Weaver's Week 2024-07-07

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Our competition continuum continues. We're going from A-Z to find out which game shows have made the most episodes. Qualification for a full write-up is 500 episodes, or 100 primetime episodes.

Last time, we had lots of hyper-intellectual programmes – Brain of Britain, The Brains Trust, Call My Bluff, and Bullseye.

This time, we're going to wave a small fairy cake about two metres in the air, and see what happens.

The game shows with the most episodes (part 4 of a summer-long series)

Cardiff Singer of the World

An international competition for singers at the start of their professional careers. Bryn Terfel is the most famous alumnus, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Elizabeth Watts, and Elina Garanca have all gone on to major international success. The contest is held every second year, most recently in 2023.

Back when it was started, BBC2 regularly broadcast high arts, including opera. Five heats and the final were broadcast on network BBC2 from the competition's start in 1983 until 1999 (48 primetime episodes, plus 3 primetime behind-the-scenes compilations). In the following decade, network BBC2 had all the finals and highlights of the heats (9 primetime episodes).

With the new century, high arts were gently shunted out of the limelight. Heats moseyed off to BBC Knowledge in 2001 (6 primetime episodes), and BBC4 from 2003. The Fourth Programme also showed the Song Prize from 2005, and all programmes from 2011 (71 primetime episodes).

BBC2 Wales has continued to air the highlights exiled to BBC4 elsewhere, and made their own introduction shows from 2013 to 2019 (4 primetime episodes).

And then there's the radio coverage. Radio 3 had an after-the-performance show in 1995, inventing the genre years before Big Brother's Little Brother (5 episodes). Full replays of the heats were introduced by Humphrey Burton starting in 1997, and there were masterclasses as well (31 episodes from 1997 to 2003). Full deferred coverage including the Song Prize began in 2005 (69 episodes).

But wait! There's more! Welsh-language station Radio Cymru has had coverage of the final, and sometimes other shows, since 2009 (12 episodes). English-language station Radio Wales has had the final, and usually some behind-the-scenes shows, since 2007 (22 episodes). There was a Radio 2 Arts Programme special in 1997 (1 episode), and documentaries in the World Service in 2001, 2019, and 2021 (3 episodes). Some of the shows – particularly on Radio Wales – appear to be arts magazines shows, which covered other topics; we've only included shows presented from Cardiff Singer, or where the main description on BBC Genome talks about Cardiff Singer.

By our reckoning, that's 141 primetime episodes, and 284 episodes in total.

Shall we move on to something more simple?

Catchphrase

Learning Welsh is fun. Dysgu Cymraeg yn hwyl. Catchphrase is a long-running series to teach Welsh in bitesize chunks, starting from "Rwy'n hoffi coffi" and finishing somewhere around "Mae fy postillion wedi cael ei daro gan fellten". It's good, but it's not right.

Catchphrase is also the title of a game show, featuring animated graphics and making a star out of Roy Walker. Never one to tell people they're wrong, he came up with many ways of saying "press again, try again".

Running from 1986 to 2004, there were 296 primetime episodes on original ITV run, with a run of 52 daytime programmes with Mark Curry in 2002.

You can't keep a good show down, and Catchphrase was no exception. Stephen Mulhern has hosted the show since 2013. We reckon he's hosted 137 eps, but two this year don't count because we cut off all series at the end of last year.

Back when it was a little satellite station. The Family Channel (which became Challenge) made 100 Family Catchphrase episodes, and these went out in primetime. Might be a little channel, with only a handful of viewers, but it's still primetime.

We have 583 episodes, of which 531 primetime.

We have to draw the line somewhere, and we've said 500 episodes is the daytime cutoff. Catchword, the Paul Coia word game, had about 453 episodes; while we're unsure about the exact figure, it's not out by more than a dozen.

Celebrity Juice

Bang tidy!

The frothiest of frothy shows, entertaining and disposable. Keith Lemon and Holly Willoughby and Fearne Cotton left us chuckling through some hard times, turning straight to celebrities making eedjits of themselves.

271 primetime episodes from 2008 to 2022; can anyone honestly say we've thought about it since?

