The Price Is Right is a British game show based on the US version of the same name. It originally aired on ITV from 24 March 1984 to 8 April 1988 and was hosted by Leslie Crowther. The show later briefly moved to Sky One for one series as The New Price is Right from 4 September 1989 to 31 August 1990 with Bob Warman as the host.

The show returned to ITV, as Bruce's Price is Right, from 4 September 1995 to 16 December 2001, with Bruce Forsyth hosting for seven series consisting of 116 episodes. Another series aired from 8 May 2006 until 12 January 2007, this time hosted by Joe Pasquale. Two one-off specials aired as part of ITV's Gameshow Marathon in September 2005 and April 2007. On 30 December 2017, it was revived for a one-off pilot hosted by Alan Carr on Channel 4.

In June 2019, it was announced that The Price Is Right had been chosen as one of the country's five all-time favourite game shows to be "supersized and rebooted" in new series Alan Carr's Epic Gameshow commissioned by ITV. A seven-episode series was filmed at dock10 studios and broadcast in May 2020.^[4]

Crowther era (The Price is Right)

Logo from Leslie Crowther-era.

Leslie Crowther hosted the original UK version, having beaten Joe Brown to the role of host after both recorded pilot episodes. It was also notable for being produced by William G. Stewart (of later Fifteen to One fame), who made the occasional cameo appearance. The Crowther version is popular with fans of the show for its near-campiness, frenetic pace, glamour, and the endearing presentation skills of its host, not for its cheaper prizes (which were forced on it by the Independent Broadcasting Authority's prize limits). Its format was nearly identical to that of CBS's daytime show in the United States. It initially used the Big Wheel to decide who would go through to the Range Finder (Scoring 100 won £500 and a bonus spin which awarded an additional £1,000 for spinning 100 or £250 for landing on an adjacent section), but the IBA forced Central to abandon this because of the lack of pricing skill involved. While the show had to go off air for a while during its first season due to an electricians' strike, the format was adapted to fit into a much more tightly regulated UK broadcasting environment.

After this ruling was made, the show replaced the Big Wheel rounds with a game called "Supermarket", a game loosely based on the American version's "Grocery Game" pricing game. The three contestants were shown an assortment of small retail items, such as groceries or hardware, and had 15 seconds to select up to four apiece. Duplicates of each item were provided to allow multiple contestants to select the same one if desired; however, contestants could take no more than one of any item. The prices of the chosen items were revealed and added up, and the contestant who came the closest to £20 (high or low) advanced to the Showcase.

Series two saw the Big Wheel return for a spin-off to see who would have the option of bidding or passing on the first showcase; each contestant had to take two spins. If a person scored 100, £400 would be donated to charity on their behalf, and Leslie would ask the person a consumer-related question to win £100 for him/herself. The winner was the contestant who came closer to 100 in either direction.

The Crowther version later replaced Supermarket and the Big Wheel called with the "Showcase Showdown", where all six on-stage contestants played a series of estimated-guess questions and the person farthest away from the actual prize was eliminated. This was done until the last two contestants were left, and they then advanced to the Range Finder.

The final round, the Range Finder, was played largely the same way as on the Showcase finale on the American version. In the first season, the winner would not win the largest prize in their showcase if their winning guess was not within 10% of the showcase total. In subsequent seasons, the game was played with 1972–74 United States rules (no Double Showcase rule), while it did use the rule for a double overbid.

Warman era (The New Price is Right)

Logo from Bob Warman-era.

The second version hosted by Bob Warman is considered to be a precursor to the third version hosted by Bruce Forsyth, as it was a half-hour and used the Showcase range game. Having premiered shortly after Leslie Crowther's version went off the air, it retained many elements from the set and props, but was somewhat "Americanized". The show was hence called "The New Price is Right" and had a red, yellow and green pound sign. The Warman version also had slightly better and more expensive prizes than the Crowther version due to the program's shorter length, in-show sponsorship, and lighter government regulation of satellite television channels. The show also had a light border in the opening (mimicking the American version), used US music (including the opening theme, the Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour theme and Concentration car cues, to name a few), and had more colour on the set.

