The People's Quiz
Encyclopedia
The People's Quiz, is a BBC
National Lottery
game show that was broadcast on BBC One
from 24 March 2007 to 23 June 2007. The programme was hosted by Jamie Theakston
. The programme was made by London based independent production company Fever Media
.
The quiz was open to nearly everyone, in that the only excluded categories were:
, Cardiff
, Glasgow
, Manchester
, Belfast
and London
. Contenders had to get ten questions in a row correct to progress to the second round.
Contestants were allowed multiple attempts to qualify but organisational problems meant that this was not always possible at the earlier venues.
and female
group and further subdivided into three age categories:
Each contestant was given a Mastermind
style two minute general knowledge round (interrupting the question master was allowed) and each contestant was then summoned back in front of the judging panel to hear of their fate: four in each category went through and four did not.
Complaints ranged from long delays at the early auditions through to being effectively kept in solitary confinement at Pinewood Studios
.
The first round is called "Only the Strong survive" and is played four times to find the four qualifiers for round two.
Each time this game is played the competitors start with one life and are eliminated by getting a question wrong. At the end of the alloted time period - 2 minutes (or 90 seconds in the final show) - all the survivors get an "On the Buzzer" question. A correct answer qualifies a player for round two. A wrong answer to the "On the Buzzer" question also eliminates the player and a new question must be asked.
The Second round is called "Brain Chain"
Here, the four contestants who qualified from "Only the Strong survive" take turns to try and make a chain of questions in 90 seconds. Whoever makes the longest saved chain goes through to the head-to-head play-off called "Do or Die".
The winner of "Brain Chain" selects who s/he thinks will be the weakest competition out of the other nine for the final round. The winner qualifies for The Grand Final, the loser is eliminated from the competition. There are 12 categories on the screen - five of them have a 'Q' hidden behind it and seven do not. The winner of "Brain Chain" starts by picking a category, and then the fastest person to buzz in and get the answer right gets to see if there is a 'Q' behind that category. If there is, the contestant gets the Q and whoever gets three Qs wins and will win their round and qualify for the final.
The next week, the eight contestants from the start who didn't play in "Do or Die" are joined by two of the other survivors from the Final Audition Weekend.
He defeated Amanda 3–0 (6–0 on questions answered) on 21 April 2007 and was the first contestant to go through to the grand final.
He defeated Danielle Winter-McQue 3–0 (6–0 on questions answered) on 28 April 2007 and was the second contestant to go through to the grand final.
He defeated Ben Phillips 3–2 (6–6 on questions answered) on 5 May 2007 and was the third contestant to go through to the grand final. With only one question left it was 2–2, and Mick buzzed in a fraction of a second before Ben, getting it right.
He defeated Lucy 3–2 (9–3 on questions answered) on 19 May 2007 and was the fourth contestant to go through to the grand final. He answered 6 questions correctly before getting a Q. At the end, it was 2–2 and there was one category left. Lucy buzzed in and answered incorrectly, and David then got it right.
He defeated Barbara 3–0 (5–1 on questions answered) on 26 May 2007 and was the firth contestant to go through to the grand final.
She defeated Martin 3–0 on 2 June 2007 and was the sixth contestant to go through to the final.
She defeated Carol 3–0 on 9 June 2007 and was the seventh contestant to go through to the final.
She defeated Cate 3–1 on 16 June 2007 and was the eighth contestant to go through to the final.
He was the winner of the People's Quiz Wildcard series on BBC2, taking the last available place at the last available minute.
Mark and Stephanie went on to battle in the final "Do or Die" round of the series. Stephanie won with three 'Q's to Mark's one, taking home the £200,700 prize money. This was, and as of 2009 still is, the largest cash prize ever awarded on a BBC
quiz or game show.
, Kate Garraway
and Myleene Klass
.
.
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
National Lottery
National Lottery (United Kingdom)
The National Lottery is the state-franchised national lottery in the United Kingdom and the Isle of Man.It is operated by Camelot Group, to whom the licence was granted in 1994, 2001 and again in 2007. The lottery is regulated by the National Lottery Commission, and was established by the then...
game show that was broadcast on BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
from 24 March 2007 to 23 June 2007. The programme was hosted by Jamie Theakston
Jamie Theakston
Jamie Theakston is an English television and radio presenter, producer and actor.-Education:...
. The programme was made by London based independent production company Fever Media
Fever Media
Fever Media Ltd is a British television production company based in London. It was launched in 2006 by former BBC Executive Producers Richard Hopkins and David Mortimer. It develops and produces quizzes, game shows, factual entertainment, factual formats, documentary, entertainment performance and...
.
Auditions
Auditions were held throughout January 2007 all around the UK.The quiz was open to nearly everyone, in that the only excluded categories were:
- BBC Employees
- Under 16's
- Those with a criminal conviction in the last seven years
- Bankrupts or people with a County Court Judgement in the last five years
Round 1
The first round of the audition consisted of contestants turning up at six major venues in the UK: BirminghamBirmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
, Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
and London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. Contenders had to get ten questions in a row correct to progress to the second round.
