The Generation Game was a British game show produced by the BBC in which four teams of two competed to win prizes. The programme was first broadcast in 1971 under the title Bruce Forsyth and the Generation Game and ran until 1982, and again from 1990 until 2002. The show was based on the Dutch TV show Een van de acht, "One of the Eight", the format devised in 1969 by Theo Uittenbogaard for VARA Television. Mrs. Mies Bouwman - a popular Dutch talk show host and presenter of the show - came up with the idea of the conveyor belt. She had seen it on a German programme and wanted to incorporate it into the show. Another antecedent for the gameshow was 'Sunday Night at the London Palladium' on ATV, which had a game called Beat the Clock, taken from an American gameshow. It featured married couples playing silly games within a certain time to win prize money. This was hosted by Bruce Forsyth from 1958, and he took the idea with him when he went over to the BBC. During the 1970s, gameshows became more popular and started to replace expensive variety shows. Creating new studio shows was cheaper than hiring a theatre and paying for long rehearsals and a large orchestra, and could secure a similar number of viewers. With less money for their own productions, a gameshow seemed the obvious idea for ITV. As a result many variety performers were recruited for gameshows. The BBC, suffering poor ratings, decided to make its own gameshow. Bill Cotton, the BBC's Head of Light Entertainment, believed that Bruce Forsyth was best for the job. For years, The Generation Game was one of the strong shows in the BBC's Saturday night line-up, and became the number one gameshow on British television during the 1970s, regularly gaining over 21 million viewers. However, things were about to change. LWT, desperate to end the BBC's long-running ratings success on a Saturday night, offered Forsyth a chance to change channel to host The Big Night.
Play Your Cards Right is a British television game show based on the American show known as Card Sharks. The gameplay was basically the same as in the American version.
You Bet! is 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 Matthew Kelly from 1991 to 1995 and finally by Darren Day from 1996 to 1997. It was replaced the following year by Don't Try This At Home!, which emulated the challenges of You Bet!, but were considerably more risky and dangerous.
The Price is Right in the UK was hosted by Leslie Crowther, Bob Warman, Bruce Forsyth, and Joe Pasquale. It ran discontinuously from 24 March 1984 to 7 April 1988, with a second run from 1989, a third run from 4 September 1995 to 16 December 2001 and a fourth run from 8 May 2006 until 12 January 2007.
Beginning in 1959 as Bruce's Show, mixing music, dancing and comedy in the time honoured tradition, this series focused on laughter, glamour and big name guests.
The Fiddley Foodle Bird was a British children's animated musical series written by Jonathan Hodge, and narrated by Bruce Forsyth. Thirteen episodes of the series were made in total, with one story continuing through the episodes. They were made in 1991 and broadcast in 1992 on BBC One at 4:15. It was produced by H.A.P.P.Y. Animation and Fiddley Foodle Bird Productions in association with HIT Entertainment and was broadcast in over 30 different countries worldwide. The show also continued airing on the BBC until 2001.
During World War II in London, an apprentice witch, three children, and an enchanted bedknob embark on a magical adventure to find the missing spell that could save England from invasion.
Didn't They Do Well is a short-lived BBC television quiz show presented by Bruce Forsyth that ran from 15 January to 18 March 2004. It consisted of archive television clips, many of which were from previous quiz show episodes, in which modern day contestants were shown a question and then asked to answer it. Its title was one of Forsyth's catchphrases when hosting The Generation Game in the 1970s and again in the 1990s.
Screened on ITV, Saturday nights throughout the autumn and winter of 1978. A total of 12 episodes were broadcast between 7 October and 31 December 1978, with an additional highlights show and a further one off special on 4 April 1980. Despite a huge budget and big name guest stars it was poorly received and was broadly unsuccessful, with Forsyth's former big hit The Generation Game (hosted then by Larry Grayson) winning higher audience figures.
Slinger's Day is a British sitcom that aired for two series from 1986 to 1987, made by Thames Television for the ITV network. It was a continuation of Tripper's Day, which had originally come to a natural end after Leonard Rossiter's death, and, despite the overwhelmingly negative response it had drawn from reviewers and a section of the viewing public, was revived this time with Bruce Forsyth as a different character to Rossiter but fulfilling the same role, that of the manager of a London supermarket with largely incompetent staff. Like Tripper's Day, it was created by Brian Cooke, however, in contrast to the previous series, Cooke only wrote two episodes of the twelve episodes, more than half of them being written by Vince Powell with others being written by Alex Shearer and Sorry! creators Ian Davidson and Peter Vincent, and one episode written by the prolific Andrew Marshall and David Renwick. Slinger's Day represented Forsyth's only ever situation comedy acting role, and he remained more associated with stand-up routines and gameshows.
Star! is a musical biopic that tells the story of a famous stage actress who rises to fame and battles personal and professional challenges. Set in the 1920s and 1930s in Manhattan, New York City, the film explores the actress's ambition, divorce, pregnancy, and struggles with alcoholism. It showcases her rise to stardom in the musical theater industry, her relationships with other performers, and her constant pursuit of fame.
Parkinson at 50 is a captivating documentary that delves deep into the fascinating life and illustrious career of Parkinson. With interviews, archival footage, and expert analysis, this film offers a comprehensive exploration of the man behind the legend. From his early beginnings to his rise to fame, Parkinson's journey is recounted with authenticity and admiration. Get ready to be immersed in a world of entertainment, emotion, and expertise as Parkinson's story unfolds before your eyes.
Michael Grade tells a tale of television skullduggery and dirty dealings in the battle to win the Saturday night ratings crown.
Bruce Forsyth's Hot Streak is an American television game show that aired on ABC from January 6 to April 4, 1986. British television personality Bruce Forsyth hosted the series, the only time he hosted a series outside of his native United Kingdom. Gene Wood was the original announcer, with the last several weeks of shows announced by Marc Summers, later of Double Dare fame. Reg Grundy Productions produced Bruce Forsyth's Hot Streak, which was the first network series the Grundy company produced for ABC; its first three daytime series had all aired on NBC.
Heironymus Merkin is an internationally successful singer approaching middle age who retells his life story in a series of production numbers on a seashore in front of his two toddlers and aged mother. Merkin's promiscuous relationships with women are explored, particularly Polyester Poontang and the adolescent Mercy Humppe. Merkin is constantly surrounded by a Satan-like procurer, Goodtime Eddie Filth, and an angelic 'Presence' who interrupts Merkin's biography with cryptic Borscht Belt-level jokes to denote births and deaths in Merkin's life. Newley periodically steps out of character to complain about his 'Merkin' role with an unseen director, two screenwriters, the film's producers and a trio of blasé movie critics who are turned off by the story's eroticism and lack of plot.
Bruce Forsyth entertains a VIP audience as he stars in a spectacular one-man show.
Kathy Kirby had everything: a remarkable voice, stunning looks, universal popularity and she was a major TV and recording star with her biggest hit Secret Love selling over 500,000 records. She was the highest paid British female singer of the swinging sixties with millions in the bank and demand from all over the world for her talents - but almost overnight it had all gone. She retired from show business in 1983 and now lives a reclusive Garboesque existence, but the interest in her has never dimmed. So what went wrong for Kathy Kirby? Find out the full and frank truth of her meteoric rise to stardom and her heart-rending fall from grace with the FIRST on camera interview with Kathy Kirby in over 25 years. Plus discover who Kathy s Secret Love really was, with contributions from Bruce Forsyth, Jess Conrad, Marc Almond, Vince Hill, Sandie Shaw and many more. .