Fort Boyard (game show)

Fort Boyard is a French game show developed by Jacques Antoine, it was first broadcast on 7 July 1990 (originally as Les Clés de Fort Boyard, however shortened to Fort Boyard from the second series in 1991). Many foreign versions of the show, totalling over 1,800 episodes, have aired around the world since 1990.
Set and filmed on the real fortress of the same name on the west coast of France, the programme appears similar to the British game show The Crystal Maze (February 1990 onwards) which was created as an alternative format by Antoine for Channel 4 in the United Kingdom, after the fortress was unavailable to film in because of its then ongoing refurbishment (during 1989). In both programmes the contestants have to complete challenges to win prize-money. However, while The Crystal Maze varies the type of games quite considerably, Fort Boyard tends to focus mainly on physical and endurance challenges. Although Fort Boyard was something of a pioneer in the area of game show fear and adventure, later programmes such as Fear Factor have pushed things even further, requiring Fort Boyard to react and adapt with new twists and games, including a couple of seasons in which the contestants spent the night in the Fort (this proved particularly popular in the French and Russian versions).
Broadcast for over thirty years, it is one of the longest-running French game shows and one of the flagship programs of the summer in France. Fort Boyard is the most-exported French TV format and the fourth-most exported adventure-style game show format in the world after Wipeout, Fear Factor and Survivor. In 2019, the France 2 channel launched a spin-off called Boyard Land [fr] although this proved to be less popular and was cancelled after two seasons.
In 1980, Philippe de Dieuleveult [fr], a co-presenter of Antenne 2's La Chasse aux Trésors [fr] (the original, French version of Treasure Hunt), came close to drowning while trying to reach Fort Boyard in rough seas. He remained stuck for three hours before being rescued by helicopter. This episode inspired Jacques Antoine (creator of La Chasse aux Trésors) in the creation of the TV game show Fort Boyard.
The concept of Fort Boyard was imagined and outlined in 1986, at a meeting in the company of Antoine to find a game show to succeed Treasure Hunt. The idea of a team game show, adapted from role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons, taking place in a mysterious tower populated by extraordinary characters, whose goal is to find a treasure, takes shape in the following years.
Whilst looking for a set, a production team visited Fort Boyard in April 1987 and this fortification, located between the Île-d'Aix and the île d'Oléron in the Pertuis d'Antioche strait, was bought in November 1988 for one and a half million francs. The fortress had been put up for sale in October 1981 by the Ministry of Armed Forces and was purchased by Eric Aerts, a Belgian dental surgeon from Avoriaz, for 28,000 francs at an auction in May 1962. The production company resold the fort to the department of Charente-Maritime for a symbolic franc, resulting in the local authority then having to take charge of all the refurbishment works, which took place from July 1989, and ensured the exclusive use of the site to Antoine's production company. Because of the weather conditions, the construction of the sets for the show was done in two stages: between the start of the renovation and October 1989 then the following spring, and were completed shortly before the first day of filming on 30 June 1990. The original French version, under the name Les Clés de Fort Boyard (English: The Keys of Fort Boyard), began airing on 7 July 1990 hosted by Patrice Laffont and originally Marie Talon, later Sophie Davant, on Antenne 2.
The first country to buy the game show Fort Boyard (then known as Les Clés de Fort Boyard) was the United Kingdom and broadcaster Channel 4. It was reported by newspaper Sud Ouest that talks with the English broadcaster, who showed specific interest and the most enthusiasm about the project, had begun by December 1988. Dutch, Italian and German broadcasters had also been approached, while French channels remained cautiously reserved. Due to difficulties accessing the fort, the game show concept was to be tested at a different site in January 1989. After discussions with the French producers, production company Chatsworth Television (at the time producers of Channel 4's Treasure Hunt and ITV's Interceptor, both also game shows created by Antoine) decided to devise a British version and began work on making a concept. According to host Richard O'Brien, the original outlined concept was "kind of like Dungeons and Dragons", with the presenter acting as "Dungeon Master".
