Contestants, run away while you still can!
Welcome to WatchMojo UK today we’ll be counting down the top 10 most ridiculous British game
shows!
For this list, we’re focussing on the weirdest, most controversial or just plain pointless
British game shows to have ever been created.
And we're focussing on the standard game show format, which sees contestants compete for
a prize or title, over the course of one episode.
We're not including long-running reality shows, such as “Big Brother” or “The Jump”,
which play out over a number of weeks - that’s another list, for another time.
The premise of our opener is simple.
Contestants, usually minor celebrities, contort themselves through the eponymous hole in the
wall, in a bid to win money for charity.
Kind of like human Tetris.
If they fail, they get wet.
The idea was actually adapted from the Japanese game show “Brain Wall”.
Sure, we love celebs taking the mick out of themselves, but seriously.
Just give the money to charity and be done with it.
On the surface, this show actually comes across as quite sophisticated and edgy, but then
you start to dig a little deeper and realise that it’s just, well, terrible.
In essence, it’s a quiz show, but contestants are constantly asked to gamble their money;
they might hear the first half of a question, before betting that they know the answer,
for example.
The rules are a bit all over the place and the skill level is highly-questionable.
And then there’s presenter Robert Kilroy-Silk.
Who’s just a bit…
strange.
Ant and Dec can sell anything - case in point, “Red or Black?”.
A show centered on contestants being given a 50/50 chance, each round sees players pick
red or black, with each colour corresponding to an unknown outcome to some sort of elaborate
stunt.
So why is it on this list?
Well, because it’s a game of utter chance, kept afloat purely by its massive £15 million
budget.
It’s basically the most expensive coin toss ever!
Absolutely Anything can be turned into a game show.
Want proof?
“Tipping Point”.
Remember those 2p coin pusher games at the arcade - well, that’s the premise of this
show.
Contestants are asked general knowledge questions and when they answer correctly, they get the
opportunity to drop a giant coin in a slot - sorry, “a drop zone”- winning £50 quid
for each coin they successfully push off..
Will it be a slider, or maybe a rider?
Seriously, who cares?
We're skirting our criteria here, but the clue's in the title with this one.
"24 Hour Quiz" was a trivia game, only it was endless.
The show saw contestants live together in the famed 'quiz pod', competing for cash on
a daily basis.
With a revolving door of contestants - some of which got far too big for their boots - it
blurred the lines between game show and reality tv.
And judging by the low ratings, people didn’t really like that combo.
A load of balls filled with money, manipulative contestants and Jasper Carrott.
Boom, you’ve got yourself a game show.
“Golden Balls” was all about who could keep their poker face, who could negotiate
the best, and who could convince fellow contestants to believe them - even if they were lying.
The thing is, 90 per cent of the time, a backstabber won this show - and who wants that?
Try to be truthful, and you’ll probably just be crushed.
Seriously, the last ‘Split or Steal?’
round is absolutely brutal.
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The only unique bit about this show was the mascot, which as you’d probably guessed,
was a hare - a giant, robotic one to be exact.
A clear marketing ploy, the hare was a sort of referee, presiding over the assault course-like
games.
Set off an alarm clock or burst a balloon and the hare would scare - and you’d lose.
Think of it as “Operation” meets “The Krypton Factor”.
Actually, it blatantly ripped off those games.
Where to start with this one?
It saw contestants getting hypnotised before being asked to complete relatively simple
tasks.
However, this proved difficult as they'd usually been convinced that they were a hamster, or
a baby, or something else equally as ludicrous.
Think it’s fake?
Well, a lot of people did, and they also thought it wore thin very quickly.
The only highlight was that Phillip Schofield presented it.
No, this isn’t a game from a dystopian future, this is a 2003 show hosted by Jimmy Carr.
And it’s simple, answer questions whist being distracted.
Well, we say simple but the word “distraction” doesn't really do it justice.
Because some of the show’s diversions were actually quite painful and disturbing.
There was electrocution, a game of knuckles with a bouncer, being shot by paintballs and
a sack and wheelbarrow race with a naked old man.
At least Carr could see the funny side
To continue with the theme of nakedness, our top spot goes to something that could reasonably
be described as an x-rated version of “The Crystal Maze”.
Using a set based on the kids show “Jungle Run”, it was full-fronted by Keith Chegwin
and had its nudist contestants competing in jungle-themed challenges.
The show was a one-off, but it’s still a glorious example of terrible tv.
At least Cheggers left his hat on.