ABOUT FACES TO BUSMAN'S HOLIDAY @ Memorable TV's Guide to Talk Shows

An indepth guide to pretty much every Quiz and Game Show ever seen on TV, all entries include cast and crew details as well as running times, plot details, when it was on, what it was about and more besides. Simply click on the links below to access the information.

1 - ABOUT FACES to BUSMAN'S HOLIDAY
Quiz & Game Shows | Next

Gameshow hosted by Ben Alexander that was actually about four shows in one, the first segment saw celebrities trying to identify a face from their past then a special mystery guest in the audience before going through a This Is Your Life type part. A later addition saw three members of the public trying to guess a celebrity face hidden inside a jigsaw puzzle.

A magic based game show hosted by Roy Ward Dickson, his assistant in season one was Shirley Ward Dickson and in season two Gaynor Jones. Prize money of 125 pounds could be won.

Game show. Crossword style puzzle had to be solved by a pair of contestants using both questions and cartoons as clues.
Hosted by Ted Brown.

A live early improv show that was hosted by Peter Donald, the most regular performers were Charles Mendick, Patricia Hosley, Joe Silver, Jack Lemmon, Cynthia Stone and Earl Hammond.

Science fiction style game show in which a trio of celebrities visited the planet Argond, taking part in a series of challenging games such as the dreaded vortex (a giant light floor they had to cross or face being vaporised if they failed), other sections included the Drogna game (an anagram of the word Dragon as were all the names used on the show. The series was heavily influenced by the popularity of Dungeons and Dragons. The residents of the planet were Darong (played by Moira Stuart ), Gnoard (Charmain Gradwell), Dorgan (Sarah Lam), Gandor the Butler (Chris Lever), Rongad (Dagnor) (Bill Homeward). Celebrities taking part included Liza Goddard, James Burke, Derek Griffiths, Madeline Smith, David Yip, Nerys Hughes, Graeme Garden, Paul Darrow, Janet Ellis, Noel Edmonds and Fern Britton.

Game show featuring a pair of celebrities trying to guess the outcome of various film clips they were shown. Hosted by Richard Hayes.

A show in which viewers were asked questions on a different theme each week tying in with various gallup polls. Presented by Barry Westwood.

Sunday afternoon quiz show hosted by David Hamilton and featuring two couples trying to gain control of a giant computer screen that would then allow then to try and guess what sentence was being spelled out on the screen, for instance, they would answer a general knowledge question, then move to the screen which featured the alphabet in giant numbers below it, they would then choose a letter which would be revealed (or not) on the screen, for every letter they won ten pounds. The winning couple at first had the chance to compete in a final against the clock round to win 1000 pounds which they could then decide to keep half of and come back the following week to try and win 3000 pounds. Later series did away with the second appearance.

A kind of sub superstars sporting series pitting members of various football teams against each other in general fitness type rounds, presented by Dickie Davies and Brian Moore.

Quiz show in which two teams (one a bunch of sixth form students the other a bunch of adults all in the same job) compete in various brain teasing rounds. Hosted by Alison Holloway.

Daytime game show based around shopping and advertising, hosted by Paul Ross. The show is on BBC and contains more product mentions than an hours worth of adverts on a commercial channel.

Minor celebs in a show hosted by Michael Parkinson and which called upon them to reveal a (none too) secret from their pasts. The guests were of the calibre of Christopher Biggins, Pat Coombs etc.

USA / ABC / x60m-e / 1975-76 (31 July 75 - 10 April 76 / Thursdays 8.00pm then Saturdays 9.00pm)

A game style show with a format very similar to It's A Knockout featuring teams from different towns competing in wacky outdoor rounds against the clock. Presenters were Dick Whittington (1975) and Regis Philbin (1976). Commentators were Lynn Shackleford and Charlie Jones. There was also briefly a kids version called Junior Almost Anything Goes and a celebrity version was syndicated during 1977 (hosted by Bill Boggs).

A frantic runaround game show based on the UK-French show It's A Knockout with two teams competing in various challenges most of which seemed to involve water. The show later returned as It's A Knockout. With Tim Evans, Brendan Edwards, Sean Kramer and Ron Barassi as the referee.