A non-televised pilot of the show funded by Channel 4 was filmed in a London studio with O'Brien as presenter, as the fort was not available at the time due to its ongoing renovations. Footage of O'Brien's pilot, showing the initial idea for the "Treasure Room" segment of the format, later appears in a casting call advert for the French version, broadcast in May 1990. More footage of the pilot, including the basic set design and some key games (most of which would go on to appear in the series), is featured in Fort Boyard : toujours plus fort! following the first episode of the 30th French season on 22 June 2019. According to co-creator Mitercey in 2009, the pilot was filmed in February 1989 at Elstree Studios. Six English contestants took part. To be as close as possible to reality, a quarter of the Fortress had been built in the studio using metal structures with 18 cells installed for playing games, which were all tested for the first time. Tigers were also present in the recording, as well as a large statue of Sphinx which posed puzzles (this idea was slightly revised later, with the creation of the Father Fouras character in the watchtower) and some characters like the wrestler. According to O'Brien, the recording of the pilot cost 2 million francs (around €304,900), a record at the time. In June 2022, an out of sync twenty-minute edit of the pilot was uploaded on social media by Pierre Launay.
It is said that the considerable changes that Channel 4 wanted to make to the format could not be possible on the Fort, as each broadcaster producing their own version at the time had to strictly follow the French format. Chatsworth were also required by the French producers, but declined, to film their version first in November 1989. As Channel 4 had commissioned the show for a full series, producer Malcolm Heyworth contacted Fort Boyard's creator Jacques Antoine about developing an alternative format, with a proposal that it used thematic zones as a means of keeping the show visually fresh. The concept of The Crystal Maze was developed in just "two days", creating a game that, although similar to Fort Boyard, is substantially different in terms of presentation and style. Channel 4's The Crystal Maze first aired on 15 February 1990, five months before the French series.
Channel 5 later bought the rights to Fort Boyard and made their own British version, using the now refurbished set, which aired from 16 October 1998 to 29 December 2001 for four series. It was produced by Paul Kirrage and executive produced by Richard Holloway, later known for producing The X Factor and other high-profile shows on UK television, for Grundy Productions (later Thames Television in 2001). Although pulling in reasonable ratings for the channel, in March 2002 it was announced that Channel 5 had cancelled the show as part of a station revamp.
It was briefly revived by Challenge in 2003 for one series, with a ten-part documentary, Fort Boyard: Takes On The World, broadcast in October 2004. Fort Boyard later returned to UK television in January 2012 under a new format aired on children's channel CITV, Fort Boyard: Ultimate Challenge. This version ended in December 2014 after five series, the first two of which were co-produced with Disney XD in the United States.
In the UK, two sets of presenters have been used for Fort Boyard. The first set appeared during the first four series of the show, which were broadcast by Channel 5, with the second appearing in the 2003 Challenge-aired fifth series. The leading presenters of Fort Boyard on Channel 5 and Challenge were Melinda Messenger (series 1–4) and Jodie Penfold (series 5). Their roles were to give advice and support for the teams, commentate for the viewers, and match wits with Boyard, the "Master of the Fort".
The other characters in Fort Boyard are:
There is also the resident Fort Boyard cast, who first appeared in the French version, and were subsequently featured in most of the other international formats, including the original UK versions, however these were all excluded for Fort Boyard: Ultimate Challenge:
As of 2014, there have been 41 characters in the French version. Most appeared in various games on the fort.
Since 1993, teams on the French version of the show consist entirely of celebrities. These include: cyclist Laurent Fignon, Formula 1 driver Romain Grosjean in 2019, figure skating champion Brian Joubert (appearing in 2004, 2007, 2008 and 2012), Djibril Cissé, Omar Sy, R&B singer Leslie (in 2002, 2003 and 2013), Tony Parker and Eva Longoria in 2009, and many others. Many former/new hosts of the show have often appeared as contestants.
