Watching Telly: What is Wrong With Who Wants to be a Millionaire?

Worldwide hit quiz show Who Wants to be a Millionaire? is currently airing three The People Play specials, where members of the public enter the hotseat to win £1 million. Outside these shows they broadcast various one off celebrity specials throughout the year. This is all because a decision made by ITV in January 2011 to axe the regular show altogether and have celebrity specials. The reason is down to low ratings. Since then the once great show has produced a downward trend in terms of how the show is produced and losing faith in the viewers. The final proper series featuring members of the public was shown in the late summer of 2010 at the infamous death timeslot of 8pm on Tuesday evenings. Back then it managed a respectable 3.3m-3.5m viewers. Now the latest so called specials are failing to reach ITV's top 30 shows. I will be looking at what is wrong with the current state of the show. I will be looking at both versions. Firstly, the recent The People Play specials.

Poor and lazy question writing.

A question was brought up on the first special.

The problem I find that the answer to the question is incorrect. O'Fortuna is used as the opening preview to the show. It is also used when the judges walk on the set for the live shows. The actual theme tune is a generic one.


It seems over the last couple of shows, Victory Television are using the first two questions as total gimmies. For example, this is worth £500.













Compared to the proper series of the clock when 2waytraffic were producing it. At least the options had you think what the answer would be. For example, these questions are both worth £1,000.

It seems the £500/£1,000 questions in these People Play specials are actually worth £100/£200. I reckon Victory Television are afraid for anyone to go away with nothing and use lifelines early on.

Whilst on the topic of lazy questions. You would've thought the writers would think of a fourth answer rather than using Ryder Cup. There is a Super Cup in football.







Poor question difficulty setting and lack of general knowledge topics.

On the first show there were two questions (out of four) worth £500 asking about medical conditions. On the second show there were three questions (out of five) worth £1,000 asking about football. With the wealth of general knowledge available and quiz is infinite. You would've thought the question setters would use different topics to ask the contestants at the £500 and £1,000 levels. I know in the Celador and 2waytraffic days they always had a vast range of topics. Also back then they had levels of difficulty to set certain questions. Meaning a question worth £32,000 (£50,000) could also be used at the £16,000 (£20,000) level. Given the production is now in the hands of Sony. I have no idea if they use the same concept now. At least they could mix the question values up and think of something different each time a contestant plays.

If you look at this question, worth £1,000.

It could've been worth at least £10,000 or £20,000 if the options were replaced by footballers instead of people called Lionel. Celador/2waytraffic definitely would place this higher up the money tree.




Poor selection of contestants.

Most people in the television world know the producers and researchers look at a certain calibre of people to appear on their game shows. For example, 12Yard always look for the entertaining type of contestants with a good back story but never pick anybody who are exceptionally good with general knowledge as it will a) make the show boring and b) probably make the BBC go bust if contestants constantly wins £100,000. Might explain why only two people have won the maximum prize fund from 140 shows. When they selected the contestants for The People Play specials in 2012, they had the selection spot on. Although the contestants were entertaining and had interesting backgrounds. Some knew how to play the format and got far up the money. Okay, no where near the million but contestants were winning £20,000 and above. The following contestants played and won the following last year.

Show Appeared	Contestant Name	Final Winnings	Number Of Questions Seen
1	Tahir Ali	£20,000	7
1	Caroline Polledri	£10,000	6
1/2	Dawn Harkins	£75,000	9
2	Russell Brown	£20,000	7
2	Donna Hearnden	£50,000	8
2/3	Denise Allsop	£50,000	8
3	Tommy Gibbons	£20,000	7
3	Monica Utting	£20,000	7

Eight contestants played in 2012 and won £265,000 between them. Producing an average of £33,125 per contestant. Compared to the specials in 2013 (N.B. only covers the first two shows as the third has yet to air).

Show Appeared	Contestant Name	Final Winnings	Number Of Questions Seen
1	Simone Lazaruz	£10,000	6
1	Mark Silverwood	£10,000	6
1	Pat Simpson	£1,000	7
1/2	Stuart Hurran	£1,000	4
2	Dionne Askew	£20,000	7
2	Martin Fisher	£1,000	4
2	Hayley Brown	£1,000	6
2/3	Oli Haley

Seven contestants have played and won £44,000 between them. Producing an average of £6,285 per contestant. As you can see, compared to 2012, it's a massive decline in total winnings and average.

Does anybody recognise Simone on the first special last week?

This is because she was on this in 2006

She refused £15,500 from The Banker and ended up winning £1. She could've swapped the box. Thanks to one of the Deal or No Deal oracles, Andrew Smith for pointing this out.









It seems this is a tactic implied by the producers to choose certain contestants for the show to minimise payouts, especially large ones. Which is a shame as it destroys the whole purpose of the format. When 2waytraffic used auditioned contestants mixed with people phoning in they chose people who had a good sense of general knowledge with quite a few winning £150,000.

Poor gameplay tactics by the contestants.

