The $64,000 Question (UK game show)
Encyclopedia
The $64,000 Question is a UK game show based on the US format of the same name that originally ran from 19 May 1956 to 18 January 1958 produced by ATV (always keen to pick up successful US formats) and was originally hosted by Jerry Desmonde
, and called simply The 64,000 Question with the top prize initially being 64,000 sixpences (£1,600), later doubling to 64,000 shillings (£3,200).
Robin Bailey
hosted the spin-off The 64,000 Challenge from 15 June 1957 to 31 August 1957. £3,200 was actually substantially higher, in real terms (i.e. accounting for inflation
), than anything on offer on British TV for most of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, after the Independent Television Authority
(later the Independent Broadcasting Authority
) imposed prize limits on game shows after the general discrediting of the genre following the quiz show scandals
in the US and rumors that the British version of Twenty One
was also corrupt.
Much later, it was revived from 1 June 1990 to 4 September 1993, entitling The $64,000 Question, and it was hosted by Bob Monkhouse
, although the top prize was only £6,400. This was however, a significant amount of money for a British game show at the time (1990–1993) though still probably worth less than £3,200 had been in the 1950's. Shortly after this, prize limits were lifted by the Independent Television Commission
, paving the way for the eventual arrival of Who Wants to be a Millionaire?
which itself featured a question worth £64,000 until the format of the show changed in August 2007.
Jerry Desmonde
Jerry Desmonde was an English stage musical, film, and television actor principally in comedies and drama. He is probably best known as a straight man to Norman Wisdom.Jerry is sometimes credited as Jerry Desmond....
, and called simply The 64,000 Question with the top prize initially being 64,000 sixpences (£1,600), later doubling to 64,000 shillings (£3,200).
Robin Bailey
Robin Bailey
Robin Bailey was an English actor. He was born in Hucknall, Nottinghamshire.Although often chosen for upper class and tradition-bound roles such as Judge Graves in Thames Television's Rumpole Of The Bailey, Bailey is perhaps most fondly remembered for his portrayal of Uncle Mort in I Didn't Know...
hosted the spin-off The 64,000 Challenge from 15 June 1957 to 31 August 1957. £3,200 was actually substantially higher, in real terms (i.e. accounting for inflation
Inflation
In economics, inflation is a rise in the general level of prices of goods and services in an economy over a period of time.When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services. Consequently, inflation also reflects an erosion in the purchasing power of money – a...
), than anything on offer on British TV for most of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, after the Independent Television Authority
Independent Television Authority
The Independent Television Authority was an agency created by the Television Act 1954 to supervise the creation of "Independent Television" , the first commercial television network in the United Kingdom...
(later the Independent Broadcasting Authority
Independent Broadcasting Authority
The Independent Broadcasting Authority was the regulatory body in the United Kingdom for commercial television - and commercial/independent radio broadcasts...
) imposed prize limits on game shows after the general discrediting of the genre following the quiz show scandals
Quiz show scandals
The American quiz show scandals of the 1950s were a series of revelations that contestants of several popular television quiz shows were secretly given assistance by the show's producers to arrange the outcome of a supposedly fair competition....
in the US and rumors that the British version of Twenty One
Twenty One (game show)
Twenty One is an American game show which aired in the late 1950s. While it included the most popular contestant of the quiz show era, it became notorious for being a rigged quiz show which nearly caused the demise of the entire genre in the wake of United States Senate investigations...
was also corrupt.
Much later, it was revived from 1 June 1990 to 4 September 1993, entitling The $64,000 Question, and it was hosted by Bob Monkhouse
Bob Monkhouse
Robert Alan "Bob" Monkhouse, OBE was an English entertainer. He was a successful comedy writer, comedian and actor and was also well known on British television as a presenter and game show host...
, although the top prize was only £6,400. This was however, a significant amount of money for a British game show at the time (1990–1993) though still probably worth less than £3,200 had been in the 1950's. Shortly after this, prize limits were lifted by the Independent Television Commission
Independent Television Commission
The Independent Television Commission licensed and regulated commercial television services in the United Kingdom between 1 January 1991 and 28 December 2003....
, paving the way for the eventual arrival of Who Wants to be a Millionaire?
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (UK game show)
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? is a British television quiz show which offers a maximum cash prize of one million pounds for correctly answering successive multiple-choice questions of increasing difficulty...
which itself featured a question worth £64,000 until the format of the show changed in August 2007.
The 64,000 Challenge
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The $64,000 Question
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