Glitterball
Encyclopedia
Glitterball was a live, late night, interactive television quiz show in the United Kingdom. It was broadcast under the ITV Play
branding on ITV
a few nights a week from around midnight (usually), and from 1.00am on ITV2
. The show launched on 19 February 2007. Both Glitterball and Make Your Play alternated their days of broadcast. Glitterballs final show broadcast on the morning of Sunday 30 September 2007.
) and produced from studios at 3SixtyMedia, Manchester. The programme was broadcast on ITV1
and ITV2
from Sunday to Wednesdays.
The show started on 19 February 2007. In order to win money, holidays and various other special prizes, viewers were required to either call in at a cost of 75p from a BT
landline, text the word 'BALL' to an automated call back service or enter via the ITV website. If successful, they would be placed on hold and then transferred live to the studio to deliver their answer.
An announcement on 12 September 2007 confirmed that the show, along with similar late night phone ins, would be phased out by the end of 2007.
in Manchester, and is now a production space as part of 3sixtymedia, the facilities company co-owned by ITV and BBC Resources.
The studio was also used to produce sister programme Make Your Play
.
Like The Mint, Glitterball was presented by two presenters at a time. Later on in the show, the presenters' screen times were split up.
Guest Presenters
Example (from 1st show):
Start Word: AT
Clue: E - TEA
Clue: S - EAST
Clue: D - DATES
Clue: E - SEDATE
Clue: They will then reveal another clue letter here to make a new word.
ITV Play
ITV Play was a 24/7 participation television channel in the United Kingdom owned by ITV plc. The ITV Play name continued on the ITV Network until December 2007....
branding 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...
a few nights a week from around midnight (usually), and from 1.00am on ITV2
ITV2
ITV2 is a 24 hour, free-to-air entertainment television channel in the United Kingdom owned by ITV Digital Channels Ltd, a division of ITV plc. It was launched on 7 December 1998, and is available on digital television via satellite, cable, IPTV and terrestrial platforms. The channel has the...
. The show launched on 19 February 2007. Both Glitterball and Make Your Play alternated their days of broadcast. Glitterballs final show broadcast on the morning of Sunday 30 September 2007.
Overview
Glitterball was created by Ludus:ETV (who also produced The MintThe Mint (game show)
The Mint was a live, late night, interactive quiz show with celebrity guests and live studio contestants filmed in a large extravagant set designed to look like the inside of a mansion. The programme, which was dogged by criticism that its questions were ambiguous and arbitrary, aired on ITV and...
) and produced from studios at 3SixtyMedia, Manchester. The programme was broadcast on ITV1
ITV1
ITV1 is a generic brand that is used by twelve franchises of the British ITV Network in the English regions, Wales, southern Scotland , the Isle of Man and the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey. The ITV1 brand was introduced by Carlton and Granada in 2001, alongside the regional identities of their...
and ITV2
ITV2
ITV2 is a 24 hour, free-to-air entertainment television channel in the United Kingdom owned by ITV Digital Channels Ltd, a division of ITV plc. It was launched on 7 December 1998, and is available on digital television via satellite, cable, IPTV and terrestrial platforms. The channel has the...
from Sunday to Wednesdays.
The show started on 19 February 2007. In order to win money, holidays and various other special prizes, viewers were required to either call in at a cost of 75p from a BT
BT Group
BT Group plc is a global telecommunications services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is one of the largest telecommunications services companies in the world and has operations in more than 170 countries. Through its BT Global Services division it is a major supplier of...
landline, text the word 'BALL' to an automated call back service or enter via the ITV website. If successful, they would be placed on hold and then transferred live to the studio to deliver their answer.
An announcement on 12 September 2007 confirmed that the show, along with similar late night phone ins, would be phased out by the end of 2007.
The Starlight Theatre
Similar to The Mint, presenters refer the studio set as "The Starlight Theatre" and if a caller wins, they are transferred to "The Box Office" to claim the cash prize. The Starlight Theatre was originally an attraction at the now-defunct Granada Studios TourGranada Studios Tour
Granada Studios Tour was an entertainment theme park at the Granada Studios complex in Castlefield, Manchester which England operated from 1988 to 1999...
in Manchester, and is now a production space as part of 3sixtymedia, the facilities company co-owned by ITV and BBC Resources.