Celebrity panel show hosted by Andrew O'Connor featuring two teams of three celebs going through the alphabet to come up with funny stuff based on such questions as "Things You Do at Night" - the team would then have to try and go through the alphabet on that subject. Celebs included the likes of Rick Wakeman, Alain Stewart, Sian Loyd, Michela Strachan, Bill Tidy, Steve Punt, etc.

THE AMATEURS GUIDE TO LOVE

USA / CBS / x30m-e / March 27, 1972-June 23, 1972
Mon-Fri. 4-4:30 p.m.

This short-lived game show had a celebrity trio ("The Guidebook Experts") give their opinions on the wisest way to handle a
Candid Camera-type film segment involving other celebrities and unwitting participants in an situation with amorous implications. Contestants seen in the segments won prizes if the panel, which did not see the end of each film, correctly
predicted how they had reacted. The show first aired in a somewhat different format as a CBS nighttime special on
August 8, 1971, titled An Amateur's Guide to Love, and hosted by Joe Flynn. Hosted by Gene Rayburn.

Reality game show that sees 11 teams of players face a worldwide journey that will award the team that reaches the final destination first with a cool $1 million. The 11 teams (who came from all over the states) in the first run were:- Fraternity brothers Andrew (35, court officer, Staten Island, N.Y.) and Kevin (34, litigation officer, Bayonne, N.J.) / -Friends Brenda (41, children's fitness instructor, Landenberg, PA) and Patricia (42, researcher/bartender, Elkton, MD) / -Best friends Brennan (29, lawyer, Rochester, N.Y.) and Rob (27, lawyer, Minneapolis, MN): currently living in Los Angeles / -Married couple David (64, retired Air Force pilot) and Margaretta (58, newspaper reporter/blackjack dealer, Rockwall, TX) / -Separated parents Frank (30, corporate trainer) and Margarita (28, educational technology sales, both from Sunnyside, N.Y.) / -Life partners Joseph (50, self-employed) and Bill (47, realtor, Laguna Niguel, CA) / -Best friends and single teachers Kimberly (28) and Leslie (27, both from Baytown, TX) / -Dating couple Leonard (33, video technician, Brooklyn, N.Y.) and Karyn (29, lawyer, East Orange, N.J.) / -Married couple Matthew (28, irrigation technician) and Ana (28, office manager, both from Simsbury, Conn.) / -Mother/Daughter Nancy (46, homemaker) and Emily (21, student, Waco, TX) / -Engaged couple Paul (32, personal trainer, N.Y.) and Amie (27, receptionist, Atco, N.J.): currently living in Los Angeles.

A very early quiz show using as its basis happenings from America's past. Prize was a set of encyclopedias. Hosts were John Mason Brown (147-48) and Ben Grainer (1948-49).

Game show in which 'contenders' took on the 'Gladiators' in a series of tough contests with titles like Powerball, Atlasphere, The Wall and Hang Tough (with the end game being The Eliminator - a kind of assault course). See also the UK version called simply Gladiators. Hosts were Mike Adamle, Joe Theisman (1989), Todd Christensen (1989-90), Larry Czonka (1990-93), Lisa Malosky (1993-95 and Dan Clark (1995-97). The Gladiators included Laser (Jim Starr), Sabre (Lynn Williams), Titan (David Nelson), Nito (Dan Clark), Hawk (Lee Peherman), Blaze (Sha-ri Pendleton), Gold (Tonya Knight), Ice (Lori Fetrick), Storm (Debbie Clark), Sky (Shirley Eson), Siren (Shelley Beattie) and Lace (Martin Pare).

A quiz show hosted by Nigel Rees and focusing on Natural History. The show featured two teams of two doing battle in various question based rounds travelling along a board trying to evolve from a primeval state to a more recognisable being.

Children's general knowledge quiz show in which the star prize was a trip to Disneyland. Hosted by Digby Richards and Little Patti.

A sort of animal based panel game show hosted by Alan Thicke in which the celebrity panel tried to guess the answers to various animal based queries (like what kind of noise does a giraffe make etc). Initially shown primetime Saturday evening at 8.00pm before moving in late 87 to a Saturday Morning time slot.

