PokerFace
GenreGame show
Created byAnt & Dec
Presented by
Narrated byTim Caple
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series2
No. of episodes14
Production
Running time60 minutes (inc. adverts)
Production companyTalkback Thames in association with Gallowgate
Original release
NetworkITV
Release10 July 2006 (2006-07-10) –
3 March 2007 (2007-03-03)

PokerFace (also known as Ant & Dec's PokerFace) is a British game show broadcast on ITV, where one person is guaranteed to win £1 million. The show was created by Ant & Dec, who also host it. As implied by the title, PokerFace, is based on the bluffing aspect of poker games. The contestants do not necessarily need to get the questions right in order to win, and can bluff their way through the game and pressure their opponents into folding in order to win.[1][2]

The show was originally going to be called The Con Test,[3] but the name was changed just weeks before the show began.[4] However, the Australian version is called The Con Test. Series 1 of the show was aired nightly for seven consecutive days (the seventh show being the final), whilst series 2 saw the show moved to a Saturday prime-time slot, lasted for seven weeks.

In 2021, Ant & Dec revealed that TV bosses were interested in reviving PokerFace, but that they themselves were unlikely to present it.[5]

Background

The format of PokerFace was created by Ant & Dec. Originally called The Con Test, the show was announced in March 2006.[6] "We came up with the idea about two years ago and tried it out on our friends - we played it out in a room upstairs at our local pub," Dec said. "It's an exciting game. You don't need great general knowledge, but you need the intelligence to convince the other contestants you know the answers." Ant said: "I don't play poker but I've always liked the idea of bluffing your opponents. This game is all about cunning and being able to hold your nerve."[7]

Paul Jackson, director of entertainment and comedy for ITV, said: "We're delighted to be working with Ant and Dec on this promising new format - but I'm sure the boys won't mind me saying that the real stars of this show are the contestants who have got to be consummate performers if they want to win the million."[7]

Format

RoundQuestionsValue
Preliminary Final
1 8 £500
(£4,000)		 £1,000
(£8,000)
2 5 £750
(£3,750)		 £1,500
(£7,500)
3 £1,000
(£5,000)		 £2,000
(£10,000)
4 £1,250
(£6,250)		 £2,500
(£12,500)
5 £1,500
(£7,500)		 £3,000
(£15,000)
Maximum total £26,500 £53,000

On each of the first six episodes within a series, six contestants compete for a prize of £50,000 and a place in the £1 million final seventh episode.

Each episode begins with "The Grilling," a segment recorded one day earlier, in which the contestants are brought together to introduce and talk about themselves. They may tell the truth or lie as they see fit, with on-screen prompts indicating honesty or deception for the home viewers' benefit, and clips of their reactions to one another's claims (recorded after the Grilling is complete) are interspersed throughout the segment. The contestants then enter the studio and sit in front of separate screens, each of which displays only that person's score.

The first round consists of eight multiple-choice questions with three answer options each. Contestants have three seconds to lock in their responses, starting after the question and choices have been read, and receive £500 per correct answer. On-screen prompts and a leaderboard are used to show the contestants' performance to the viewers, and at the end of the round, Ant & Dec ask each person how they think they did. As in the Grilling, contestants may tell the truth or bluff at their discretion. All six contestants then stand at a line of podiums, each of which holds a red button, and a slow countdown from 10 begins. The first contestant to push their button (if any) leaves the game or "folds" and keeps all of their winnings; however, if no one does so, the contestant with the lowest total is eliminated and forfeits their money. In the event of a tie for last place, the contestant who answered the round's questions in the slower total time is eliminated. In either case, the departing contestant is briefly interviewed and shown the leaderboard in private. This element would later be used on another game show, Awake, albeit with different rules.

Four more rounds are played in this fashion, each with five questions and a value that increases by £250 per round. After the fifth round, the last player still in the game has their winnings increased to £50,000.

