Pot of Gold
Contents |
Host
Co-hosts
Announcer: Robin Houston
Broadcast
Reg Grundy Productions and Central for ITV, 28 July 1993 to 3 July 1995 (12 episodes in 2 series)
Co-produced by Carlton UK Productions, 1995
Synopsis
This was the first gameshow, we think, to be tied in so neatly to a paper.
Essentially this was a talent show. Six acts would try to please the judges, one would be picked randomly from the audience, the other one would be a celebrity. There was also a seventh act, but the audience voted for this based on thirty seconds from several. The one who scored highest on the clapometer got a chance at proper stage time.
The Pot of Gold came to the people with game cards at home. For each act, each judge gave a score out of fifty. The two scores were then added together to become that act's total. If this total matched what was on your game card, you could write in to claim a £50 prize. At the end, all seven totals were added up to make the jackpot total; if this matched what was on your game card, you could phone in to win or share in a jackpot of £25,000 - at the time the biggest jackpot offered on a British TV game show.
The highest-scoring act won £1,000 and a place in the all-winners final.
Theme music
Ray Monk, credited as "Musical Director" (as was more often than not the case on Central shows), with Colin Keyes as "Musical Associate".
Trivia
Like every other Central game show in the nineties, Pot of Gold was recorded at The Television House (later renamed Carlton Studios) in Lenton Lane, Nottingham.
Des appeared "by arrangement with Thames Television", who despite having lost their ITV franchise were still producing his variety show Des O'Connor Tonight for the network.