Fortnightly panel game show. A team of experts look at unusual objects and try to explain how they came into being. Chairman was Glyn Daniel. Lionel Hale hosted the pilot edition.

USA / NBC / x30m-e / 1950 (30 April - 23 July / Sundays 10.30pm) black and white

Comedy themed celebrity panel game show presented by Moss Hart. Arlene Francis was a regular on the panel.

UK / ITV1 / 6x60m / started 8 June 2002

A mixture of light entertainment and quiz show. The prizes that can be won are products advertised in a randomly selected advert break from a programme broadcast in the preceding week. Presented By Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly.

USA / ABC / x30m-e / 1958 (6 July - 8 December / Sundays 8.30pm then Mondays 9.30pm) black and white

General knowledge quiz hosted by George Fenneman (with later assistance from Judy Bamber) with four contestants (later two) competing for both money and star prizes. In an early example of interactive TV, watching viewers could try and win $10,000 by trying to guess the contestants ages.

USA / CBS / x30m-e / 1953 (14 July - 1 September / Tuesdays 9.00pm) black and white

Celebrity quiz show hosted by Al Capp with a panel of four celebs answering general knowledge style questions. The audience in the studio betted on which celebrity would win (gaining cash prizes as a result).

A hidden camera game show hosted by Andrew O'Connor with the two contestants having to bet on the outcome of various outlandish, hidden camera filmed inserts (these involved actors approaching members of the public and asking them to do something strange).

It's A Knockout style game show featuring plenty of silly challenges, set in a circus Big Top and in two parts with the first section being normal fare but with the second part being all water based challenges with the big top floor being filled with water. Hosted by Keith Chegwin.

Cooking game show in which celebrity chef Brian Turner challenges a cook from amongst the viewers to a "duel" in which they both cooked a dish using the same ingredients.

Quiz show hosted by Art Ford which had a celebrity panel of disc jockeys attempting to 'name that tune' as it were. Star Prize for the winning disc jockey was a 'Disc Jockey Oscar'.

A kind of quiz show hosted by Art Linkletter that saw the studio audience (and guests) trying to guess whether people (in filmed segments) would do as they were asked generally involved them making fools of themselves). Linklatter was joined on most of the shows by Carl Reiner and Jayne Meadows.

Quiz show (broadcast live) with a sporting theme with a panel trying to guess the identity of a well known sports person from an unusual photograph. Hosts were (briefly for July) Bill Stern and then Frank Fisch.

USA / NBC / x30m-e / 1952 (3 July - 25 September / Thursday 10.30pm) black and white

Panel based quiz show which saw the sports celebrities (four of them) trying to discover which famous sportsman or woman was hiding behind a see through curtain. Hosted by Joe Boland, regulars on the panel included Johnny Lujack, Warren Brown, Kay Westfall and Tom Duggan.

A general knowledge quiz hosted by Franklin Engelmann and featuring a regular team which included Olive Stephens, Edward Moult, Reginald Webster, these were known as The Residents and each week they took on a different group known as The Challengers.

Family quiz show hosted by Robert Robinson. Two teams (Families of Four/Mother, Father, two kids) did battle against each other in a series of brain teasing rounds. Revived 1999 with Alan Titchmarsh hosting (initially on satellite channel UK Gold then BBC). A 2005 revival saw the show being hosted by anarchic kids presenters Dick and Dom, seen on BBC2 the show premiered 4 April 2005 and the producer was Mirella Breda

Game show with a celebrity panel trying to guess the job of a member of the public in a What's My Line kind of way. Hosted by John Junkin.

USA / CBS / x30m-e / 1952-53 (18 October 52 - 2 May 53 / Saturday 10.00pm) black and white

Strange quiz show that featured people who had fallen into debt. Host Bert Perks got the contestants to tell what had caused their dire straits and then asked questions with cash prizes on offer.

Quiz show in which the contestants (pulled out of the studio audience) had to answer questions about well known films, clips of which they were shown, seen first on CBS with Jack Parr as host and then on NBC with Bill Cullen.

UK / Channel 4 / x30 / 2000-

Spoof Japanese game show where viewers can bet on the outcome of silly situations.