In 1997, a series of boybands would be featured. These include 2Be3 & Worlds Apart.
However, in 2010 the formula was dramatically changed and the squads, of four members each, did not consist of any celebrities. The "duel" format was used that year. The celebrities returned in 2011 playing for charity. In 2019 French World Cup winning footballer Adil Rami was sacked by Olympique de Marseille for reportedly missing training to appear on the show.
On 26 December 1999, a celebrity edition of Fort Boyard was broadcast, featuring, Frank Bruno, Samuel Kane, Glenda McKay, Gabby Logan and Sharron Davies as contestants. As a one-off, the show's length was extended to 80 minutes so that the team had to get five keys (instead of four) and the code word in fifty-five minutes. Frank captained the team and won £7,910 for their nominated charity.
Series 3 aired two celebrity editions of Fort Boyard following the success of the 1999 special; broadcast on 5 January and 25 August 2001, one edition featured Rhodri Williams, Lisa Rogers, "Handy" Andy Kane, Tricia Penrose and Phil Gayle as the contestants. Rhodri was the team captain and the team won £14,350 for charity. The other featured Anna Walker, Victor Ubogu, Annalise Braakensiek, Tim Vincent and Troy Titus-Adams. Anna Walker captained the team and they won £7,190 for charity.
Another celebrity edition aired at the end of series four (episode 14) in 2001 featuring Sally Gray, Scott Wright, Nell McAndrew, Keith Duffy and Tris Payne. Sally Gray was the team captain and the team won £10,130 for charity. Episode 4 of series 4, broadcast on 13 October 2001, was a special featuring contestants from the first series of The Mole.
Celebrity editions were also broadcast during the 2003 series by Challenge. It featured Doug Williams, Paul Burchill, Nikita, James Tighe, and Sweet Saraya, all of whom were wrestling stars from British promotion FWA. Doug Williams captained the team and won £190. Other celebrities appearing in series 5 included Tim Vine and Craig Phillips, Big Brother 2000 winner. The team won £1,820 for charity, which was topped up by a further £5,000 because Tim Vine accepted a challenge to tell 10 jokes in one minute.
In most series of the Danish and Swedish versions, teams have consisted entirely of celebrities. In the 2010 and 2012 series of the Finnish version, team members were celebrities. Most (or all) episodes of the Russian series consisted of famous national singers, actors, TV presenters and sportsmen.
In the 2013 Canadian version, the teams consisted of 24 participants in total; 12 celebrities and 12 members of the public, divided into six teams of four equally.
In the Argentine version of the show, aired in 1999 and 2000, a celebrity joined the other 4 people to help them on their challenges. Argentina's was the first version to have a female character guarding the tower: "La Dama del Fuerte" played by Isabel Achaval. This was followed by Germany's Sonya Kraus and Yasemin Kozanoğlu for Turkey both in 2000. On 4 June 2019, Swedish broadcaster TV4 confirmed that Suzanne Reuter would appear in the role as "Madame Fouras".
In the Moroccan version, aired in early 2015 but filmed the previous year, 3 celebrities joined teams with 2 unknown people for the challenges. The first episode of Jazirat Al Kanz aired on 24 February and was watched by 6.4 million viewers, a record 59% audience share for 2MTV.
Fort Boyard is a French game show first broadcast in 1990; however the fort is also used by television stations from other countries in order to produce their own (typically modified) versions, using part of the technical teams and characters of the original French show.
Filming takes place during the summer months (May to July, until August in 2000 due to a large number of countries attending) each year. Foreign versions of the show typically last between 22 and 80 minutes per episode, depending on the country and format used. In total, 34 foreign versions have broadcast around the world since 1990.
Following the ratings success of the Moroccan version, an African version is aired in 24 countries of French-speaking Africa since September 2019 on Canal+ Afrique.