Given the show will be fifteen years old this September. You would've thought the contestants on these specials know how to play the lifelines properly. If you're stuck on a early question then it be would best to use Ask the Audience first. As it would almost guarantee a correct answer. Out of the seven who played on the specials so far, only four used their Ask the Audience lifeline first. Three contestants didn't. The first used Phone a Friend but  gave the right answer. Whilst the other two used both 50-50 and Phone a Friend but answered incorrectly, falling back to £1,000. I am sure the audience would certainly know the answer to both questions.

A question on the first show Simon used Ask the Audience followed by 50-50.

If you look at the Ask the Audience percentages with 50-50 being used the answer is screaming at you. Simone decided to walk with £10,000. The audience was right. It is not often 4% of the audience is correct. Also 250 ml would be something you buy in a bottle and not from a beer pump or milk bottle.




Another one where Mark used 50-50 and then uses Phone a Friend.

Why would the answer be skiing and swimming in a professional sport? Unless you want to freeze your ass off.









As stated before. This tactic is working well for the producers to produce low payouts. You can say in the contestants defence, it's nothing compared to sitting at home and the clock is ticking. Which is true but if you compose yourself and think for a few seconds (thirty seconds is a long time) then you can get the answer right.

Questions with numerical answers.

This has been a bug bear for me when the show asks for a numerical answer. In defence, anybody who reads a book of facts or lists will know the answer. Back then the numerical questions would be few and far between. On the first show last week they used not one but two. Luckily, the second show didn't use any.

The home viewer competition.

Whilst these specials are airing at the moment. Viewers at home can make a £1.54 telephone call to enter a draw to win three things. £50,000, a Mercedes C-Class saloon and a five star holiday to Antigua with a butler included. The value of this prize is over £90,000. Given what happens next Tuesday, someone could win more than anybody on the show in terms of cash and prizes by making one telephone call. In a nutshell this is a insult to the contestants who have appeared on the show by going through the audition process.

The People Play specials are no longer "special".

When The People Play specials were broadcast last year. All three shows were shown live at 9pm for three consecutive nights. These were indeed special as it was like the old days when the show was aired every night for two weeks. With the shows being live, anything could happen and it did with Ask the Audience failing to register the audience answers. This time we get the first show airing live with the following two shows being recorded the next day. If Victory Television wants to make these shows special. Why have the first show airing live and the other two recorded? It makes no sense, unless someone needs the George Lucas stage at Elstree Studios. Don't forget Chris Tarrant no longer has a busy radio schedule these days. Semi retired now.

Zero promotion with thanks to ITV.

The People Play specials had little promotion from ITV last year but the viewers knew these shows was airing. This year there is nothing. Not a single promotion on the ITV channels. When the first show aired in direct competition with The Apprentice last week. There was zero posts on Digital Spy with people on twitter confessing they didn't know the show was on. If you don't promote a show you know that a) nobody will be watching and b) the broadcast doesn't care how the show performs. This was proven as the ratings for the first show produced 2.028 million (including +1). An all time low for the once great show. It lost out to The Apprentice and the spin off show You're Fired as well as 5pm shows Pointless and The Chase. Once again this week, no adverts from ITV and it produced 2.23m

It begs the question whether ITV and Victory Television can afford the larger payouts any more. Given the next game show downwards with a massive prize is £250,000 on Deal or No Deal and The Cube.

Pissing off Android users.

It was announced last year the show would be using a playalong app. However, it was dropped due to technical problems. It was introduced for the People Play shows this year. However, it is only available on the Apple app store. Unless you got an updated iPod Touch (I haven't) or iPhone. The only way you can play it is on your PC or laptop. The point is IOS is no longer the dominate force. Android is the market share leader with 60% of all mobile phone users.

Now onto the celebrity specials.

Recycling celebrities.

2waytraffic is partly to blame for this. When they revived the show with the 12 question money tree, they selected a number of celebrities who have played the 15 question money tree. When Sony (Victory Television) took over they continued scrapping the barrel and reusing celebrities who have played before. Every time a new celebrity special is aired. You can guarantee someone playing along on these specials has played Who Wants to be a Millionaire? before. For example

New Year Specials
Duncan Bannatyne, Jon Culshaw and Michael Ball

Christmas Special
Des O'Connor and Lee Mack

Lee Mack has appeared on two celebrity specials in 2012!

With Stacey Solomon in January 2012

With Des O'Connor in December 2012






It shows that either Mack's second appearance was a last minute replacement for someone or the celebrity bookers cannot think of anybody else to pair with O'Connor.

Pantomime Special
Tim Vine

School's Out
Sir Steve Redgrave and Dermot Murnaghan

You get the idea. Eamonn Holmes holds the record by appearing on the show three times. He is also the only player to have played all three formats (15 questions, 12 questions and 12 question clock format).

It is a smack of desperation to the celebrity bookers at Victory Television who cannot book anybody who hasn't appeared on the show before. It does amaze me they have yet to book Jimmy Carr. Given he has done Million Pound Drop, Deal or No Deal and The Chase but not Celebrity Millionaire. That said, it would be the final nail in the coffin if they decide to book Rylan Clark on a future celebrity special.

Wrong title.

