to identify well-known places from anywhere in the world.
Guessing exotic foods also added to the fun. John "BBC Holiday programme" Carter and John Julius "who?" Norwich raced to guess the godless nation responsible for the concoction they had to eat.
Well-known travellers acted as guests to assist the team captains in guessing the pictures, objects, exotic food and - get this - national costumes as modelled by former Miss England and sometime Countdown hostess Beverley Isherwood.
The last line of the programme information sums up the show nicely: "This is the game where viewers can find out if they know more than the experts about anywhere from Aa (in France) to Zyyi (in Cyprus)". If you found that funny you deserved this show.
Inventor
Trivia
Michael Parkinson presenting this show was quite a coup, because he left Granada to come back to the BBC.
Cecil Korer had a habit of casting beauty queens in the shows he produced, and this one was no exception. In the first series, he invited former Miss World finalist Shakira Baksh to be a panellist on several episodes. According to Michael Parkinson's autobiography, one of them was seen by a viewer who had spotted Baksh in a coffee advert and phoned Cecil Korer asking if he could be put in touch with "the most beautiful woman he had ever seen". Obviously, had it just been some ordinary member of the public then the answer would most likely have been "no", but the caller was none other than Michael Caine, so Korer fixed them up. Michael and Shakira celebrated their golden wedding anniversary in 2023.