Italy has only ever made a pilot for Fort Boyard, in 1991. The host of this unaired version was Marco Predolin [it]. The American pilot for ABC, filmed the same year, was eventually broadcast on 20 March 1993. The rights were also sold to a Spanish broadcaster.
In December 2005, it was reported that French producers Adventure Line Productions were in final talks with around three Indian broadcasters to bring the format to the country; however in the end this did not happen. In October 2010, it was reported that Brazil and Tunisia had signed on for filming in 2011. However, no series was later produced for either country. In December 2012, Ukrainian channel ICTV announced they were due to film the country's second season of the show. However, for unknown reasons, the filming did not take place. A Chinese version of the show was confirmed to be filmed in mid-September 2015, however it was later cancelled due to censorship worries.
In 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, no foreign countries chose to film its own version. Six countries were initially expected to attend that year, including Sweden, Morocco, Russia and Denmark. This marked the first and only year to date in which only the French version was filmed. Sweden, Morocco, Ukraine and the Pan-African versions cancelled filming for 2021 because of the health constraints linked to the pandemic, however, Norway and Poland confirmed that they would return alongside Denmark and Russia.
The fort has also been used for special private events in 2014, 2016 and 2019 by Russian visitors and filmed non-televised shows featuring children for the French sponsor Prince de LU from 2011 to 2013, with Anne-Gaëlle Riccio returning as host. Further mini-episodes featuring Willy Rovelli's Chef character and eating challenge were filmed in June 2020 and premiered online on the children's on-demand platform Okoo of France Télévisions, and its website france.tv from October 14, 2020. It was confirmed in July 2019 that an unnamed Russian billionaire of a large steel company had hired the Fort three times, firstly in 2014 for a team building session and most recently for his 50th birthday.
Legend: Original version Currently airing Upcoming season Status unknown No longer airing
Fort Boyard has aired on many networks around the world. Some countries, such as Portugal, aired the original French version dubbed or with subtitles as opposed to producing their own. Others include:
A number of other countries also did this before producing their own versions in later years. These include:
In France, reruns of their own version have aired on Gulli (2006–2014), TV5Monde Europe, 1ère, and France 4 since 6 September 2014. In Belgium, since 2017, French-language broadcaster RTBF acquired rights allowing it to broadcast the show on the eve of its release in France. It was initially aired on La Une but moved to La Deux in 2020. Ukraine (ТЕТ, 2006–2007), Georgia (Rustavi 2, 2010), Slovakia (Dajto, 2013), Algeria (A3), Quebec (Prise 2, 2009–2010, 2024), Argentina (Volver, 2019), Lebanon (LBCI, 2020–21) and the UK have also repeated past series on various channels.
The year 2000 contains the most episodes filmed of any year (123 for eleven countries, including France). To date (excluding 2020), 2005 has the least (26), with just the French and Greek versions attending. As of 2018, the overall number of episodes filmed is 1,782, of which 327 are of the original French version over 29 seasons. Sweden, is the foreign country which has produced the most episodes to date (222 over 19 seasons).
Fort Boyard's format varies from country to country, but the basics are the same. A team of friends enter the Fort with the intention of winning the gold. To do this, the contestants have to successfully complete a series of challenges set by a fort-master, who wishes to keep the gold to themselves.
The first thing done in the game is the sounding of the Fort's gong by French character 'La Boule'. Once the gong sounds the game time begins ticking down. In the UK version the game lasted for forty minutes, in the French version sixty to 120 minutes, depending on the year. In the UK's 2nd and 3rd series, entry into the fort was not immediate for the contestants. The access gate at the fort's entrance is blocked by a large horizontal bar; the team must pull on the correct rope to raise the bar above the gate, so it can be opened to start the game. This initial task was also used in the 1999 French version.
The show's original format is outlined in the following sections.