The Showcase round was played considerably differently: After three games and a single Showcase Showdown at the Big Wheel (in which spinning 100 earned a bonus spin worth a bonus prize), the Showdown winner selected a range at random from £250 to £1,000; if the bid was within the selected range of the price of the presented showcase without going over, they won the Showcase.

Forsyth era (Bruce's Price is Right)

Logo for the Bruce Forsyth-era.

When it started in 1995, Bruce's Price is Right was one of the first shows to fully take advantage of the Independent Television Commission's lifting of the prize limits and the general deregulation of the UK broadcasting environment. The Showcase Showdown was played on the Big Wheel (objections to lack of skill no longer being a factor), with the highest-scoring contestant on one spin or a combination of two spins going through to the Range Finder, and any contestant who scored 100 on one spin or a combination of two spins would win £1,000. The ranges for the Range Finder in this version went from £1,000 to £5,000. (Unlike the other three versions, this version did not involve any bonus spin.)

Although, it was only in a half-hour format with three pricing games per show (the Crowther show had been an hour long with six games), it still gave away more valuable prizes each week than the previous ITV version had done (for example, it was possible for a contestant to win two cars, one in a pricing game and one in the showcase, which would have been utterly unthinkable on British TV in the 1980s). Cars offered were usually superminis, from makers like Daihatsu and Daewoo, or models like a Ford Ka or Mazda Demio, but small sports cars like a Hyundai Accent or Vauxhall Tigra were offered on occasion.

On the Forsyth version, the game Plinko was played to very different rules from the US version; considerably less money could be won, and contestants could risk their cash winnings on one final Plinko chip in hopes of adding a car or other large prize to their winnings (the cash spaces on the board were replaced with alternating "WIN" and "LOSE" tags). Landing on "LOSE" would lose all the money accumulated, while landing on "WIN" won the car or other large prize plus the money. (Ant and Dec's Gameshow Marathon used these rules for their playing of Plinko, with an extra choice of a pound sign in addition to "WIN" and "LOSE", so that landing in the pound sign slot would double the winnings. Vernon Kay's extra chip, however, landed in a "WIN" slot.)

Many European versions of the show that debuted after the Forsyth version based their games and sound cues on that show. The main theme, an update of the US theme, and the "come on down" music are from the short-lived 1994 US syndicated version.

Forsyth initially opened this version with a modified version of his trademark line of "Nice to see you, to see you...NICE!" (where the audience yells the word "nice" at the end) adding "...and it's nice to meet the stars of our show, whoever you are!" In later series the original line was used, followed by "Let's meet the stars of our show, whoever you are!"

The Forsyth incarnation was a co-production between Yorkshire Television and Fremantle (UK) Productions (formerly Talbot Television), and not made by Central like its predecessor.^[5]

Ant and Dec's Gameshow Marathon (The Price is Right)

On 17 September 2005, as part of a celebration of the 50th birthday of ITV, Ant & Dec hosted a one-off revival of The Price is Right as part of Ant & Dec's Gameshow Marathon; they also hosted revivals of several other game shows that were once popular on the ITV network. The original titles were from the Central version, however the Yorkshire Television logo was used instead.

Pasquale era (The Price is Right)

Logo from Joe Pasquale-era.

Talkback Thames debuted a revival on ITV on 8 May 2006, this time with former I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! winner Joe Pasquale as host. It followed the same gameplay format as Bob Warman and Bruce Forsyth's versions, with Range Finder ranges going from £500 to £3000 (sometimes £4000), and the Showcase Showdown adapted the bonus spin from the Warman version, with a car at stake; later replaced by the £1000 bonus. It had a very "panto" feel to it, and it relies on nostalgia of the Crowther version, which was known for its cheap prizes because of the regulations of the time. Joe's tour manager, Ray Tizzard, made appearances as his "twin" in various pricing games.

