Blankety Blank
Blankety Blank is a British comedy game show which started in 1979 and is still running today, albeit with some sizeable gaps. The original series ran from 18 January 1979 to 12 March 1990 on BBC 1, hosted first by Terry Wogan from 1979 until 1983, then by Les Dawson from 1984 until 1990. A revival hosted by Paul O'Grady (as Lily Savage) was produced by the BBC from 26 December 1997 to 28 December 1999, followed by ITV from 7 January 2001 to 10 August 2002 as Lily Savage's Blankety Blank. David Walliams hosted a one -off Christmas Special for ITV on 24 December 2016, with Bradley Walsh hosting a 2020 Christmas Special of the show for the BBC, which in turn led to a second revival series to air late 2021. The series premiered on 2 October 2021. The show is based on the American game show "Match Game", with contestants trying to match answers given by celebrity panelists to fill-in-the-blank questions. Format. Main game. Two contestants compete. The object of the game is to match the answers of as many of the six celebrity panellists as possible on fill-in-the -blank statements. The main game is played in two rounds. The contestant is given a choice of two statements labelled either "A" or "B". The host then reads the statement. When Les Dawson became the host, the programme did away with the A or B choice, but this was reinstated when Lily Savage became the host. Frequently, the statements are written with comedic, double entendre answers in mind. A classic example: "Did you catch a glimpse of that girl on the corner? She has the world's biggest "blank"." While the contestant ponders their answer, the six celebrities write their  answers on index cards. After they finish, the contestant is asked for their answer. The host then asks each celebrity – one at a time, beginning with the upper left hand corner – to give their response. The contestant earns one point for each celebrity who wrote down the same answer (or reasonably similar as determined by the judges) up to a maximum of six points for matching everyone. After play is completed on the contestant's question, the host reads the statement on the other card for the opponent and play is identical. The trailing contestant begins round two, with two  new questions, unless they matched everyone in the first round. Only celebrities that a contestant failed to match could play this round. If the players have the same score at the end of the show, a tiebreaker is used that reverses the game play. The contestants write their answers first on a card in secret, then the celebrities are canvassed to give their answers. The first celebrity response to match a contestant's answer gives that contestant the victory; if there is still no match (which is rare), the round is replayed with a new question. Supermatch. A fill-in -the-blank phrase is given, and it is up to the contestant to choose the most common response based on a studio audience survey. After consulting with three celebrities on the panel for help the contestant has to choose an answer. The answers are revealed after that; the most popular answer in the survey is worth 150 Blanks, the second-most popular 100 Blanks, and the third most popular 50. If a contestant fails to match any of the three answers, the bonus round ended. Another game is played with two new players, and the one who amassed the most  from the Supermatch wins the game (and if the two winners score the same it would go to "sudden death", using the same tiebreaker as in the main game). That player chooses one of the celebrities who writes down their answer to a "word BLANK" phrase. The player then gives their answer, if they matched, they double up their blanks for a more valuable prize. Matching the 150-blank answer and winning the head-to-head final won the star prize. On "Lily Savage's Blankety Blank", the player with the highest Supermatch score or winner of a tie-breaker  round played the head-to-head round for an additional prize. On the current revival, both players play the tiebreaker even without a tie. Supermatch prizes. Prizes on British game shows of the 1980s are very poor by modern standards. The Independent Broadcasting Authority restricted prize values on ITV shows, and BBC-programme prizes were worth even less because the corporation felt it inappropriate to spend licence payers' money on such things. As a result, the poor-quality prizes became a running joke throughout the show's various runs, particularly during the Dawson era. Dawson drew attention to the fact  that the prizes were less-than-mediocre, not pretending that the show had "fabulous prizes" as others did, but making a joke of it, such as referring to them as "fire salvaged" prizes. On one memorable occasion, the 300 Blanks star prize was a trip on Concorde. As the audience (expecting the usual cheap prizes) clapped and cheered appreciatively, Dawson waved them down with "Don't get excited—it goes to the end of the runway and back." Most famous was the consolation prize—the "Blankety Blank" chequebook and pen, which Dawson would often call "The "Blankety Blank" chequepen and  book!" The "chequebook" consisted of a silver trophy in the shape of a chequebook. When one contestant had won nothing, Dawson rolled his eyes and asked her "I bet you wish you'd've stopped at home and watched "Crossroads". Do you want me to lend you your bus fare home?" However, despite Dawson's constant jibing of the consolation prize ("Never mind love, you might have lost, but you'll never be short of something to prop your door open with now..."), the chequebook and pen are now worth a great deal, as they were never commercially available and  only a limited number were made. A "Blankety Blank" chequebook, minus the pen, was one of the items uncovered by Andy in Mackenzie Crook's BBC comedy "Detectorists". By the time of the 1990s revival, the IBA prize limits had been lifted, and the star prize was generally a holiday. On the 2021 series, the Supermatch prizes consist of £500, £750, and prize worth over £750. Celebrity panelists. Series 18 (2020–21). Series 18 was produced under COVID-19 safety protocols. Returns. "Blankety Blank" returned to British screens in November 2004 as a one-off edition as part of  the BBC's annual "Children in Need " telethon, in which Terry Wogan reprises his role as the host of the show, accompanied by his wand microphone. In 2006, the show was brought back this time as an interactive DVD game, with Terry once again reprising his role of host and once again being accompanied by his magic wand-type microphone. However, the theme tune to the DVD game is not the original theme, but a version that was used for the ITV revival. Another one-off edition was shown on 21 April 2007 as part of ITV's "Gameshow Marathon  hosted by Vernon Kay. Yet another one-off edition of the programme was recorded, in aid of Comic Relief's 24 Hour Panel People", on 6 March 2011. The recording was broadcast live on the Red Nose Day website and, in an edited version, on BBC Three on 14 March. Paul O'Grady returned as host, this time as himself. On 22 August 2016, it was announced that David Walliams would front a Christmas special on ITV. The episode aired on Christmas Eve from 6.30–7.30pm and had seven panellists instead of the usual six, with the Chuckle Brothers playing together at  one position. On 14 December 2020, it was announced that Bradley Walsh would host a Christmas special on BBC One and the episode aired on Christmas Day from 7.00-7.40pm. At 5.26 million viewers, it was the third most watched Christmas Day programme in the overnight ratings. This special was so successful that the BBC announced on 30 April 2021 that it had been commissioned for a full series to air on Saturday nights later in the year on BBC One. A further series of 10 episodes (including a Christmas special) has been commissioned for transmission in 2022. Blankety Blank