The first set of games the contestants have to complete is to win a certain number of keys (in series 1–4 of the UK version four keys were needed, whereas five were need in series 5; five were needed in the Quebec version, and seven in the Swedish and Danish versions. The current French version requires nine keys). These keys, once won, are used to open the gate to the Treasure Room, a central room in the Fort where the gold is held.
The challenges that are set to win the keys are located in small cells around the Fort, with small water-timers (a Clepsydre) outside to give the contestant a time limit (around 2–3 minutes, depending on the game) to complete it; in the UK version, Boyard would start the timer upon saying to a contestant that "their time starts now", whereas in the 5th series, Boyard would start it after telling Jacques to open the door of a challenge room. If a contestant fails to leave the challenge room before the time runs out, he or she is locked in and then shortly after taken away to a cage (by La Boule or Mr Boo since 2011), meaning they are not allowed to continue with the rest of the key games and must stay there until the end of Phase One. In the UK's 4th series, La Boule would give the contestant a large bunch of rusty keys. One of these keys would unlock the cage allowing the contestant to re-join the team.
During this phase of the game, one contestant goes up to the Watch Tower to win an additional key for the team (see below). This could be done once or twice, depending on the season.
Once the contestants reach the end of Phase One, usually towards the end of their game time, there is a trip to the Treasure Room with all of the keys that they have won so far. If they have enough to unlock the Treasure Room Door then the keys are entered and the gate is unlocked. However, it does not open until later in the show.
If they are short of keys to open the gate then team members are 'sacrificed' for keys, one team member for each key short (one person to win the rest of the extra keys if less than 7 in the French version from 1991-1996). The 'sacrificed' contestants are then placed in an underground cell and locked in. These team members remain for the rest of the game, and are therefore unable to contribute any more for the team. Although this never happened, hypothetically at least in Series 5 in the UK, if no keys were won in Phase One, it would have been impossible for the team to continue the game since in Series 5 in the UK five keys were needed to open the treasure room door, and since there are only five contestants, and no one can swim for the Captain's keys, every contestant would have to make a sacrifice for all five keys, leaving no contestants spare to get clue words to work out the code word and release the gold.
In the seasons of the French version from 2011 onward, if a team is short of keys, then team members could be 'sacrificed' by facing "Judgment" (Le Jugement), hosted by the character Blanche. Each sacrificed team member would have to complete a challenge of skill or luck set by Blanche. If the sacrificed team member was successful in his/her challenge, Blanche would grant him/her their freedom and would be able to rejoin the team. However, if the team member fails the challenge, he or she would be sent to prison. Team members who were locked in during a Phase One challenge can also win their freedom by facing Blanche and succeeding at the proposed challenge.
If the team has more keys than necessary to unlock the gate then any extra keys gained can be swapped for free clue words to assist the team in the next phase of the game.
From 1990 to 2014, there were 185 different events (key games). The name of the game may change, but the game itself usually remains the same; where possible, this list will use the names used in Ultimate Challenge.
Note: This is not the full list of games that have been played. The years below are for when the game was played or last present at the fort, in the French version or Ultimate Challenge (some games are present but not played every year). A full list of games can be found here.
Here is a selection of some of the challenges:
Note: Some clue games are also played as key games and vice versa.
Once again in this part of the game the contestants have to complete a series of games, but instead of playing for keys they are playing for clue words. In addition, these games are more physically challenging to the contestants than those played in the challenges. Before these adventures, one contestant goes to the Watch Tower to try to win a clue word. The adventures last around 10–20 minutes long in the UK version, this depends on how long the team take to win the required number of keys needed to open the Treasure Room gate.
The objective in this phase is to try to figure out the codeword, which, if answered correctly, will release the gold. To do this, they must try to win clue words to help them in working out the codeword (password in the UK version from series 2 onwards).
These clue words can be placed either before or after the password to make a word or common phrase. For example: if the clues words were Hall and Line then the password would be DANCE, as in DANCE Hall and Line DANCE.