The studio was also used to produce sister programme Make Your Play
Make Your Play
Make Your Play was a live, interactive quiz show, showing in the UK on the ITV Network, from Monday to Saturday, beginning after midnight. The show was launched on Friday September 29, 2006 on ITV and ITV Play....
.
Presenters
- Kéllé BryanKéllé BryanKéllé Bryan is a British singer turned actress and television personality, best known as a member of the girl group Eternal.-Biography:...
- Zoe HardmanZoe HardmanZoe Hardman is a British television presenter. She was a presenter on ITV's phone-in quiz show Glitterball. She trained for a career in media and photography in Kent and now lives in West London...
- Alex Kramer - formerly a presenter on Make Your PlayMake Your PlayMake Your Play was a live, interactive quiz show, showing in the UK on the ITV Network, from Monday to Saturday, beginning after midnight. The show was launched on Friday September 29, 2006 on ITV and ITV Play....
and Quiz CallQuiz CallQuiz Call is a late night/early morning phone-in quiz TV show, produced by Ostrich Media for Five, Five USA and Fiver.- Launch :...
. - Katy PullingerKaty PullingerKaty Pullinger is a British television presenter . She has presented live television for over three years including ITV Play's Glitterball, on which she made her last appearance in August...
- Craig StevensCraig Stevens (presenter)Craig Stevens is a British television presenter, born in Walthamstow, and raised in Colchester, Essex.During 2007, Craig presented ITV Play show Glitterball. His first presenting job was on Five's BrainTeaser, and he later presented ITV's The Mint...
- formerly a presenter of The MintThe Mint (game show)The Mint was a live, late night, interactive quiz show with celebrity guests and live studio contestants filmed in a large extravagant set designed to look like the inside of a mansion. The programme, which was dogged by criticism that its questions were ambiguous and arbitrary, aired on ITV and...
.
Like The Mint, Glitterball was presented by two presenters at a time. Later on in the show, the presenters' screen times were split up.
Guest Presenters
- Yolly KoppelYiolanda KoppelYiolanda "Yolly" Koppel is a television presenter with many years experience presenting for Carlton Television, CITV and Nickelodeon, with her friend Mounya Khamlichi...
- Charlie McArdle
- Russ SpencerRuss SpencerRussell Spencer is an English television presenter and singer.-TV work:Spencer is a television presenter, hosting shows such as the ITV1 game show Make Your Play. He was also anchor presenter three nights a week for The Great Big British Quiz on Five...
Games
Most of the Glitterball's games were shown on a big screen in the studio, rather than on the viewers television screen at home.Glitterword
This game started off with a long word, called the "Glitterword". The viewers had to then make a three or more letter word from the letters in the "Glitterword". For example the word for the first show was "Thrilling", so the word "ring" can be made. There were a total of eleven possible winning answers per game, ten which could win callers normally £500 or £1,000 (but can vary), and one word called the "Glitterword" which, if guessed, potentially won the callers either thousands of pounds, or free holidays. if the "Glitterword" was guessed, the game ended.Picture Perfect
The viewers were shown pictures of five celebrities which were numbered from one to five, and the callers had to sort them out in order of youngest to oldest and just say the numbers.Crossword
This was a 3D crossword setup in the studio, and a copy was also shown on the big studio screen. Callers had to guess the words in the crossword, answers were all based on a theme. To make the answer appear on the 3D crossword, the presenter had to flip each letter over. A "Winner Board" was also on the screen on the studio, to show who had won, and their winnings.Spellcheque
The game had six lines of letters in total. Callers were given two letters on the top line, they then had to add another given letter to this first line, to create a three letter word. They were then given another letter to add to the previous line, to create a four letter word, and so on, until a seven letter word was made.Example (from 1st show):
Start Word: AT
Clue: E - TEA
Clue: S - EAST
Clue: D - DATES
Clue: E - SEDATE
Clue: They will then reveal another clue letter here to make a new word.
External links
- Glitterball Fansite at MySpaceMySpaceMyspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....