The celebrity specials should be called Celebrity Who Wants to be a Half Millionaire? On the basis the celebrities cannot win £1 million for their charities. This is because half of the total money earned by the celebrities is placed in a prize fund for a home viewer to win.

No longer "live".

When these celebrity specials were produced, the intention were to be broadcast the specials live on ITV. It seems now the live bit has been quietly dropped, with most shows being recorded in advance and used as fillers. In 2011 five out of six celebrity specials were shown live. In 2012 only two out of eight specials were shown live. As of 2013, no celebrity special has been broadcast live. I know broadcasting live is not as cheap to recording a show weeks in advance. However, as they only record so many in a year, it asks the question if they should. As these celebrity specials are just regular celebrity specials these days.

That klaxon!

The majority of viewers hate about this. It seems the celebrity specials no longer allow rollover games. When the klaxon is blasted, the pair in the chair have to leave whatever they've won so far and can no longer continue up the money tree. This is a massive pain, especially to any pair who reaches £50,000 or above with lifelines intact. The classic example is from the Christmas special in 2012. Although Lee Mack and Des O'Connor appeared on the show before. The producers allowed them to play their game first and ended up winning £150,000. It was also decided hat boyband JLS would play last. Turns out they were an entertaining pair, amazed most people with their general knowledge, reached £50,000 and  was awarded with the Switch lifeline. Then the klaxon went, so theyhad to walk away with £25,000 for their nominated charities as time had ran out. What is infuriating that the following morning the show was recording two New Year specials. Common sense would say to rollover the JLS game to the New Year specials and carried on with the £75,000 question. However, it wasn't the case. The obvious excuse is down to the viewer competition. Had they carried onto the next show, it would mess up the mathematics. Simply, if it wasn't for their precious viewer competition  we could've seen JLS progress higher up he money tree.

Tarrant blatantly delaying the show.

Another major hate by the viewers. Originally the show was fast paced and was even just as fast with the clock series in 2010. However, it seems now Victory Television is doing all their can to minimise payouts. Their key to this is the host Chris Tarrant. With the celebrity specials, he would chat more to the celebrities between questions and even use celebrity photos of their youth to pass time. It was much worse in 2011 when a VT feature was used about audience members talking about their special mothers. Another VT used in the School's Out special featuring children from a primary school. The delays is also applied to The People Play specials where Tarrant would talk more with the contestant and have special messages for the contestants from loved ones.

Given the celebrity specials and now The People Play specials failing to register in ITV's top 30 weekly shows, as well as the viewers getting fed up with the current state the show is in. Is it time for ITV do use the axe on the great worldwide hit? This is where the problem comes in. David J. Bodycombe explained to me on twitter last night it would produce two ramifications.

The first leads to ITV's ownership with the rights. If they decide to axe it, this would open the door to other broadcasters to buy the rights. Similar to Channel 5 buying Big Brother from Channel 4 in 2010. That said, if another channel buys the Millionaire rights, can they afford producing it? BBC definitely cannot due to their licence fee restrictions. Channel 5 isn't one to air quiz shows these days. Same applies Sky1, they no longer air any quiz shows in 2013. That would leave to Channel 4, Who are having problems with their programmes at the moment with decline ratings for most shows, especially with their daytime output. If the likes of Channel 4 or 5 does pick up the rights, The only way I can see it is to demote the show to daytime and reduce the top prize to €250,000. Something the Portuguese version has done in 2008. If it is the case and keeping the clock and 12 question money tree, it would be something like this.

12 - £250,000
11 - £100,000
10 - £50,000
9 - £30,000
8 - £20,000
7 - £10,000
6 - £5,000
5 - £2,000 
4 - £1,000
3 - £500
2 - £250
1 - £100

The second ramification relates to the international versions. Once they find out the original UK version is being axed, other counties might follow by dropping their version. Therefore, Sony losing money for some countries no longer producing local versions. I suspect this won't be the case for three countries who are airing successful versions of Millionaire. The Americans are having a decent run with their Super Mix variation on the original format. Whilst Australia is finding success with the Hot Seat variation. Constantly beating rival, Deal or No Deal at 5.30pm every weekday. Germany will probably remain unaffected. As their version is still going strong. They are one of the few countries who still use the original 15 question money and the original musical score by Keith and Matthew Strachan. The only difference they offer the contestants a fourth lifeline, Ask the Audience Member but it would cost the contestant the second safe-haven, Meaning if they answer any question after question 5 wrong. They would fall back to €500. The German version has been airing since 1999 and is aired two days a week for nine months of the year. They have produced over 1,100 episodes. It amazes me how over 1,100 shows in primetime are still entertaining the German audience.

Given the ramifications David has outlined, what is the solution  In my opinion, the only option is to give the show a 2-3 year then come back with a bang, If ITV decide to rest it, will it affect the rights to the show as well as the international versions?

Just Read: Agatha Raisin and the Fairies of Fryfam (Agatha Raisin #10) by M.C. Beaton

As I am on annual leave from work this week. I managed to finish reading my tenth Agatha Raisin book, The Fairies of Fryfam earlier this afternoon.