To make it even more difficult to get the clue word, a time limit (3 minutes usually; occasionally between 2:00–3:30 minutes) is placed on each game. The clue words are usually written on pieces of paper and kept in canisters filled with gunpowder, and if the contestant fails to reach the canister in the allotted time the clue word explodes and the contestant loses the challenge. Unlike the challenges, players are not locked in if they fail to win the clue word.
From 1991 to 2011, there were 71 different adventures. This section details some of Fort Boyard's most famous games. The name of the game may change from country-country; but the game itself remains the same (like in the challenges, where possible, names from Ultimate Challenge will be used). The years below are for when the game was played or last present at the fort, in the French version or Ultimate Challenge.
Note: Some of these games are still in place on the fort, but have not been played recently in the French version and others. Most of these games are listed by their Ultimate Challenge names. Not all of the clue games played have been mentioned above.
In the Watch Tower of the Fort lives a usually eccentric character that sets riddles for certain contestants; if the contestants give the correct answer within the time limit, they receive a key. In the case of the clue riddles, the answer to the riddle is the clue word, so even if the contestant does not solve it in the Watch Tower he or she can still think about it during the rest of the game. During the riddles, the contestant can keep guessing until the time (indicated by Jack or Jules holding up a sand timer) has elapsed. If the contestant fails to guess the correct answer within the time limit, the key is "thrown" into the sea, and another contestant has to swim for it. This was always won as the strongest swimmer would retrieve the key. The swim was removed in series 5 of the UK version, but was reintroduced in Ultimate Challenge as Key to the Sea (without the Watch Tower riddle).
Since 2006, the contestants can no longer swim for the key; it is just put back where it was held. The clue word is also different and is not the same as the riddle. Therefore, the riddle must be solved within the time limit to obtain the clue.
In the French version from 2011 to 2013, The Watch Tower wasn't used; instead, there were three trips to the Interactive Cell. The second trip was a Visual Riddle, about halfway through the key games, with Father Fouras on screen. The Clue Riddle is replaced by a telephone riddle where the player is in a booth inside one of the cells and has 1 minute to solve the riddle, given by Father Fouras over the phone, whilst cockroaches are dropped on top of them. This takes form of a game, called Abandoned Cabin, in the French version. The Watch Tower was however used in the 2012 Russian version of the show (the only country to use it that year) and in 2013 for the Azerbaijan, Canadian and Swedish versions.
The Treasure Room (or Treasure Chamber in Ultimate Challenge) is the climax to each episode of Fort Boyard. The gold is stored here, which is guarded by the fort's tigers.
Once the Fort's gong sounds for a second time, the game time is over. When the gong is struck (by La Boule) the tigers are taken away by Monique, the gate to the Treasure Room rises and will only stay open for the time won in the Council Duels (1:30 minimum, or 4:00 maximum in the French version), 2:00 minutes in UK series 1 to 4 (the time stated did not include the 20 seconds before the gate started to rise) or 3:00 minutes in UK series 5. The 3 minutes includes 20 seconds before the gate started to rise (to open canisters/organise team). The gate takes 30 seconds to open and close fully for every version of Fort Boyard worldwide.
As of 2016, in the French version, contestants who failed at the duels during the "judgment" sequence will have the chance to free themselves by making their way through an obstacle course within 2:30, with any time used in excess of 2:30 taken away from the three minutes the contestants have in the treasure room. This is then followed by extra games which are played to win extra time in the treasure room. Four or six members of the team each compete in a duel against the "Masters of Time". There is no risk of any time lost with 15 seconds earned for each successful duel, making a maximum possible time in the treasure room of four minutes.
If by this time the team has still not figured out the password from the clues won, they can "sacrifice" players in exchange for extra clues to help them. The sacrificed players have to grab the clue by putting their hand into one of the tiger-shaped hand traps around the Treasure Room entrance; once their hands are inside, they cannot release them and participate in collecting the gold.