Contestants were allowed multiple attempts to qualify but organisational problems meant that this was not always possible at the earlier venues.
Round 2
On the evening of 5 February 2007, all surviving contestants rang a phone line to receive a randomly selected 20 question quiz. The contestants were split into six categories based on age and sex. The top eight in each category qualified for the final audition round.Round 3
The 48 survivors turned up for what had been billed as a three day quiz boot camp on 16 February 2007. The contestants were split into a maleMale
Male refers to the biological sex of an organism, or part of an organism, which produces small mobile gametes, called spermatozoa. Each spermatozoon can fuse with a larger female gamete or ovum, in the process of fertilization...
and female
Female
Female is the sex of an organism, or a part of an organism, which produces non-mobile ova .- Defining characteristics :The ova are defined as the larger gametes in a heterogamous reproduction system, while the smaller, usually motile gamete, the spermatozoon, is produced by the male...
group and further subdivided into three age categories:
- Under 25s
- Over 40s
- Those in between
Each contestant was given a Mastermind
Mastermind (TV series)
Mastermind is a British quiz show, well known for its challenging questions, intimidating setting and air of seriousness.Devised by Bill Wright, the basic format of Mastermind has never changed — four and in later contests five contestants face two rounds, one on a specialised subject of the...
style two minute general knowledge round (interrupting the question master was allowed) and each contestant was then summoned back in front of the judging panel to hear of their fate: four in each category went through and four did not.
Audition Controversies
The open auditions were clearly a very ambitious and time-consuming process and teething problems were inevitable. In particular a thread on the Quizzing.co.uk website has led to over 400 posts, many of them from disgruntled contestants.Complaints ranged from long delays at the early auditions through to being effectively kept in solitary confinement at Pinewood Studios
Pinewood Studios
Pinewood Studios is a major British film studio situated in Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, approximately west of central London. The studios have played host to many productions over the years from huge blockbuster films to television shows to commercials to pop promos.The purchase of Shepperton...
.
Rules of the Game
Ten players compete in each show.The first round is called "Only the Strong survive" and is played four times to find the four qualifiers for round two.
Each time this game is played the competitors start with one life and are eliminated by getting a question wrong. At the end of the alloted time period - 2 minutes (or 90 seconds in the final show) - all the survivors get an "On the Buzzer" question. A correct answer qualifies a player for round two. A wrong answer to the "On the Buzzer" question also eliminates the player and a new question must be asked.
The Second round is called "Brain Chain"
Here, the four contestants who qualified from "Only the Strong survive" take turns to try and make a chain of questions in 90 seconds. Whoever makes the longest saved chain goes through to the head-to-head play-off called "Do or Die".
The winner of "Brain Chain" selects who s/he thinks will be the weakest competition out of the other nine for the final round. The winner qualifies for The Grand Final, the loser is eliminated from the competition. There are 12 categories on the screen - five of them have a 'Q' hidden behind it and seven do not. The winner of "Brain Chain" starts by picking a category, and then the fastest person to buzz in and get the answer right gets to see if there is a 'Q' behind that category. If there is, the contestant gets the Q and whoever gets three Qs wins and will win their round and qualify for the final.
The next week, the eight contestants from the start who didn't play in "Do or Die" are joined by two of the other survivors from the Final Audition Weekend.
Finalists
- Olav BjortomtOlav BjortomtStein Olav Bjortomt is an England international quiz player. He was the winner of the inaugural 2003 individual World Quizzing Championships, in the absence of Kevin Ashman when it was a fledgling event with then only 45 participants...
He defeated Amanda 3–0 (6–0 on questions answered) on 21 April 2007 and was the first contestant to go through to the grand final.
- Mark LabbettMark LabbettMark Labbett is a personality in the UK quiz scene. He attended Exeter College, Oxford University, graduating with a degree in Mathematics...
He defeated Danielle Winter-McQue 3–0 (6–0 on questions answered) on 28 April 2007 and was the second contestant to go through to the grand final.
- Mick McCarthy
He defeated Ben Phillips 3–2 (6–6 on questions answered) on 5 May 2007 and was the third contestant to go through to the grand final. With only one question left it was 2–2, and Mick buzzed in a fraction of a second before Ben, getting it right.
- David Buckle
He defeated Lucy 3–2 (9–3 on questions answered) on 19 May 2007 and was the fourth contestant to go through to the grand final. He answered 6 questions correctly before getting a Q. At the end, it was 2–2 and there was one category left. Lucy buzzed in and answered incorrectly, and David then got it right.
- Will Cudmore
He defeated Barbara 3–0 (5–1 on questions answered) on 26 May 2007 and was the firth contestant to go through to the grand final.
- Stephanie Bruce
She defeated Martin 3–0 on 2 June 2007 and was the sixth contestant to go through to the final.