For those who don't know who Agatha Raisin is. Created by M.C. Beaton (pen name to Marion Chesney), Agatha Raisin decides to retire early (at the age of 53) from working in public relations in London and moves to the village of Carsley in the Cotswolds. It is where she encounters her first murder in Carsley itself and she decides to find the culprit. From there she encounters many murders from local Cotswold villages to faraway places like Cyprus whilst being an amateur sleuth, but being warned numerous times by the police. As of today, there are twenty three Agatha Raisin books, with the twenty fourth being released in the UK this October (September in the US). I will explain more on Aggie Raisin in another blog post, for now I will focus on the tenth book.

The Fairies of Fryfam (for some reason I keep pronouncing it Fryam) takes place shortly after the ninth book, The Witch of Wyckhadden, where Agatha encounters a fortune teller who tells her she will find new love in Norfolk. Therefore she decides to sell her cottage in Carsley and moves to Fryfam, after sticking a pin randomly at a map. It is when she arrives in Fryfam not everything is all to be believed. Agatha sees mysterious lights at the end of her garden which are described as fairies by the villagers, whilst certain items goes missing, including a George Stubbs painting. She receives an invite to visit the local squire, Tolly Trumpington-James who is found murdered the next day (the reader doesn't witness the murder as Beaton prefer her murders to take place "off camera/off book"). Agatha, once again tries to solve the mystery by snooping around. Asking the wife of the victim and numerous village inhabitants. She is once again assisted by love mad, flirter, tight-ass and baronet, Sir Charles Fraith. Who makes a paying visit to Agatha and helps out in her investigation  There is no DS Bill Wong to tell Agatha off this time as she is in new surroundings. Instead we get DCI Hand warning the pair not to meddle into police business. Will Agatha take Hand's advice? Of course she doesn't! As well as a murder investigation, Agatha discovers other dark secrets within the village itself.


What I like about this book (and the others in the series). This is basically a murder mystery with a touch of humour. Agatha Raisin is someone who you might not like at the beginning but will warm to her later on as she goes through the emotions. Also there are some laughs with her bossy nature, especially the conversations with love mad, Charles Fraith being around. The characters in he book are once again lively and anybody in Fryfam could be classed as a murder suspect. As the tenth book is set in Norfolk and not in the comfortable surroundings of the Cotswolds. Practically all of the villagers in Carsley and the police in Mircester takes a back set. Although the vicar's wife, Mrs. Bloxby gets a few mentions with Agatha phoning her up now and again to see how Carsley is doing as well as her love live and next door neighbour, James Lacey.

Although, once again this was a very good read by Beaton. There are two niggles I would like to point out. The first being Bill Wong being slotted as a guest appearance towards the end of the book. Agatha Christie doesn't have Poirot's friends (Arthur Hastings, Chief Inspector Japp, Miss Lemon) appearing in all the books but some are written in spirit. I would've preferred for Bill Wong not appearing in the book as a brief cameo but perhaps mentioned by name with the occasional phone calls between Agatha and Mrs. Bloxby. The second niggle is how the final chapter was written. Obviously it was written as a build up to the eleventh book (The Love From Hell) but I felt it might've been better as a prologue to the next book. Then I remembered the Raisin books don't tend to have prologues. The timeline of the book takes place around 2-3 weeks whilst Agatha and Charles was living in Fryfam. Which flowed nicely in the narrative. However, not spoiling the ending. The final chapter jumps over a matter of months. That said, Agatha doesn't have many happy endings but this book does. Although the warning signs are there.

Would I recommend this book to you? Yes, if you like cosy/comfy murder mysteries with a touch of humour. Also as it's a quick read, it should take you 5-6 hours, depending how long you read books. It is recommended to read the books in order with The Quiche of Death first as reading the books in order builds the series up, especially the characters in Carsley and Mircester.

Would I read the next one in the series? Definitely.

I gave Agatha Raisin and the Faries of Fryfam 4 out of 5 stars on Goodreads.

Next to read: The Big Over Easy

Last Night's Telly (Who Dares Wins, Including All Time Winners)

Remember Chrissy (apologies for spelling her name wrong from last time as I said Chrissie) and Joe from my blog post on 21st April? (Cannot remember? Click here).

If you do remember them, they are still around. At the end of last week's show they won their fifth consecutive match, winning a total of £90,000. They are slowing reaching the elite of the all time champions but can they trudge on? As before, I will go through the lists and explain how I would play them. This doesn't mean how you would play the list. You might have another tactic on how to win the lists.

Match One - Chrissy & Joe vs. Chris & Garry.

First list was footballers in the England Euro 2012 squad. These can be any player who was in the squad but can also include late additions due to injuries. Usually any England squad entering a major tournament tends to be around the 25 ballpark figure. There are usually 2-3 goalkeepers, 4-5 strikers and roughly 8-10 from the defence and midfield. The challengers made a starting bid of 12. Followed by Joe yanking the bid to 19 but the challengers upped the bid to 20. Chrissy and Joe went one more to 21 but had to name them. It's been a very long time since we had any team compiling a list over 20 items.

Key to winning the list is start with the goalkeepers, then onto the defenders, midfielders and finally the strikers. Which exactly what Joe did, Chrissy barely said any players apart from Wayne Rooney. They won the list and are 1-0 up.