The show expanded to an hour from 3 July 2006. This involved three games being played, a Showcase Showdown, three more games, another Showcase Showdown, and then, the winners from both showdowns take part in the 'Pasquale Finale', a spin-off on the wheel to see who will go through to the Range Finder. In addition, prior to this, the maximum range in the Range Finder increased to £4000, as the budget increased.

After the first three games and Showcase Showdown, Contestants' Row was cleared of people, and a new set of four contestants was called down. (This differs from the US version, which keeps all contestants in Contestants' Row who do not go on stage.)

In all versions of the programme, a perfect bid in Contestants' Row resulted in a £100 bonus in either cash or, in the Warman version, gift certificates.

Vernon Kay's Gameshow Marathon (The Price is Right)

After the success of Ant & Dec's Gameshow Marathon in 2005, ITV brought the show back, this time hosted by Vernon Kay, a contestant in the first series. Vernon Kay's Gameshow Marathon began on 7 April 2007 with The Price is Right.

Carr era (The Price is Right)

On 30 December 2017, the revival was a one-off pilot filmed at Dock10 studios that aired as a Christmas special on Channel 4 hosted by Alan Carr^[6][7] and was announced by Tony Hirst. According to a press release by FremantleMedia, Carr said "I'm so excited to be the new host of The Price is Right. It's proper bucket list territory for me as I loved it when I was growing up and now for me to be at the helm of such a legendary show is a dream come true. It just leaves me with one thing to say … COME ON DOWN!". Viewers had praised Carr's hosting ability^[8] as they took it to Twitter by demanding it to become a full series. However, it has been declined since then.

After five pricing games (Cliffhangers, Pay the Rent, Plinko, Bonkers and Clock Game), those five players spun the wheel with the Showcase Showdown winner going through to the Showcase Final which was played exactly the same way as on Bruce’s Price Is Right. Scoring exactly 100 on the wheel won £100. A tie would be broken via spin-off with no bonus for spinning 100.

Alan Carr's Epic Gameshow (The Price is Right)

On 30 May 2019, ITV ordered a series called Alan Carr's Epic Gameshow (also known as Epic Gameshow)^[9] hosted by Alan Carr and filmed at dock10 studios, who had previously hosted a reboot of The Price is Right on Channel 4 in 2017 where like Gameshow Marathon, it would see five classic game shows being supersized and brought back such as Play Your Cards Right, The Price is Right, Take Your Pick, Strike it Lucky and Bullseye. However, unlike GSM this would feature only civilian contestants hoping to win either a big cash reward or top of the range prizes instead of celebrities playing for their favourite charities along with a viewer at home (except the first episode which was Play Your Cards Right).

According to the press release, Carr said "It is such a privilege for me to be involved in these truly iconic shows that have brought so much joy to my childhood. A little bit nostalgia but a whole load of fun. Big shoes to fill I know, these shows should be back on telly for a whole new generation to sit down and enjoy with their family just like I did all those years ago!"

It was originally set to air in April 2020 but as of 15 May 2020, it has not aired. However, on 29 May 2020,^[10] it was later announced that it will start airing on 6 June 2020. Additionally, there were also announcements that a celebrity edition of Play Your Cards Right and another Christmas special of The Price is Right were also in the works. Just like the regular editions from the 80s, 90s and the early 2000s, the episode featured regular civilians as contestants with an exact bid in contestant's row earning that contestant £200. The five pricing games that were played in the episode were:

1. Cliffhangers
2. Hole in One
3. Any Number
4. Plinko
5. Push Over

(NOTE: In Cliffhangers, the face of the mountain climber is supposed to resemble its host Alan Carr, it also never revealed the actual price of the Popcorn Maker after the contestant's win when it was in fact £50)

Transmissions

References

External links

• The Price is Right (1984–1988) at IMDb .
• Bruce's Price is Right at IMDb .
• The Price is Right (2006–2007) at IMDb .
• The Price is Right (1984–1988) at BFI.
• Bruce's Price is Right at BFI.
• The Price is Right (2006–2007) at BFI.
• The Price is Right (2017) at Channel 4.
• The Price Is Right at UKGameshows.com.