The contestants then have to spell out the password on the giant alphabet on the floor of the treasure room by standing on the corresponding letters on the grid and using cannonballs if there are not enough players. The team must also ensure the word is spelled correctly, as a mistake could cost them the prize.
Once this is done, Monique/Felindra rotates the tiger's head (a statue), and the word will either be declared correct or incorrect, and the gold is released if the word is correct. Then the contestants have the remaining time to collect as much gold as they can and place it in a bucket outside of the treasure room. It is only what is in this bucket that they get to keep; any that lands on the floor is not counted. When the time is nearly up in the treasure room, a bell rings (in the UK version, in other versions the bell would have to be rung manually), and the gate begins to close slowly. The contestants have to leave before the gate shuts completely because when the door shuts the tigers are released back into the treasure room. (the release of the tigers is delayed until the contestants are out of the treasure room, a portcullis is pulled in some versions to block the tigers from being released). In the 1990 French version, and in the 2006 Russian version of the show, contestants were "locked" in the treasure room. On the second occasion, the gold collected was lost as a result.
If, however, they declare an incorrect word, the gold is not released and instead the gate to the treasure room begins to close immediately, prompting the contestants to make a quick escape, and they complete the game with no winnings. The won gold is then weighed and converted into local currency; this makes the contestants' prize money. Their winning total was added to the "Leader Board", which was introduced in the second British series and displayed the five teams who collected the greatest amount of gold. The leader board was used to decide how much the team won as prize money, although this was not mentioned in the show.
In most countries, the money won by the team is given to a charity. Some countries, including UK, Spain, Argentina and Belgium, give the money directly to the members of the team while others give vacations instead of money, dependent on how much the team won. In France, between 1990 and 1992, the treasure was given to the team, but since 1993, the whole prize goes to charity. Then again in 2010, the prize money was given to the contestants.
Note: Opening titles show the original series' boat, and did not actually show the participants of the 2003 remake series arriving outside the Fort.
In total, 57 episodes were shown in the original Channel 5 series; including four celebrity specials and a special edition with contestants from the first UK series of The Mole.
On 1 July 2014, Challenge announced on social media that they had re-acquired all the Channel 5 years of the show (previously repeated by the channel from 2002 to 2006) and would begin airing series 1–2 in August that year, with series 3 and 4 following in 2015. Series 1 started on 4 August at 5 pm, followed by series 2 on 18 August 2014. Series 3 starts on 7 May 2015 at 6 pm.
From a broadcasting perspective, Fort Boyard itself was refurbished during 1988–89 to become, essentially, a large outdoor television studio. The Fort has its own doctor, catering facilities, as well as production gallery and veterinary centre.
The Fort is equipped with 10 portable television cameras, one camera crane for overhead shots, one under-water camera as well as a number of smaller cameras which specifically cover individual games and challenges around the Fort.
The show was originally produced in the 4:3 aspect ratio, and changed to the 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio from 2008, and in HD since 2013.
In 1996, at the height of the French version's popularity, a mini-series entitled Fort Boyard at Night was shown in the autumn. It was filmed entirely at night, and the teams also had slightly more time in which to complete the challenges. In 1997, there were three night-time specials, at Halloween, Christmas, and New Year. In 2012, three further night-time editions were filmed and aired between Halloween (31 October) and Christmas (22 and 29 December).
In some of the French (Seasons 14–16, 2003–2005) and Russian versions (2003–2004), the contestants stay overnight in the Fortress. During this time, they played endurance, mind, and psychological games both for the release of any prisoners they may have had, and for keys to, or time in, the Treasure Room at the end of the game.
Although most seasons have seen changes (not least in hosts), recent changes to the French version of Fort Boyard included:
2009 saw many more changes. Main changes included new opening titles, graphics and a wall of progress which Demi (Passe Muraille) was in control of which lined the wall of the Fort (the wall above the Treasure Room). There were 6 new key games and 2 new clue games in 2009.
