09Feb2012
Your First Look at Challenge’s “Blockbusters” Revival
Simon Mayo is on set hosting Challenge's revival of the cult classic quiz show Blockbusters, which will debut later this year. Bringing a fondly remembered format from the past to modern times is always tricky. It can go well (Family Feud) or it can go very, very poorly (Sale of the Century/Temptation). It looks like Challenge is doing this one right. Simon tweeted some pictures of the new set, which you can check out below and by clicking here to visit Simon's Twitter. Click here to check out the pictures and to get more information.
Read MoreView Comments (8)08Feb2012
Scott and Jane Couper Win £137,000 on “The Exit List”
If you missed last night's episode of The Exit List, ITV's criminally mistreated quiz show airing Tuesdays at 8:00PM UK (3:00PM ET), you missed one hell of a game that you may want to catch up on. In the series fifth episode we saw what was just about as perfect a game as you're going to get. Contestants Scott and Jane Couper, from Milngavie, took an astounding £137,000 out of the Memory Maze and became the biggest winners yet of the Matt Allwright hosted game. Click here to learn more about the big win and to see some of the episode.
Read MoreView Comments (8)07Feb2012
“All Star Family Fortunes” Returns Saturday, February 11th, on ITV
ITV's popular classic game show, All Star Family Fortunes, is back. The adaptation of the American game show Family Feud comes back for its seventh series starting Saturday, February 11th, at 6:00PM UK (1:00PM ET). Two celebrities and their families will compete for up to £30,000 for charity with host Vernon Kay (Million Dollar Mind Game) presiding. This weekend former Countdown host Carol Vorderman and astrologer and media personality Russell Grant compete for charity. Click here to check out some of a previous series of the show.
Read MoreView Comments (1)06Feb2012
Did We Get the First Male Quarter Millionaire on “Deal or No Deal” Today?
Since we more or less launched BuzzerUK, we've been curbing our series "The British are Better Than Us". However, that thought was the first that came to mind during today's Deal or No Deal. When Deal is good, few shows can top the excitement and energy Noel Edmonds, The Banker, and the show brings. In six years and almost 2000 episodes four young women, all in their 20s, have won the top prize of £250,000. No male ever has. Today's contestant, Rich, had his sight sets on the life changing top prize. The game was one of the best ever and something that no fan of Deal or No Deal will ever forget. From the start, with a £20,000 opening offer, it was an epic game. Can Rich land in the Hall of Fame and be the first male quarter millionaire? You are not going to want to miss this one. Click here to watch the unbelievable moment.
Read MoreView Comments (9)06Feb2012
Simon Mayo Named Host of Challenge’s “Blockbusters”
Challenge, the British game show network, has named radio and television personality Simon Mayo the new host of the cult classic quiz show Blockbusters. Simon Mayo previously hosted two series of the lottery quiz show Winning Lines and a TV adaptation of his radio feature Confessions. Blockbusters first began on British television in 1983 and was hosted by the late Bob Holness. The show is based off the short lived 1980s American version. The British version enjoyed much longer success, lasting until 2001 in its first run. Click here to read more about Simon, some quotes from the people behind the show, and to see Simon in action.
Read MoreView Comments (9)02Feb2012
“Pointless” Lands Saturday Primetime Slot in March
BBC's popular daytime game show Pointless is getting a big boost in March. The quiz show, hosted by Alexander Armstrong and Richard Osmond, has received an order of 158 episodes for the year. 18 of these episodes will be special celebrity editions, amusingly titled Pointless Celebrities. Ten of the specials will be shown in the daytime, but eight will receive a special Saturday night slot starting in March. The series pulled in over five million viewers during the holidays. Click here to learn who will be playing and what the hosts have to say about it.
Read MoreView Comments (3)01Feb2012
Ratings Report: “Millionaire” Hits High; “Who’s Still Standing” Exits
We've got some ratings and viewership figures to share with you this morning. In addition to syndication we also have some broadcast network numbers, plus international figures which will probably depress you a bit. Let's start with the positives, though. With the meteoric rise of Family Feud, Who Wants to be a Millionaire has accidentally been pushed to the side for a bit. However, they had some great news for the week ending January 22nd. It was actually good news for all the syndicated shows. Next, NBC's Who's Still Standing? didn't end its series with a bang, but it managed to somehow maintain its audience week in and week out despite some major problems. And finally, get ready to be depressed about the viewing figures for ITV's intense quiz show The Exit List. It's not looking good. Click here for the full run through of all the ratings.
