Don't Try This At Home was a reality show produced by LWT

London Weekend Television

London Weekend Television was the name of the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties including south Suffolk, middle and east Hampshire, Oxfordshire, south Bedfordshire, south Northamptonshire, parts of Herefordshire & Worcestershire, Warwickshire, east Dorset and...

 with Golden Square Pictures and broadcast on ITV

ITV

ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...

 between 16 May 1998 and 1 September 2001. It took up the slot of the Saturday challenge game show slot left by its long running and more sedate predecessor You Bet!

You Bet!

You Bet! was a British game show based around the format of the German show Wetten, dass..? developed by Frank Elstner. You Bet! ran on ITV, mostly on Saturday nights but sometimes on Fridays, between 20 February 1988 and 12 April 1997, initially hosted by Bruce Forsyth from 1988 to 1990, then by...

. The executive producers were Nigel Lythgoe

Nigel Lythgoe

Nigel Lythgoe is an English television and film director and producer, and former dancer in the Young Generation and choreographer. He is noted for being the producer of the shows Pop Idol and American Idol as well as being a creator, executive producer and a regular judge for So You Think You Can...

 for LWT and
Victor Glynn

Victor Glynn

Victor Glynn, an award winning film and television producer and writer, was born in Balham, London on 11 October 1956. He married Lorna Gillian Glynn in 1982. She died in 1999. He has four children. His daughter Harriet is a film producer...

 for Golden Square Pictures.

It featured real people facing tough challenges such as swinging under a bridge. It was hosted by Davina McCall

Davina McCall

Davina McCall is an English television presenter and actress, most notable as the presenter of the UK version of Big Brother up until its move to Channel 5.- Early life :...

 with co-hosts including Darren Day

Darren Day

Darren Day , is an English actor, singer and television presenter, well known for his West End theatre starring roles.-Early life:His paternal grandfather was a support and warm-up act for George Formby...

, Kate Thornton

Kate Thornton

Kate Thornton is an English journalist and television presenter. Early in her career, she was notable for her articles at the Daily Mirror and for her role as editor of Smash Hits magazine...

, Paul Hendy and Russ Williams

Russ Williams

Russell "Russ" Williams is an English radio DJ from Blackpool, primarily known for his long-running shows on Virgin Radio , and since 2008 on Absolute Radio, the re-launched version of Virgin Radio.-Biography:...

as the event commetator. A lifetime medal was awarded for winning a challenge or having a very good try.

The Saturday Challenge

A member of the audience either picked randomly or planted was picked to do something a bit scary. Before the end of the show they went to the secret location with co-host Kate Thornton and performed the challenge. Challenges included driving under a truck moving at 30 mph, standing on a podium and landing on your feet after a car knocked the stand over.

The Don't Try This at Home! World News

Footage of people doing outrageous things from around the world.

Paul Hendy's Shoppers' Challenge

Paul Hendy was challenged to persuade a certain amount of shoppers to do something. Fight their way out of a giant paper bag or finding a £5 note in three boxes of yukky stuff. If he didn't get the requisite amount of shoppers to do it then he had to do the challenge himself in the studio the next week. An incredibly funny moment occurred in the 2nd episode of the 1st series, where one of his challenges was to make people eat sheep's testicles. He walked up to a man and asked him "Are you peckish?" and he replied "No, I'm Turkish!".

Face Your Phobia

A member of the audience is invited onto the floor as Paul Hendy asks them about their fear of (e.g. Snakes). They then enter the booth and stay in there for 30 seconds.

The Super Challenge

A challenge that took several weeks to complete and was very difficult. These included climbing to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa or canoeing the Amazon.

The Challenge of a Lifetime

The main feature of the show, where a person would participate in a stunt after being nominated or writing in to the programme themselves. Davina then turned up unannounced and asked them to pick one of three envelopes, each with a different challenge inside given by a cryptic clue. They then travelled to the place of the challenge which could have been round the other side of the world. These challenges asked of you more than you wanted them too and such challenges included handfeeding sharks in Australia, jumping down a 100m gorge in New Zealand on a wire decender, abseiling the tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere, driving a car across a huge drop on nothing but two slack wires and so on. The person could back out if they wanted which from the second series onwards, meant that the host herself was allowed to try the challenge. If the host failed, an expert would perform the challenge.

Transmissions

Series	Start date	End date	Episodes
1	16 May 1998	4 July 1998	8
2	23 January 1999	27 February 1999	6
3	11 September 1999	4 December 1999	10
4	8 January 2000	19 February 2000	6
5	24 June 2000	29 July 2000	6
6	17 February 2001	7 April 2001	8

External links

• Don't Try This at Home at BFI