| Wheel of Fortune (UK) | |
|---|---|
 Wheel of Fortune (UK) logo (1995–1998) |
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| Format | Game Show |
| Created by | Merv Griffin |
| Presented by | Nicky Campbell (1988 - 1996) Bradley Walsh (1997) John Leslie (1998 - 2000) Paul Hendy (2001) |
| Starring | Angela Ekaette (1988) Carol Smillie (1989 - 1994) Jenny Powell (1995 - 2000) Tracy Shaw (2000) Terri Seymour (2001) |
| Narrated by | Steve Hamilton |
| Country of origin |  United Kingdom |
| No. of series | 13 |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | STV Productions |
| Running time | 30 minutes (including adverts) |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | ITV |
| Picture format | 4:3 (1988–2000) 16:9 (2000–2001) |
| Original run | 19 July 1988 – 21 December 2001 |
Wheel of Fortune is a British television game show which ran from 19 July 1988 to 21 December 2001, produced by Scottish Television for the ITV network. It was hosted by Nicky Campbell, Bradley Walsh, John Leslie and Paul Hendy. Co-hosts were Angela Ekaette, Carol Smillie, Jenny Powell and Terri Seymour. Steve Hamilton was the announcer.
Format
Unlike the American version where the numbers on the wheel correspond to the amount of money won by each contestant, the British version instead referred to these amounts as 'points' – they had no cash value, their only purpose was to determine the grand finalist, or to choose a winner for a particular round.
The way scores were kept was very unusual. In the current American version, only the player who solves the puzzle is able to keep his or her cash and/or prizes from the round, and the winnings are safe from Bankrupts in future rounds. In the UK version, all three players were able to keep the amount of points they gained during the round regardless of who solved the puzzle (all three players' points were also kept safe from Bankrupts in future rounds). That meant even if a player didn't solve any puzzles but racked up a huge amount of points, he or she could still be eligible to play in the grand finale; contestants who won by such a case were given a choice of prizes so that they would not go home empty-handed in case they did not win the bonus game.
Like the original American version instead of cash prizes, successful spinners were rewarded with household appliances and objects such as microwaves, dishwashers and sets of luggage, chosen from an array laid out in the studio. There were up to three chances for players to win cash; two in the main game, and one in the grand finale.
In the grand finale, just like in America, the contestant could pick from envelopes, but there were only three ("A", "B", or "C"), later reduced to two ("A" or "B"). During the early years, the prizes were a trip, £5,000, and a new car. Starting with Bradley Walsh's run, the prizes became the car and £20,000. In the final season with Paul Hendy, the cash prize was dropped to £2,000. As with most international versions of Wheel, rather than being given "RSTLNE", the contestant picked five consonants and a vowel. As in America, though, the contestant had 15 seconds to solve the puzzle to win the prize.
The top point space was 1,000. There is one 1,000-point space in round 1. One more is added in round 2, along with a second Bankrupt. One more 1000-point space is added in round 3. Also, values were doubled beginning from round 3 onward. One puzzle would contain a red letter that would net players £100 if they solved the puzzle immediately after finding the letter. Players could also win £100 by correctly solving a "puzzler". Unlike the board used on the American version at that time, the United Kingdom version's puzzle board was not electronic, so the regular puzzle would be placed at the top portion of the board while the puzzler would fill any unused lines below. The puzzle board's shape was the same as the American board. Also, the puzzle board had a blue background on it (whereas the background on the American puzzle board is green).
Transmissions
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External links
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This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