Second list was Muppet characters. To clarify, Nick wanted any Muppet character who has appeared in any episode of The Muppet Show. Since the Muppets are massive, most people should get at least ten. So the champions make a pitiful bid of 6. The challengers increased the bid to 7 and had to name them. It didn't take long to name all 7.

I'd bet your wondering why Ernie and Bert were accepted as correct, given they are Sesame Street characters. This is because they made a cameo performance in The Muppet Show with Connie Stephens. I wouldn't have mentioned Ernie and Bert but would go through the central characters, so.

Kermit the Frog
Miss Piggy
Fozzie Bear
Gonzo
Rowlf
Scooter

Then there is the band, Electric Mayhem.

Doctor Teeth
Zoot
Animal
Janice

You also got Doctor Honeydew and Beaker. Gonzo's friend, Rizzo the Rat. Kermit's nephew, Robin the Frog. Statler and Waldolf who always sits in the private box. Finally there is Sam the Eagle and everybody must remember the Swedish Chef. That makes it 17. Turns out there are over 500 characters.

Be honest, who would say Viking Pig, William Shakespeare and some of the dance partners?

That ties the game and we had into the sudden death list with Madness songs. Usually the sudden death lists are over quickly but the challengers and the champions are battling until the challengers falter. Joe creates a great guess from a song chorus he heard. Thinking it would be the song, that being Bed and Breakfast Man.

Thanks to Joe's Madness knowledge, they win their sixth and get to play again on The Money List.

The first Money List of the night was British actors nominated for an Oscar since 1980. So any British born actor (not actress) who has been nominated for either Best Actor or Best Supporting Actor. They crused to £5,000 and opted to carry on. However, they falter by saying Christopher Plummer, who is actually Canadian.

Chrissy's face says it all.


The other answers they should've said.

This is the second list they manage to walk away empty hand. They head into their seventh match.

Match Two - Chrissy & Joe vs. Sharon & Sue.

First list was top medal-winning countries at the 2012 Olympic Games. It would seem silly to list all the countries who have won any medals so they limited to the top 30 countries. This is combination of gold, sliver and bronze medals but not the value of the medals. Challengers made an opening bid of 7. Joe stated this could be an easy list to slip up. He is right as you can think of countries that have won medals but might not appear in the top 30 countries of combined medals. Joe and Chrissy increased the bid to 10 with the challengers increasing again to 13. The champions asked Sharon & Sue to name them.

They racked off USA, China, Great Britain and Hungary but they lost the list with North Korea. Some readers might say North Korea should be on the list. The clarification Nick read out is the combination total of medals. Had it been the value of the medals then North Korea would be on the list as they were ranked 20th (medal table ranked by value of medals) but as you can see on that table, they only won 6. Once again, Chrissy & Joe are 1-0 up.

Next list was Sean Connery films. Champions makes an opening bid of 9. Joe states it's a matter of working out the correct Bond films. The challengers increased the bid to 13 and was asked to name them. If you know the six James Bond films 

Dr. No
From Russia With Love
Goldfinger
Thunderball
You Only Live Twice
Diamonds Are Forever

and the unofficial James Bond film, Never Say Never Again you have already scored 7. Then there is Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. The Untouchables where he won an Oscar for Best Support Actor. Medicine Man, which has never been released on DVD in the UK. Also there is the Michael Bay film, The Rock. That makes it 11 so far.

The girls gave four Bond films but fell into the trap by naming a Bond film with Roger Moore, For Your Eyes Only. Thus costing the second list and giving Chrissy and Joe their seventh consecutive victory. It seems 13 is definitely unlucky to Sharon and Sue.

The seventh Money List for the champions was African capital cities. If a country has more than one capital city then each answer would be accepted. Joe seems to know a few capital cities in Africa and managed to get to £10,000. He wasn't sure whether to get to £15,000 but decides to carry on and gave his 9th correct answer with Sao Tome.

The other answers Joe could've said.

After their seventh Money List, both Chrissy and Joe have managed to secure £105,000 between them. However, as this show is the last in the current series we will not be seeing them until the start of the seventh series. Where if recommissioned by the BBC, it will be shown some time in 2014. Before they swapped timeslots with The Voice they were easily achieving well over 5 million viewers every week but the timeslot move has crippled the ratings, falling below 3 million against Britain's Got Talent. I hope this won't be a lame excuse to axe the show on the basis of the timeslot move. Given Who Dares Wins is much cheaper to produce than The Voice.

Over the sixth series we have had six sets of champions. Here are the list of winners, featuring the number of matches they won and the money they secured. 

Billy & Phil -  Two matches, £15,000*
Sam & Kevin - Four matches, £125,000
Gill & Peter - One match, £5,000
Kim & Zoe - One match, £5,000
Colette & Baz - Two matches, £40,000
Chrissy & Joe - Seven matches, £105,000
* This includes £5,000 from winning their first match at the end of the previous series.

This is the second series where they had two sets of champions winning six figures. I mentioned at the start of the blog that Chrissy and Joe could join the list of the all time winners on Who Dares Wins. After winning their seventh match they now join the elite. Here are the all time winners on the show so far.