The six winners return for the final, but must put their £50,000 prizes at risk. All question values are doubled (£1,000 in the first round, increasing by £500 per round thereafter). Any contestants who fold keep both their £50,000 and any money they have earned in the final, but eliminated last-place contestants forfeit all of their winnings. The last remaining player has their winnings increased to £1 million. During the final of the second series, the fifth-round countdown started from 15 rather than 10.

For contestants who did not win a game, the maximum potential winnings total was £26,500 in the preliminary episodes. For those who won a game but did not win the final, the maximum total was £53,000 in addition to the £50,000 already won in the preliminaries.

International versions

  •   Currently airing
  •   No longer aired
  •   Non-broadcast pilot
CountryNameHost(s)TV stationDate airedRegular top prizeGrand final top prize
 Australia The Con Test Andrew G
Brigitte Duclos		 Network Ten 7 February 2007 – 11 April 2007 A$50,000 none
 Brazil O Jogador Ana Hickmann
Britto Junior		 Rede Record 23 October 2007 – 23 August 2008 R$50,000 none
 China 王牌碟中谍
Wangpai die zhong die		 Shen Tao
Hua Shao		 ZJTV 2012–2014 CN¥26,500 CN¥38,250 and
a free trip to Antarctica (2013)
or a car (2014)
 Colombia El Jugador Andrea Serna
Claudia Bahamón		 RCN 2007 CO$200,000,000 none
 Hungary PókerArc István Vágó
Balázs Sebestyén		 RTL Klub 5 November 2007 – 21 December 2008 2,000,000 Ft
7,000,000 Ft		 20,000,000 Ft
50,000,000 Ft
 India PokerFace: Dil Sachcha Chehra Jhootha Sharman Joshi Real TV 2 March 2009 – 8 March 2009 none Rs. 10,000,000
 Mexico Doble Cara Rodrigo Murray Azteca Trece 26 May 2007 – 7 July 2013 MX$100,000 none
 Norway PokerFjes Øyvind Fjeldheim
Cathrine Riis Lilleaas		 TV2 2007 KR100,000 KR1,000,000
 Poland Wielki Poker Cezary Kosiński
Paweł Burczyk		 TVP2 2007 50,000 zł 250,000 zł
 Portugal Jogo Duplo José Carlos Malato
Ana Galvão		 RTP1 25 August 2008 – 28 March 2010 €10,000 €50,000
 Slovakia Veľký hráč Peter Kočiš
Ján Dubnička		 TV JOJ 17 September 2006 – 24 June 2007 none 1,000,000 Sk
 Sweden PokerFejs Gry Forssell
Adam Alsing		 TV4 2007 KR200,000 KR1,000,000
 United Kingdom
 Ireland		 PokerFace
(original version)		 Ant & Dec ITV
TV3		 10 July 2006 – 3 March 2007 £50,000 £1,000,000
 United States PokerFace ABC 2007
(Canceled during development)		 — $1,000,000
 Vietnam Đấu trí[8] Nguyễn Tùng Chi
Lại Văn Sâm		 VTV3 29 October 2007 – 5 September 2008 15,000,000₫ 30,000,000₫ (semi-final)
60,000,000₫ (final)

References

  1. ↑ Rae, Helen (7 February 2007). "Pensioner's poker face wins her thousands". ChronicleLive. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
  2. ↑ "Pokerface wins Amy a cool £66K in TV quiz". Manchester Evening News. 13 August 2007. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
  3. ↑ Dowell, Ben (23 March 2006). "Ant and Dec strike gameshow gold". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
  4. ↑ "US deal agreed for Ant & Dec's 'Con Test'". Digital Spy. 2 June 2006. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
  5. ↑ "Ant and Dec say TV Bosses want to revive PokerFace". www.femalefirst.co.uk. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
  6. ↑ Lepper, Joe (24 March 2006). "Ant and Dec's poker gameshow gets green light from ITV". www.campaignlive.co.uk. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
  7. 1 2 "Ant and Dec set for new quiz show". RTÉ. 23 March 2006.
  8. ↑ "Đấu trí – gameshow mới của VTV3 sắp trình làng" (in Vietnamese). 29 October 2007.

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