Celebrity Squares

Bob and the Big Box Game. Noughts and crosses played on a massive grid of celebrity.

ATV axed The Golden Shot and gave Bob Monkhouse something better to do. Wisecracking quick-talking bonhomie, usually with Willie Rushton in the middle square. Other squares were filled by a mixture of rising stars, established names, and entertainers who'll do anything to get on telly.

Ran for 138 primetime eps in the 1970s. Revived in the 1990s for a further 57 episodes. Revived again a decade ago with Warwick Davis hosting, 15 episodes there.

A total of 210 primetime episodes.

We expected to have a write-up of Challenge Anneka around here. No dice: the action woman has only completed 69 projects (plus one left mouldering on a Channel 5 shelf somewhere).

The Chase

No, it's not been axed. Mark Pougatch and his chums have actually been sitting on a platform balanced on top of Mark Labbett's hat.

Quiz me quick, quiz me well. A team of four strangers are asked questions, and given cash offers. Win their solo duel against a quiz genius and the player is through to the final; win the final and the players split the money. The Chasers are built up to be larger-than-life characters.

By being on every day (and pretty much all the time on The Challenge Channel), we've come to know and respect and rather like Bradley and his smartiepants chums.

According to the lovely statisticians at onequestionshootout.xyz, Daytime has had 2084 eps (to the end of 2023). Celebrity 139 primetime eps (to the end of 2023). The Family Chase 22 primetime eps, and there have been 2 other primetime episodes. We've deferred to One Question Shootout's categorisation of "daytime" and "primetime", which might leave a few big money charity specials in the daytime category.

Total of 2247 episodes, of which 163 primetime.

We're not including Beat the Chasers, which is a very different show. 36 primetime eps to the end of 2023.

Coach Trip

A travelogue show with pleasant strangers, spoiled by a backstabby vindictive game. Ran on Channel 4 on and off and on and off for absolutely ages, showcasing attractive parts of the continent to some pleasant people.

Civilian 530 episodes; Celeb 80 episodes; Specials and others 20 episodes.

Total 630 episodes.

Come Dancing

At one time the longest running British telly entertainment show of any kind whatsoever. Originally a companion programme to the popular Television Dancing Club, our show featured leading dancers of the day instructing viewers in how to do the various dances. After a little while the format included an "Open Dancing competition" which came to dominate the programme.

A Radio Times billing from 1959 summarises the phenomenon.

Eric Morley of the Mecca Ballrooms was the original Master of Ceremonies, assisted, and then succeeded, by a seemingly endless list of presenters. Just about everyone had a go at it down the years, from the barely-remembered (Paul Carpenter, a household name in his own household) to the fondly recalled (the inevitable Terry Wogan) and the frankly miscast (Noel Edmonds fronting a ballroom dancing competition? It happened.) International competition arrived in 1962, Oslo versus Nottingham via the Eurovision network.

Inevitably, fashions change, ballroom dancing became a bit of a niche pastime. Come Dancing got pushed later and later in the schedules, and was scheduled very erratically with gaps of a month from one heat to the next. International competition tried to bulk out the order, but it was clear Come Dancing was past its prime.

Come Dancing closed with its "50th Anniversary" special in 1998, a total of 431 primetime episodes. We've included the BBC Formation Dancing Challenge Trophy, which ran for five episodes from 1971-75. Teams qualified through their performances in the regional Come Dancing series.

"They should bring back Come Dancing." They already did. Wait till we get to Strictly Come Dancing, which will get an entry of its own.

Come Dine with Me

Strangers go round each others houses for a dinner party. Some of them are banal. Some of them are spectacular. Some of them are very, very strange. Dave Lamb's sarcastic narration is the glue holding this show together, he points out the flaws and draws attention to the bizarre.

Running on and off since 2005, and we salute the tremendous efforts of the IMDB editor(s) who have put together a brief synopsis of every single civilian episode. To the end of last year, that's 2012 episodes. Most of them are in the traditional five parties across five nights format, some are four parties shown across one hour. No fewer than 252 Couples Come Dine with Me episodes, where the work is shared between two people.