On the first series in 2007. Trish McGowan and Seamus Hassain won eight matches, winning a combined £170,000. They managed to complete three Money Lists, worth £150,000 in total.

On the second series in 2008. James Pearson and Daniel Chantrey also won eight matches, winning a combined £150,000. They managed to complete one Money List, worth £50,000.

At the end of third series in 2010 and throughout the fourth series in 2011. Adam Ellis (who is a dead ringer of David Tennant) and Dawn Hopkins won six matches, winning a combined £130,000. They managed to complete one Money List, worth £50,000. They lost their seventh match against Nat Moitt and Euan Fleming. Here is a video featuring Adam & Dawn. (Adam & Dawn on Who Dares Wins).

Taking over from Adam and Dawn. Nat Moitt and Euan Fleming won seven matches. They manage to complete two Money Lists, worth £100,000. This team was famous for two things. The first with at attempting a list on his own. (Video here). The second had the team attempting the longest list ever, with chemical elements (Video here).

Moving forward to the current series. Sam and Kevin became the quickest team to win over £100,000 in only three matches. They won a combined £125,000. They managed to complete two Money Lists, securing £100,000. Meaning they won £125,000 from a possible £150,000 available.





Finally we got current champions Chrissy and Joe. They have won seven matches, winning a combined £105,000. They managed to complete one Money List, securing £50,000. Will this winning streak continue? We will have to wait and see if there is another series in 2014.




In perspective. If you look at the games the teams have won.

=1 Trish McGowan and Seamus Hassain (8 matches)
=1 James Pearson and Daniel Chantrey (8 matches)
=3 Nat Moitt and Euan Fleming (7 matches)
=3 Chrissy and Joe (7 matches)
5 Adam Ellis and Dawn Hopkins (6 matches)
6 Sam and Kevin (3 matches)

Chrissy and Joe would be equal third. However, compared to the money won.

1 Trish McGowan and Seamus Hassain (£170,000)
2 Nat Moitt and Euan Fleming (£155,000)
3 James Pearson and Daniel Chantrey (£150,000)
4 Adam Ellis and Dawn Hopkins (£130,000)
5 Sam and Kevin (£125,000)
6 Chrissy and Joe (£105,000)

The current champions are sixth on the list.

It looks like the lottery game shows will be taking a break for the next few weeks to make way for Eurovision and The Voice live shows. We have got six shows from the current series of In It to Win It to air. Followed by Nick Knowles's new quiz show, Break the Safe.

All screenshots courtesy of BBC and 12Yard Productions.

Last Night's Telly (Britain's Got Talent)

Another decent episode last night where The Dark Lord finds his latest act to make millions of pounds from their little talent.

First up were Jack and Cormac. Pair of young teenagers who like to sing. Jack plays singer, while Cormac strums on the guitar, they performed an Irish based song. Although they had praise from David, Alesha and Amanda. Simon went on to say it was good but not great. I have to agree. They were okay but nothing brilliant. I suspect we will see them in the Final 45 but will not progress to the final.

On the topic of young folk, we had dance group Pre Skool. A bunch of primary school kids from Port Talbot. Those who remember the 2012 series, we had a dance group called Nu Skool. Turns out they were inspired by them to take part in this series. Not mocking the accent. I liked one of them saying they want to impress Simon Cow Ell. They certainly had the cute factor and the choreography was tight throughout the performance. We also saw the return of MD Productions. The Liverpool dance school makes their third appearance on Britain's Got Talent. Yes, I said third. They first appeared on the very first series in 2007, reaching the semi finals. They appeared again in 2009, also reaching the semi finals. Once again they grace the theatre stage but failed to impress The Dark Lord. Commenting it's the worst of the three audition performances he has seen. Hard to tell whether they will go through to the Final 45 but I would rather have someone else than seeing them for another time. Begs the question whether with the influx of foreign acts and MD Productions appearing again if the talent as dried up in the UK.

19 year old Rosie O'Sullivan, a born Brummie now living in London wowed all the judges with her singing. To quote Cowell, "that was bloody fantastic". Nothing more to say, she is a good singer that's it. People on the internet will no doubt comment about her weight but at least she can remove it by various methods.

Looking at the rubbish acts. There were hardly any last night. Justin Bongo Man, a guy playing some bongos. He claimed he is a surgeon. Stick to your day job mate. We also had Mazeppa Cossacks and pan-pipe performer, Horlando Salinas. They are good on what they do but it's the wrong show for them.

Two acts had my approval last night. Firstly there was Kelly Fox who produced a raunchy song, She managed to make Cowell smile, given his bad moon and got the crowd singling along. The song she performed is similar to Hit the Road Jack. Given the judges always choose a mixture for the Final 45. Kelly is certainly a shoe in for the semi finals. What I found interesting about Kelly was her voice. If you listen carefully then she almost sounds like the late Marti Caine. Perhaps I am talking rubbish but have a listen to her voice when she isn't singing. If any young folk wondering who Marti Caine is, look her up. She was a good comedienne when she was alive.