- Julia Hobbs
She defeated Carol 3–0 on 9 June 2007 and was the seventh contestant to go through to the final.
- Judith Searle
She defeated Cate 3–1 on 16 June 2007 and was the eighth contestant to go through to the final.
- Alan Morgan
He was the winner of the People's Quiz Wildcard series on BBC2, taking the last available place at the last available minute.
Final
In the Grand Final only Stephanie, Mark, Mick, and Will respectively qualified from "Only the Strong survive" and into "Brain Chain". Will and Mick both managed to save a chain of zero meaning Mark and Stephanie only needed one to qualify. Stephanie did just that, but Mark managed a score of six giving him an advantage into the final.Mark and Stephanie went on to battle in the final "Do or Die" round of the series. Stephanie won with three 'Q's to Mark's one, taking home the £200,700 prize money. This was, and as of 2009 still is, the largest cash prize ever awarded on a BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
quiz or game show.
Quizmasters
The quiz has three celebrities making up the Quiz Panel: William G. StewartWilliam G. Stewart
William Gladstone Stewart is an English television producer and director of comedy and game shows, now best known as the former presenter of the Channel 4 quiz show Fifteen to One.-Career:...
, Kate Garraway
Kate Garraway
Kathryn Mary Garraway is an English journalist currently employed by ITV Breakfast.She has presented the UK version of The Biggest Loser.-Early life:...
and Myleene Klass
Myleene Klass
Myleene Angela Quinn is an English singer, pianist, media personality and occasional model. She was formerly a member of the defunct British pop band Hear'Say.-Early life:...
.
Ratings
Episode Viewing figures from BARBBarb
Barb may refer to:* A backward-facing point on a fish hook or similar implement, rendering extraction from the victim's flesh more difficult* Wind barbs for each station on a map of reported weather conditions...
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International versions
| Country | Name | Host | Network | Judges | Premiere | Prize |
 Arab League Arab WorldArab world The Arab world refers to Arabic-speaking states, territories and populations in North Africa, Western Asia and elsewhere.The standard definition of the Arab world comprises the 22 states and territories of the Arab League stretching from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Arabian Sea in the... |
مسابقة الجماهير Musabaqet El Jamahir |
Ashraf Hamdi | MBC 1 MBC 1 MBC is a free-to-air, pan-Arab general television channel.Satellite transmission started from London in September 1991, making MBC the first independent Arabic satellite TV station, with an estimated audience of more than 130 million Arabic-speaking people around the world.MBC has recently moved... |
George Kurdahi George Kurdahi George Kurdahi is a Lebanese television presenter of Palestinian descent. Kurdahi hails from the city of Acre in Palestine.... Mona Zaki Mona Zaki Mona Zaki is an Egyptian actress. Although she had no interest at all on being an actress, Mona Zaki is now a remarkable leading star. Mona started her career in acting accidentally, when she met Mohamed Sobhi, the famous Egyptian Actor and Director. Mona is a Mass Communication student at the... Sarah El Dandarawi |
11 January 2011 | SR Saudi riyal The Riyal is the currency of Saudi Arabia. It is abbreviated as ر.س or SR . It is subdivided into 100 Halalas . The Saudi Ghirsh is 5 Halalas.-History:... 2.000.000 |
 Belgium |
Le Grand Quiz Des Belges | Jacques van den Biggelaar | RTL-TVI | Philippe Malherbe Sabrina Jacobs Julie Taton |
13 January 2009 | € Euro The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,... 100.000 |
 Early Modern France |
Le Plus grand quiz de France | Sandrine Quétier | TF1 TF1 TF1 is a national French TV channel, controlled by TF1 Group, whose major share-holder is Bouygues. TF1's average market share of 24% makes it the most popular domestic network... |
Jean-Pierre Foucault Jean-Pierre Foucault Jean-Pierre Foucault is a French television and radio host.He is the host of Qui Veut Gagner des Millions ?, the French version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? He has been hosting the Miss France pageant since 1996.Foucault played himself in the 2006 film Mon Meilleur Ami directed by Patrice... Mareva Galanter Mareva Galanter Mareva Galanter is a French actress and former beauty queen.Galanter won the 1998 "Miss World of Islands" and then the 1998 "Miss Tahiti" beauty contest that allowed her to compete for the Miss France 1999 crown, which she won.Galanter expanded her work into music and singing, releasing Ukuyéyé,... Christophe Dechavanne Christophe Dechavanne Christophe Dechavanne, born January 23, 1958 in Paris is a French television and radio hostand program producer.Dechavanne started working as a radio host in the early 1980s. In 1985, he presented the daily talk-show C'est encore mieux l'après-midi on the state-owned television channel Antenne 2... Alexia Laroche-Joubert (Season 1) |
6 November 2009 | € Euro The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,... 250.000 + € Euro The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,... 10.000 |
 Spain |
El gran quiz | Nuria Roca | Cuatro | Marta Sánchez Jaume Figueras Carlos Blanco |
16 April 2008 | € Euro The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,... 400.000 |