Docusoap in the mould of Big Brother initially popular but with two seasons a year and six shows per week a certain amount of overkill developed. Winner of the final season was Daniel Hansen. The show was at first set in the heart of Stockholm but was later moved to Alby, a suburb with a bad reputation, 30 minutes from Stockholm by subway.

BBC1 / x30m / 2000 (prime-time version started 22 August 2002)

Two teams of two visit an antiques fair with a budget of £500 looking for items that they think will turn a profit in auction. They have the help of experts to advise them. At the end of the show their purchases are entered into a real auction and the team that makes the highest aggregate profit (or least loss) wins. Presented by David Dickinson. This was previously a lunch-time show which received sufficient attention for it to be given a prime-time slot.

A talent come game show featuring two teams of performers doing battle against each others in a bid to be voted audience favourites. The twist was that one team was over 35 the other under it. Hosts were firstly John Reed King and then Morey Amsterdam.

Bizarre quiz show in which contestants stood the chance to win a new car or have their own car crushed. Presented by a manic (as usual) Freddie Starr and also with Melinda Messenger.

UK / BBC1 / 6x30m / started 13 November 2002

Three contestants put forward their ingenious inventions and ideas and the public vote on which they like the best. The winner receives help in getting their idea manufactured and marketed. Made by the Tomorrows World team. Presented by Katie Hill and Rowland Rivlon

Intriguing panel based quiz show featuring various 'psychic' types (astrologer, clairvoyant etc) trying to guess the identities of mystery guest using various things pertinent to their trade (for example the astrologer getting the birth time and date detailds etc). The series also took in other aspects of the paranormal via short films. During its first season was shown prime time then later in an every weekday 4.00pm afternoon slot (for the 1980 season). Host was Bill Guest. Regular panellists included clairvoyant Irene Hughes, astrologer Geoff Gray-Cobb, palmist Marcel Broekman and graphologist Marilyn Rossner. Paul Soles took over as host for the final season.

Auction based game show hosted by Bert Parks which saw the contestants start with $10,000 to bid for various objects which would lead them to clues to the identity of various objects. Star prize was big and along the lines of a car or a holiday.

Snooker based quiz show in which three snooker professionals help three members of the public try to win cash and gifts. Hosted by Jim Davidson with help from snooker player John Virgo. Occasionally the show presents younger players in a show subtitled Big Break: Stars of the Future (played to the same rules).

Special:- BIG BREAK SNOOKER SCRAPBOOK / 3 Jan 2000 1x30m-e Monday 5.30pm ( A look back at some of the shows memorable moments).

Game show with voyeuristic tendencies in which ten people were locked in a house doing everyday things. Each week the viewing audience voted to get rid of one of the ten until one remained - that person then winning a cash prize. The contestants in the first run, who included Tara, Bart Spring in't Veld (who won) and Sabine Wendell immediately became media darlings after sleeping together on the show. The different versions around the world include:-

USA:- Shown on CBS, hosted by Joan Chen and with a $500,000 prize. Winner of series one was:- Eddie McGee. There was a bit of scandal in season two when one of the inmates Justin held a knife to the throat of one of the other contestants.

Germany:- Shown on RTL and presented by Sophie Rosenstreter most high profile name on the show became Zlatko Trpkovski who made himself a career on the back of the show despite being voted out after the first week.

Spain:- Called El Gran Hermano, made by Antenna 3-Endemol most popular couple were Israel Pita and Silvia Casado who had a romance.

Switzerland:- The ten were Stefan, Janine, Daniela, Tanisha, Miguel, Olivier, Evelyn, Nadim, Remo and Conny.