The star of the night had to be Body Shop (Saturday night free advertising for you there) employee, Philip Green (not to be confused with the bloke behind TopShop). He impressed me with his impressions (get it? impressed, impressions... Okay, I'll carry on) but what he did that many comedy acts couldn't achieve was to get the judges laughing before starting their act. I loved his take on Louie Spence and even performing the splits. I hardly laugh at anything these days but he certainly made me chuckle. The judges suggested it would be good having a comedy off for the final. It would be nice since we had a dance off in the 2009 final (Flawless vs. Diversity). If Philip Green and Francine Lewis reaches the semi finals and win their respective shows then it could happen.

There are only two audition shows left before the live semi finals. What I notice so far that we've yet to see any terrible or decent magic acts. Where are the magic acts? I know there is a curse with magic acts not doing that well but surely a magic act have auditioned for this series. Same applies to ventriloquists and the animal acts. Where the heck are they?

Finally, you're wondering why Ant & Dec never reveals the monetary value of the cash prize this yeae. This is because the cash prize is £250,000. Last year it was £500,000 but this was down to ITV paying half and Cowell paying the other half. It seems he isn't digging into his pockets for this year's winner. Still, it's more than the original cash prize at £100,000.

Just Read: The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce

After all the praise for Rachel Joyce's début novel. I thought I would give it a try to see if it's up to the hype.

The Unlikely Pilgrimage Of Harold Fry sees pensioner and newly retired brewery worker Harold Fry receiving a letter from former workmate Queenie Hennessy to say she is suffering from Cancer, where the doctors can do no more as it's inoperable. The letter was written from a hospice in Berwick-upon-tweed, Harold and his wife Maureen currently lives in Kingsbridge, south Devon. Harold decides to reply to Queenie's letter and walk to the local postbox down the hill. However, Harold decides to walk pass the intended post box and travel all the way to Berwick by foot to deliver the letter himself. He has basic essentials and the use of his yachting shoes to help him. The early part of the journey sees Harold meeting up a girl at a petrol station who convinces Harold if he has the faith, he can do everything. This leads to believe him that as long he continues walking to Berwick, Queenie will still live. Throughout his journey he meets certain people, including a qualified doctor who is working in the UK as a cleaner, a dog who wouldn't stop following him and a group of followers who are inspired by his walk. Whilst walking northwards, his wife, Maureen remains in Kingsbridge worrying why he is walking the whole length of the UK to see a former workmate.

I have to say this has been a wonderful, moving and charming read. Although the main plot involves Harold travelling over 600 miles, there are many aspects in the book that does remain a mystery but are cleared up towards the end of the book. Throughout the journey Harold reminiscence his past. Including his parents. The life he worked at the brewery. How he meet Queenie and the wife beating boss, Napier. Also how he met Maureen for the first time and the estranged relationship with his son David. Harold mentions a certain event that has happened to him twenty years ago but never reveals what it is as it seems to bring out the nightmares. Whilst travelling north, Harold sends regular postcards to Queenie, the girl at the petrol station and Maureen at home. He also phones Maureen from time to time to reassure her he is fine. Meanwhile in Kingsbridge, Maureen is concerned to why Harold is doing this journey. She consults her son David on what to do which ends up having a kindred friendship with next door neighbour, Rex.

As stated, Harold meets some extraordinary people throughout his journey. At one point in the book he has a group of followers who decide to join him as they found out his walk from the media. Something similar to the running across America scene in Forest Gump. With the group slowing down Harold's progress, he intends the break away but for some reason he returns to the followers. This does puzzle me as the author never initially states why he changes his mind. Perhaps he felt guilty although Joyce admitted they were a burden to his journey. The later stages of the book sees Harold stressing about his son and how he ignored him all his life and never appreciated him for the brilliant things he has achieved. This causes him to hit rock bottom stressing to a cafe owner "I wan't my son". It's when he writes to the girl at the petrol station everything comes to light.

It's when I read that letter and the final chapters, I began to cry. I don't usually cry whilst reading. It has happened before with Stephen King's 11/22/63 (the demise of Sadie) but nothing like this. I felt so sorry for Harold Fry. I can see why he has a massive regret and cannot make things for the better. Also from what the girl told him about faith. It begs the question to Harold whether having any faith is worth it at all.

Overall this has been an amazing and loving book. I cannot fault this book. I can see why many people over the UK have enjoyed Joyce's first written novel. It's one of those ideal books that could be adapted into a one off 90 minute BBC drama. Interestingly, Jim Broadbent has provided his voice to the audiobook version. Given his age, he would be perfect to play Harold Fry.

Would I recommend this book to you? Definitely if you want to read something different.

I gave The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry 5 out of 5 stars on Goodreads.