Read MoreView Comments (14)20Jan2012
Channel 4 Renews “The Bank Job”
Channel 4 has picked up the Endemol bank heist quiz show, The Bank Job for a second series of episodes. George Lamb will stay on as host for the next set of episodes. The order has been extended to ten episodes, up from six. This sounds like there may be some format tweaks because of the increase in contestants, but more will be revealed as the time comes closer. The first series of The Bank Job was shrouded in mystery at first, but the game, which takes place in an actual bank, only selected contestants who played the online game. The game received over 4.6 million plays. The first series of the show saw an average of over 1.2 million viewers. Click here to relive what was arguably the most memorable moment of the show.
Read MoreView Comments (5)13Jan2012
“The Million Pound Drop” Returns Tonight at 9:00PM UK on Channel 4
The Drop is back. Channel 4 is bringing back more episodes of their popular quiz show The Million Pound Drop live, tonight, at 9:00PM UK (4:00PM ET). The show is fresh off its special holiday series and ready to give away up to £1,000,000 to pairs of contestants. Play along by visiting the show's website and tweet the show to maybe see your messages on TV.
Read MoreView Comments (3)12Jan2012
BBC Renews “Secret Fortune” for Third Series
BBC One's popular lottery quiz show, Secret Fortune has been picked up for a third series. The Wild Rover-produced show, hosted by Nick Knowles, asks contestants to remove checks with various amounts of money on them by answering questions correctly. The more you answer correct, the higher the money stays, and by the end you could be leaving with £100,000. Secret Fortune has been picked up for twelve episodes this series. Previous series consisted of eight episodes. Secret Fortune was voted the second best new game show of 2011 by the readers of BuzzerBlog. Click here to learn more about the new series and an update on the US version for CBS.
Read MoreView Comments (13)11Jan2012
Ratings Report: “The Exit List” Debuts to 2.4 Million Viewers
We've got a lot of various ratings from across the broadcast world to share with you today. Let's start with our major focus that we've been excited for recently: ITV's The Exit List. The new quiz show hosted by Matt Allwright, which achieved critical acclaim and high praise from its viewers after its debut last night at 8:00PM, bowed to 2.4 million viewers. The news isn't good for NBC's Who's Still Standing? with a third place 6.19 million viewers, and it continues to damage Fear Factor. Click here to read about all the ratings and discuss.
Read MoreView Comments (6)10Jan2012
“The Exit List” Debuts Tonight at 8:00PM UK on ITV
Tonight on ITV is the debut of a brand new, original game show. ITV will debut The Exit List at 8:00PM UK (3:00PM ET US). The show puts a pair of contestants in the Memory Maze. The further they go, the more money they win, but the longer the Exit List to leave the maze with big cash, is. There's over £100,000 to be won by each pair depending on how far they go. A few surprises along the way will test a contestant's knowledge, memory, and calmness under pressure. Click here to learn more, let us know what you think, and watch a new preview of the show.
Read MoreView Comments (26)09Jan2012
“The Bank Job” Finale: Could You Steal £460,000?
The finale of Channel 4's weeklong event game show The Bank Job aired this Saturday and came with a big twist. All other nights four contestants were narrowed to one, who went into the finale with the money they took from the vault. However, for the Saturday finale, two winners were crowned. A jackpot of £467,500 was available. How did they determine how the money was going to be given away? The classic Prisoner's Dilema was brought back. British readers may know it as Share or Shaft. Americans may know it as Friend or Foe. Regardless, it asked the same question: could you steal a total of over £460,000 from a person standing inches away from you. For an American perspective, this is over $700,000. Click here to watch and let us know what you would have done.
Read MoreView Comments (19)06Jan2012
Bob Holness – 1928-2012
It has been reported today, with sad news that the game show presenter, Bob Holness has passed away at the age of 83. Bob is well known for hosting the Mark Goodson format, Blockbusters between 1983 and 1994 on ITV in the UK, as well as various other game shows on other networks throughout his life. Bob Holness, originally born in South Africa in 1928 moved to the UK in the early years of his life. Throughout three decades he worked on BBC Radio, working alongside Terry Wogan and Michael Parkinson. Whilst working certain shifts on the two main radio networks. He moved to the BBC World Service, where his voice would be heard all around the world. He also became one of the first people to portray Ian Flemming's famous spy, James Bond in a
Read MoreView Comments (26)06Jan2012
Check Out a Video Preview and Photo Gallery of ITV’s “The Exit List”
We've got another big quiz show coming to television soon. ITV is debuting their newest, the memory-infused quiz The Exit List, on Tuesday, January 10th, at 8:00PM UK (3:00PM ET). The Exit List, hosted by Matt Allwright, puts two people into a maze. Each room is filled with cash, but each new room they enter adds more items to the "Exit List", which they must recite to win their bank. One room at the end is worth a big £100,000 for teams smart and brave enough to go that far. The show reached out to us with some pictures of the set that can only be described as incredible, a video preview of the show, plus what host Matt Allwright thinks about his upcoming gig. Click here to see them all.
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