UK:- Shown on Channel Four (A Bazal production), hosted by Davina McCall and with a £70,000 prize. Executive Producer: Ruth Wrigley. The first 10 UK contestants were:- ANDREW (23) / CRAIG (28) / DARREN (22) / NICHOLAS (32) / THOMAS (30) / ANNA (29) / CAROLINE (37) / MELANIE (26) / NICHOLAS (28) / SADA (27) / CLAIRE STRUTTON was brought in on August 20 to replace the ousted Nick (see below). The outs list for the UK version is:- First Out: Sada Washington (28 July 2000) / 2. Andy Davidson (4 August 2000) / 3. Caroline O'Shea (11 August 2000) / 4. Nick Bateman (Evicted on 17 August 2000 because of his constant flouting of the rules - Bateman had quickly become the main focus for media attacks since the start of the show as the viewers at home could see what he was up to but the rest of the 'inmates' unable to). 5. Nichola Holt (18 August 2000) / 6.Thomas McDermott (25 August 2000) / 7. Claire Strutton (1 September 2000) / 8. Melanie Hill (8 September 2000) / Of the three contestants remaining for the final day of 15 September 2000 Darren Ramsey was evicted on the 8.30pm show leaving Anna Nolan and Craig to fight it out with Craig Phillips emerging victorious. On Saturday 23 December 2000 9.05pm - 3.05am a 6 hour special was broadcast looking back at the series and also looking at what has happened to the contestants since the show finished. On Friday 9 March 2001 a week long celebrity edition in aid of Comic Relief began. The six 'celebs' involved were Jack Dee, Chris Eubank, Keith Duffy, Vanessa Feltz, Claire Sweeney and Anthea Turner. Winner was Jack Dee. The second UK series commenced on 26 May 2001 and was won by Brian Dowling. Series 3 began on 24 May 2002 still presented by Davina McCall. The contestants (in the order of eviction) were: Lynne, Sunita, Allison,, Sandy, Lee, Spencer, Sophie, Adele, PJ, Tim, Jade, Alex, Johnny - and the winner was Kate Lawler, the first female winner. Sunita and Sandy both quit voluntarily due to boredom and were not actually evicted (Sandy actually escaped by climbing over the roof) - their replacements were Sophie and Tim. The final was on 26 July 2002 and gave C4 it's biggest ever audience since it’s opening night in 1982.
The fourth series started 23 May 2003 and ended 26 July 2003. The housemates (in no particular order) were:- Anouska, Justine, Sissy,, Federico, Jon, Ray, Scott, Nush, Tania, Cameron, Gos, Steph, Lisa. The winner was Cameron Stout. This series featured a temporary housemate swap with Big Brother South Africa in which Cameron participated. Also the first evictee Anouska went on to join the housemates of Big Brother in Australia.

Australia - Shown on the Ten Network and hosted by Gretel Killeen. This series featured twelve contestants.

Other countries showing Big Brother include Denmark, Norway (Alice Cooper visted the Norwegian house in 2002 and one couple even got married on the show and they later had a child together (after they came out of the house) and Sweden (In Sweden you can be voted back into the house and the show is broadcast on cable).

Panel show in which six celebrities help two contestants win prizes by matching the missing word in a given sentence. Hosted by Terry Wogan, Les Dawson and from 1998 Lily Savage. Losers won the prize of a Blankety Blank Chequebook and pen statuette whilst the winners could choose from such prizes as a hostess trolley or some other exciting prize. From Sunday 7 January 2001 (at 7.00pm ) the show switched to the ITV network and was retitled Lily Savage’s Blankety Blank.

Quiz show hosted by Graham Kennedy in which two contestants try to find the missing word in a given sentence, 6 celebrities were on hand to help or hinder as the case may be. Regular panelists included Stuart Wagstaff, Noeline Brown, Carol Raye, Ugly Dave Gray, Noel Ferrier, and Barry Creyton. The show had a high innuendo count thanks to the blanks being in just the right place in most of the sentences. The show has had two revivals. 1985 with Daryl Somers; 1996-97 with Shane Bourne. Regulars on this series included Rhonda Burchmore, Marty Field and Annie Rigby. One new segment was The 'Dob in a Mate' part which saw Steven Jacobs take to the street to surprise somebody with the chance to win $1,000.

TV Dating game show mainly used by its contestants for blatant self promotion and free holidays. Hosted by Cilla Black. Amazingly three couples who met on the show have actually got married, at the first of these Cilla wore an outlandish hat and has never been allowed to live it down. Australian version aired 1991 on Ten Network hosted by Greg Evans.