Footnote: I said towards the end of this blog post I was crying with the final few chapters. I will confess on how Rachel Joyce described Harold Fry. As a 65 year old newly retired worker with blue eyes (mentioned very late into the book) and wore yachting shoes reminded me of my ol'man. He was the same age as Harold before he died, newly retired (was retired for ten months before his death) and got the same "blue eyes" as Harold. He didn't wear yachting shoes but he wore moccasins, (similar design to yachting shoes) since he found them comfortable to wear for driving. Therfore for some reason I was picturing him throughout the book as Harold. This could be another reason why I was tearful towards the end as it brought back the good memories we had between us. Does this mean I am David? Definitely not. Where Harold never appreciated David's achievements and desires throughout life. Me and my ol'man loved and respected each other and he always congratulated me on what I achieved.

Next to read: Agatha Raisin and the Fairies of Fryfam

Film ReVue: Iron Man Three

Warning: This blog post mentions some storyline plots from the previous Iron Man films as well as The Avengers (Avengers Assemble). Spoilers for Iron Man Three are kept to a bare minimal with major plot-lines and twists not mentioned.

Tony Stark has returned to town for the third film in the Iron Man series and the fourth overall but is it better than the mediocre second film.

Who is in it?
Robert Downey Jr, Gwyneth Paltrow, Guy Pearce, Ben Kingsley Don Cheadle, James Badge Dale.

How long is it?
Just over two hours.

What is the BBFC ratings?
12A. Meaning if you're under 12 years old you must be accompanied by an adult.

What is the film about?
The film is based on the Marvel characters of the Iron Man comic strip with Tony Stark being the man behind the suit. The film is set after The Avengers (Avengers Assemble in the UK) where Stark confesses he cannot sleep and to keep him busy continues to work on his Iron Man armour suits, he also suffers from anxiety due to the events that took place in New York (you will need to watch Avengers Assemble to see why). The film begins with Stark either talking to someone or producing a monologue. He explains how past events can bite back with the film beginning on New Years Eve 1999. Fast forward 13 years to where The Mandarin is terrorising the world, With the US under threat, War Machine (seen in Iron Man 2), worn by Rhodey Rhodes gets a revamp and is now known as Iron Patriot.

How was it?
I would say it was definitely better than the second Iron Man film which had a weaker plot and a weaker villain with Mickey Rourke as Ivan Vanko (Whiplash). Iron Man 2 was more of a prologue to Avengers Assemble since Nick Fury and Black Widow had major roles rather than cameos. This film is more focused on Tony Stark making a journey with no-one helping him, even his Avengers pals are not around to assist He has not got the safety and security around him but he always finds a way to fight back by certain methods. Similar to the first film where he tries to escape from Afghanistan. There are a lot of things I would like to say but it will spoil the storyline for those who have yet to see it. Fans of the comic books will know the character backgrounds from the comics. Ben Kingsley is totally unrecognisable in this film as The Mandarin, you wouldn't know it's him until a certain point in the film shows you know it's definitely Kingsley. I cannot explain how, you will need to watch it to see what I mean. James Badge Dale plays Eric Salvin. You might recognise him as he was in the third season of US TV drama 24 as Chase Edmunds. The regular characters, Pepper Potts (Paltrow), Rhodes (Cheadle) and Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau) also return in respective roles but I won't say how Hogan fits into the plot, you need to watch it for yourself. Jon Favreau passes the director baton to Shane Black for the third instalment but remaining as Executive Producer. Black does a superb directing this since he has worked with Downey Jr. before on Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. Early on in the film we get flashbacks of Stark entering the wormhole from Avengers Assemble but it doesn't spoil those who have yet to see the billion dollar grossing film. There are also little mentions to the other members on the Avengers team. Where I mean little, I mean little. I would say the final confrontation is on par with the finale of Avengers Assemble on how it played out. Definitely better than the first film finale (Tony Stark vs Obadiah Stane) and the weaker second film (Tony Stark & Cody Rhodes vs Whiplash and the War Machine drones). For some reason it was more action packed, although a bit far-fetched but it is suppose to be based on the comic book. Giving the reader a new imagination.

One criticism I would give that the first 30-45 minutes did drag along but when the attack on Stark's Malibu home (as seen in the trailers) happened, it all kicked off from there and moved a brisk pace. The ending of the film does see closure of the Iron Man franchise in some form but with Avengers Assemble 2 in the pipeline, you never know.

As with all previous Marvel films, you will need to watch to the post credits scene for the extra bit. I will confess once the credits started rolling only two people left the cinema, everybody else stayed behind. Also thumbs up to the seventies style end credits as it features bits from all three Iron Man films.

Looks like Iron Man Three  is going to be another runaway success with box office takings over $300 million after the first week. I won't say it will beat Avengers Assemble with $1.5 billion but it's likely it will match and possibly beat Iron Man 2 with $623 million.

Would you go to see it?
Definitely as it could be the film of the year. Only the likes of Star Trek: Into Darkness and Man of Steal could trump it. Definitely one for the Marvel fans and those who have never read the comics or the previous Marvel films.

I rate Iron Man Three with a score of 5 out of 5 and is the film of the year so far*

*Where I say film of the year. We have yet to see how Star Trek: Into Darkness, Man or Steel (Superman revival) and The Lone Ranger fare but Iron Man Three is the one to beat.

Oh and if you're wondering why I keep calling it Iron Man Three and not Iron Man 3. This is because the certificate clarification before the film and the credits clearly states the film is called Iron Man Three.