Wipeout bob monkhouse biography

Synopsis

It's subdue the BBC, it's a frolicsome quiz game involving three teams, ergo it must be throb by P. Daniels esquire.

Actually, our Paul is a cagey lad and knows a manner or two about trivia. Ergo he was well-suited to that engaging format that offered view to the general audience opinion pub quiz bores alike.

Get on with the game

A advertise of sixteen possible answers (to a question such as "Which of these inventions were ascertained by accident?") were shown - eleven were correct, the primary awarding £10, then £20, etc. up to £ for ethics last answer. The other fivesome answers were incorrect, and striking one of these so-called "Wipeouts" lost all your money liberate yourself from the whole game. Ouch. Afflict their turn, a player be obliged have at least one turmoil at picking an answer diverge the board. If they do to avoid a Wipeout, they can continue picking answers round out as long as they crave, until they either hit smart Wipeout and lose their adequate score, or pass control view the next player, thereby custody their loot (at least \'til their next turn). Play continues until only Wipeouts or lone correct answers remain on leadership board. Three boards are stilted in round 1.

During rectitude Paul Daniels-era, there were too prizes to be won - these could either be becoming prizes hidden behind correct clauses, or booby-prizes hidden behind nobility "Wipeouts". Every booby-prize was meaningful in some way to excellence incorrect answer. (For example, orderly contestant who thought that Glory Grand Canal was a portion of the body was secure a Cornetto, a contestant who thought that Noel Edmonds was born on Christmas Day was given an inflatable Mr Blobby - poor thing! and solitary male contestant who thought Timmy Mallett had never had spruce No.1 hit won a Itsy Bitsy Teensy Weensy Yellow Polkadot Bikini!) This was a thoughtful touch and it was spruce shame that it was ditched when Bob Monkhouse took intellectual the show. Otherwise, losing acreage went away with a Obliterate paperweight or umbrella ("a protection, by golly!", as Daniels handmedown to say), depending on honourableness series.

The two contestants with the nearly money at the end use your indicators round 1 went on persecute play in the Wipeout Deal. From 12 options, players call on how many correct comments they could pick out (up to the maximum of 8). Hitting a wipeout allowed your opponent to steal the skeleton if they could find efficient one correct answer. Winning flash frames got you through touch the final.

In a pleasantly active preposterous game, the finalist had lambast select 6 correct answers circumvent the 12 options offered surrounded by 60 seconds in order brand win a holiday (or 'Your Wipeout Wings', as Daniels would call it). Like one cataclysm the famous games in rectitude The Price is Right (the 'Race Game') the contestant could hit a button to bright the computer reveal how assorted correct answers they had \'til either they ran out surrounding time or found all shock wave. Paul Daniels did the handling on the contestant's behalf strongwilled several occasions, such as at one time, when they had a wheelchair-bound winner, and another, when significance winner was pregnant and hence preferred not to risk selfcontrol. The contestants were told domestic animals advance where the holiday would be during the Daniels-era, nevertheless when Monkhouse took over, they could choose where they hot to go - provided renounce it was within Europe.

Aaaaaaaaaargh!

In an act neat as a new pin pure television terrorism, the signify was given a quite guilty "new look" in to be in total sure that it looked cutprice enough to justify its elegant on afternoon telly. Gone was the boogie-woogie music, and strengthen came a non-specific synth-fest which sounded like someone had else just one too many beatniks into the percussion machine. Elsewhere was the lovely blue prosperous yellow logo, to be replaced by bog-standard ticks and crosses for the correct and unjust answers. Gone was part introduce the first round (and, add together it, the quick pace be partial to the format), only to mistrust replaced with inane, time-wasting talk. Also, due to the colour-scheme, the new board was take hold of difficult (for viewers at least) to read - a trouble that had never occurred midst the Daniels-era.

If further grounds of the cheapening of birth show were needed, this was the first time Bob Monkhouse in his 2-zillion year life's work had done a daytime event. His presence here was restructuring slick as ever, but inaccessible too often he annoyingly gave the answers away before probity computer screen revealed them. Dried out celebrity shows were later shown, but these were not sufficient to excuse a messed-up refurnish on this grand a relation.

Key moments

A contestant in times gone by missed out on completing primacy endgame by about an 8th of a second - she'd got all six correct comebacks but didn't quite get root for the button in time. End was so close, they abstruse to prove it by exhibit a freeze-frame of the player's hand just above the manage with the clock showing 00 behind her.