Come Dine with Me has also had 122 Celebrity episodes, featuring celebrities and/or people we might have heard of. There were 20 Celebrity Extra Helpings episodes, additional footage that didn't make the main show, and leaves us wondering if they might just edit the whole week into a three-hour ultrashow and be done with it. There's been Come Dine with Me The Professionals, 20 of those in 2022 (and another 20 this year, after our cut-off). And six editions of Come Date with Me, meeting new people.

That's a grand total of 2432 episodes. Surprisingly few primetime editions, we make it about 62 celebrity episodes. Although Come Dine with Me has recently been shown at 6pm, it's clearly commissioned from the daytime budget, so counts as a daytime show. Same rule will apply to House of Games (3) when we get there. (And we will get there, promise. Let's finish with a few honourable mentions.)

Concentration – pair the squares to uncover a rebus. Ran in the late 1950s and again in the late 1980s. We reckon there were 93 primetime episodes.

Confessions – Simon Mayo's honesty box of the air had 40 episodes as a television show, somewhat fewer with a game element, and many thousands as a feature on his various radio shows.

Copycats – Sam and Mark's game of whispers ran from 2009 to 2016, a total of 182 episodes on children's telly.

Top show tables

Shows beginning with numbers, or AAA-COP.

Overall

At some point in early 2026, The Chase should catch up with Come Dine with Me. At some point around the end of 2026, The Chase should catch up with Fifteen-to-One. Wonder if they'll make a special with the panel Sandi Toksvig, Adam Hills, Laura Calland, and One Of The Elgin Marbles.

Primetime shows

With two Celebrity Catchphrase editions shown since we stopped counting, Stephen Mulhern is so close to overtaking Call My Bluff. We'll leave it as an exercise to imagine how they might make a cartoon out of that phrase.

We'll be back with more next week, you can count on it.

In other news

The European Broadcasting Union has published part of its review of What The Chuff Happened at the Eurovision Song Contest. Given that some of the happenings are still the subject of criminal proceedings, the report is somewhat incomplete. This week's report includes three sections:

What does this actually mean to our favourite pan-continental contest? We will have to see; the EBU has set out its priorities but much of the work will be in the detail. This column's read is that the rules are seen as too complex and too opaque, and delegations weren't quite aware of what was required of them.

One reform they are bringing in: new positions, because what is the EBU for if not for even more bureaucracy?! The "Eurovision Song Contest Director" will take part of the role previously filled by the Executive Supervisor, the Director will be the ultimate boss of the event and it's their head on the line. The Executive Supervisor sees their role cut to focus on day-to-day production and liaising with the member broadcasters.

A new position, the "Head of ESC Brand and Commercial" (sic) will also report to the ESC Director. As for a "Welfare Producer", that remains to be decided. Very helpful to see where the EBU's priorities lie.

Also very helpful to see how much actual change the EBU thinks is necessary. Martin Österdahl remains in the reduced Executive Supervisor role. Christer Björkman will remain as the Head of Contest for the umpteenth year.

ITV's summer brochure has come out, with all their thrills for the next three months. Love Island American Edition will eventually make its way to the ITV Hub website, and possibly to telly channel ITVB; Ariana Madix is the host, and the role of Iain Stirling is played by Iain Stirling. Password is publicised for the third quarter running, Stephen Mangan hosts, Daisy May Cooper and Alan Carr try to give useful clues.

BBC The Voice of Holland returns for a thirteenth series, hosted by Emma Willis, and we're scratching our heads to remember any of the other winners. Emma Willis and Tom Allen host Cooking With the Stars series 4, featuring Carol Vorderman and Pasha Kovalev. Another show funded by an advertiser, Dress the Nation tries to find the next fashion designer; if we've got our number right, that'll be Vernon Kay's twentieth (20th) hosting gig, way more than Davina McCall.

This week, Richard Bacon's quiz I Literally Just Told You is back (C4, Fri), with a celebrity edition. A change for Bake Off The Professionals: Sunday and Monday on Channel 4. Sewing Bee will be on Tuesday or Wednesday, whichever one BBC1 doesn't show football.

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