Since 2003, a duel/tournament format has been used by other countries, who prefer this version of Fort Boyard. Two teams play in the Fort at the same time, with only one of them winning at the end. A similar format was used in 1991.
In 2007 and 2008, a formula with duels between three countries (Bulgaria, Serbia and Turkey) was used; two countries (Belgium and Netherlands) in 1991 and with teams of teenagers in 2011 (United Kingdom and United States).
Countries that have used this format include:
In 2010, the duel format was introduced to the show following the low ratings for the previous season in 2009. Although, this was not successful in the French version and was later dropped the same year. The show returned to a more classical version in 2011.
The changes made to the French version in 2010 were:
Main overview
Game Play
The Treasure Room
Main overview
The Duels
The Hall of Judgement
This takes place after the key games. The Hall of Judgement provides opportunities for candidates to obtain the missing keys against the sacrifice of one of them but also to free the team members locked in during the first half. The challenges are set by new female character, the White Judge; played by Louise-Marie Hustings in 2011, then Raphaëlle Lenoble during 2012, and Delphine Wespiser since 2013 (who was a contestant at Halloween 2012). The challenges used are similar to those on The Cube and Minute to Win It.
The Treasure Room
Main overview
The episodes were also extended for the first time this year to include Fort Boyard: toujours plus fort! (Fort Boyard: always stronger!), a 50-minute show which features additional games and adventures played on the Fort alongside behind the scenes footage and interviews with the candidates from the episode broadcast just before.
As of 2020, COVID-19 had caused a few changes to the 2020 series of Fort Boyard. Some safety measures were in place to keep the candidates safe on the fortress which also changed the format of the series.
The music for the original French version of Fort Boyard was composed by Paul Koulak, a French music composer. He composed the main themes for the show as well as the incidental music and game music that is used throughout the show. His music has been used for every version of Fort Boyard around the world, except the German version, where they composed their own music for the show and games.
Up to 2017, seven different opening theme songs have been used on the show; the first was used until 1994, the second in 1995, the third from 1996 to 2000, the fourth in 2001 and 2002 (used by the UK in 2003 during the Treasure Room), the "Dance Version" (used by France during the end credits of the night editions in 1996 and the UK from 1999 to 2001), the sixth theme song which was introduced in the 2003 French version and the seventh, introduced in 2016. Fort Boyard Ultimate Challenge uses a different opening theme and game music composed by Paul Farrer but does use the recent French opening credits and logo.
Broadcast in October 2004 by Challenge, Fort Boyard: Takes On The World was a ten-part documentary which introduced British viewers to various different versions of the show from around the world. Comedian and former contestant Tim Vine provided the voiceover. The show was split into sections including "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly", "Heroes and Zeroes" and "The A-Z of Fort Boyard". There were also interviews with various characters of the Fort (with the humour provided by the fact that Tim cannot speak French and the characters cannot speak English).
Some of the original music for Fort Boyard was released on CD in France, both on CD single and CD album form, in 1996 and again in July 1999 as Fort Boyard: La Musique de Toutes Les Aventures.
Fred Burton created a comic book adaptation of the French-language edition of the show, published by Éditions Jungle [fr].
Fort Boyard: Le Défi is a PC CD-ROM game based on the television show and released in 1995. It provides the player the possibility to become a team member, playing the well known game in the Fort. The game was created by Microids, France Televisions and R&P Electronic Media. The game was available in French and Dutch.
Fort Boyard: La Legende is an action adventure game, based in and around La Rochelle and on Fort Boyard. It was released in 1996 by Expand Images, Microïds, France Télévisions, and R&P Electronic Media. It was only released in the original French version (as a tie-in to the game show) and the later Dutch-spoken versions. The lack of an English version made this game highly obscure: it does not have a MobyGames entry. The hero of this game has no name; he is going to look for a treasure that was hidden by Napoleon at Fort Boyard. For this he needs to look around for clues, and get people to help, in and around La Rochelle.