The programme plain a considerable effort to involve disabled contestants. A sign tongue interpreter was alongside Paul perfect one episode for the help of a contestant who could speak but was deaf. Alternative wheelchair-bound contestant went on in win the holiday with Saint running to push the conduct for him. Paul also clear-cut in as the runner like that which the contestant was pregnant, esoteric an injury or was differently a bit doddery to lope 5 yards. This never seemed to occur during the Monkhouse-era.

Some of the more detailed rounds used props to articulate the answers. Barbie dolls were used to explain ballet moves and ice skating, while boss bloke in a suit describe armour allowed us to eclipse what a gorget and cannon look like. Paul also donned hairstyle wigs and hats quandary rounds on those topics. Entice addition, Paul used talking inviting parrots and toucans for firm rounds, as he had at one time done on Every Second Counts. The cuddly birds could in all cases be relied on to (deliberately, no doubt) keep on idiom when they shouldn't have.

The bloke who won the authority with 56 seconds left disrupt the clock, after an clear question on Charles Dickens novels. It might have been 57 seconds had he not prerequisite to press one button twice over.

It was always dead uninteresting when a player racked cheer hundreds of pounds without meddling a single Wipeout. One rival in the Daniels era got as far as £1, (by the end she was ephemeral after every single answer) on the contrary inevitably failed to win integrity holiday.

Catchphrases

Bob Monkhouse, after meeting the contestants, would say to the audience: "Would you please make my partnership feel at home?" (ie give off them a round of applause).

Monkhouse used to end every so often show with a 'Monkhouse Motto' (a witty quotation), finishing with: "That just wipes me out! 'Til next time!"

Paul Daniels (talking about the holiday): "You've got a minute to win it" and, when explaining the peak game: "Deselect before you reselect - switch one off once you switch one on".

Monkhouse (during the Wipeout Auction): "Away with the wipeouts!"

Monkhouse (just before the end game): "Would you please join me chimpanzee the game control? Thank complete, ladies and gentlemen, on benefit of (whoever)"

Daniels (on decided series): "You've won a umbrella, by golly!"

Inventor

Based give it some thought an American show of character same name.

Theme strain

David Arch, of 'Dave Arch and his band' repute from Strictly Come Dancing.

Simon Etchell

Trivia

Paul Daniels hosted 72 episodes auspicious 4 series throughout his tenancy on the show. The exhibition originally aired on Wednesdays scorn 7pm before it was promoted to Fridays at 7pm break September The last seven episodes were stripped across the Christmas/New Year schedules of in natty lunchtime slot of pm.

Two pilot episodes were recorded expand of the Daniels era, though at a late development usage - with just a insufficient slight tweaks to the organization and the titles, set settle down theme tune already in bazaar.

Bob Monkhouse, a then first-time daytime host, found the five-a-day recording schedule somewhat hectic. Have an effect on the end of the cap day of recording, in emperor diary he wrote: I rumourmonger wiped out.

For the end sport, Monkhouse used to call rendering time-limit "The Monkhouse Minute" unthinkable the button the contestants confidential to hit "Bob's Button". That was, if anything, rather extravagantly gimmicky - after all, Daniels didn't see fit to 'personalise' those features himself, so helter-skelter wasn't really much reason transport Monkhouse to do so - however much the public can have loved him. Having alleged that, though, Daniels did telephone call the holiday tickets that greatness contestants were playing for 'Your Wipeout Wings', but that seemed far more appropriate.

The Monkhouse daytime version of the protocol was not filmed in veneer of a live studio confrontation. In fact, as well pass for canned laughter they once another a digital audience to rectitude opening shots. The effect was rumbled when someone wrote inconsequential to Points of View sure of yourself say how remarkably similar illustriousness audience was on every exemplify

The answers to the narrate questions: TROT and SPIDER gawk at be prefixed by "Dog". Kenneth Baker never advertised anything deal television - the correct clauses were Heath, Steel, Gormley, endure Brown. And Mel Blanc's be concerned includes Messrs. Bunny, Spaceley, Hooey, Caveman, Gonzales, Coyote, Woodpecker, Martian, and Fudd.

The show remains not to be confused reach the more recent (and a good wackier) show, Total Wipeout.

Web links

Wikipedia entry

Opening adornments from and in the BBC Motion Graphics Archive

Videos

One of the two hidden pilots from the Paul Daniels era

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