Tea time general knowledge quiz show aimed at young adults. Based on the old adage that two heads are better than one. Hosted by Bob Holness. 1997 saw a BBC2 afternoon revival for an older age group presented by Michael Aspel. The show has also appeared on Sky One and the Family Channel on satellite. An American version has been seen on NBC hosted by Bill Rafferty and an Australian version was seen on the 9 Network from 1991-94 and hosted by Michael Pope.

Producers: Riff Morkowitz, Jack Budgell. Quiz show in the style of Call My Bluff. This featured comedians lying to each other and trying to guess who was actually telling the truth. Hosted by Mike Darrow.

Bingo based quiz show hosted by Bob Monkhouse in which the contestants were arranged in a bit of a celebrity squares type arrangement and answered questions which marked off umbers on their electronic bingo card. Star prize was a holiday.

Game show. A show in which newly weds competed in various, it has to be said, stupid, rounds whilst still dressed in their wedding outfits. Hosted by Bob Monkhouse.

Producers: Giles Pilbrow, Colin Swash

Contestants answer news question for the chance of winning a dream holiday - or the booby prize of a trip to Bognor Regis. Presented by Angus Deayton

Executive Producers: Seamus Cassidy, Chris Evans / Series Producer: Rob Clark

Live Saturday night battle of the sexes gameshow. 100 boys and 100 girls compete until one winner is found - the winner chooses a partner from the competing side and together they must spend £100,000. The following Friday an update show reveals what they have bought and the voting public decide whether they should be allowed to keep the goods. Presented by Vernon Kay.

Intellectual short lived quiz based on a popular radio version. A kind of precursor to Mastermind.

A popular radio show transferred to TV in which a panel of supposedly clever celebrities answered questions off the cuff.

Lighthearted comedy game show hosted by Graham Norton who (after graduating to his own Channel Four chat show) was replaced for the season starting 5 January 2000 by Sean Cullen.

UK / ITV1 / 6x60m-e / started 2 January 2002
Producers: Jane O’Brien, Martin Scott

12 people with the same profession pit their wits against each other in a general knowledge quiz involving skill and tactics. Format follows a successful one-off quiz in 2001 called BRITAIN’S BRAINIEST KIDS

Producer: Robert Gray / Executive Producer: Sue Andrew

Nightly instalments take 5 men and 5 women from different professions and ask the viewers to decide which is the sexiest male and female. The two winners from each night went into the grand final on 1st September. Profession categories were:- Fitness Instuctors, Teachers, Airline Crew, Builders, Doctors & Nurses, Firefighters.

Presented by:- MICHAEL GRECO and KERRY MCFADDEN

Game show presented by John Burgens in which the contestants compete on the buzzer in a series of rounds in which they have to try and guess what bizarre animated puzzles mean, winning money and prizes along the way. See also the UK original just called Catchphrase.

Quiz show with a 24 carat gold bar on offer as a prize, the bar was worth twenty grand and the quiz featured 12 contestants engaged in knockout rounds. Hosted by Trey Farley.

Darts and general knowledge based quiz show hosted by the "super, smashing, great" Jim Bowen assisted by Tony Green (a well known scorer on the Darts scene). Losers were given a 'bendy bully' as a consolation prize and the contestants, who were mainly working class often stood to win star prizes like a really useful speedboat.

Celebrity Special:- 28 December 1986 Sunday 4.45pm / Producer: Bob Cousins / Guests:- Ray Alan, Frank Carson, Sarah Greene, Fatima Whitbread, plus darts players Eric Bristow and John Lowe.

The new big brother style game show this had a group of people travelling around in a bus and each week someone being forced to get off. Presenter was Ines Ballestar.

Quiz. Three teams of three from differing professions compete in various ' work' related question rounds to try and win the busman's holiday (usually somewhere far flung) of the title. Presenters were Julian Pettifer and then Sarah Kennedy.

Celebrity Special:- 12 January 1991 Wednesday 7.00pm / Three celebrity teams:- 1. Michael Elphick, Don Henderson, Jill Gascoine / 2. Dickie Bird, Tessa Sanderson, John McCrirrick / 3. Mouche Phillips, Adam Willits, Greg Benson (all from Australian soap Home and Away).