GAME SHOWS AND ENTERTAINMENT
I’ve worked on all
sorts of game shows and LE programmes, writing intros, links, contestant
information, gags, questions, standby material, etc., as well as acting
as script editor /associate /consultant. I have provided straightforward
general knowledge questions when required – at one time I was
a partner in a board games company, devising the gameplay and providing
the questions for lots of different games – but most of the shows
I’ve been commissioned to work on have required rather more creativity.
They include:
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LAST
ONE STANDING (RTE)
A general knowledge show with a difference:
themed questions with three alternative answers offered; one answer
is correct, and the other two – plus a new one - become
alternative answers for the next question .. and so on. Tricky
to get the hang of and tricky to write – but a fun challenge.
I provided nearly 3000 questions for this series in 2003/2004. |
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BLANKETY
BLANK (ITV)
The two series of the programme that Lily
Savage did for ITV between 2000 and 2002. I provided Blankety Blanks
and Super Match Games for 40 shows, and had a lot of fun doing it. |
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COUNTDOWN
(Channel 4)
Yes, I admit it – I was the
one who created the sadly-missed Richard Whiteley’s punning
style! In my defence I’ll say that the puns fitted Richard
like a glove, and that they helped to make Countdown the cult that
it became. I was script associate for the first 857 programmes between
1982 and 1988, writing programme intros, contestant intros , phoney
letters (from people like Sheila Blige of Soho) and additional material
for Richard and the celebrity guests, working most of the time as
live, since in those early years we were recording up to 8 programmes
in a day. In subsequent years I rejoined the Countdown team to work
on…
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CHRISTMAS
COUNTDOWN (Channel 4)
A one-off special in 1997, in which I provided material for Richard,
Carol and William G. Stewart, who actually presented the show
… and .. CELEBRITY
COUNTDOWN (Channel 4)
A series of 8 programmes in 1998
with celebrities (real ones!) as contestants. |
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LOVE
AT FIRST SIGHT (Sky One)
This
was an Action Time dating show, and I provided the material for
300 programmes in 1990/91.
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LUCKY LADDERS
(ITV)
Remember
this popular game show, produced by Anglia TV for the ITV network and
hosted by Lennie Bennett? I contributed material for 40 programmes in
1988.
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ASK
NO QUESTIONS (ITV)
This game show was a lot of fun – devised and presented by
John Junkin, it had no questions, just a set of answers, some clues
and a lot of extremely witty panelists trying to make sense of it
all. As script associate, I provided all the material for 37 shows
in 1986/87.
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STAR
CHOICE (ITV)
An
astrological game show presented by Russell Grant. Again I was script
associate, furnishing intros, questions, links and gags for 13 programmes
in 1984/85.
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JUST
AMAZING! (ITV)
This
was a peak-time Saturday night show that did extremely well in the
ratings. Presented by the legendary motorcyle world champion Barry
Sheene and Kenny Lynch with (series one) Jan Ravens and (series
two) Suzanne Danielle, it was a mixture of death-defying stunts,
amazing stories, comedy sketches and lots more. I was script associate,
and provided all the intros, links, sketches and structure for 16
programmes spread over two series between 1983 and 1985.
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MERRILY
ON HIGH (ITV)
A one-off special of Christmas readings
and music, presented by Peter Barkworth and broadcast in 1982. I
wrote Peter’s script.
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BRASS IN
CONCERT (ITV)
As the title suggests, a series of
6 shows featuring brass bands, transmitted in 1981. The great jazz trombonist George Chisholm
presented, and I wrote his intros and links.
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JOY
TO THE WORLD (ITV)
My
mother was thrilled that I wrote this – not because it was
a 1980 Christmas LE special, but because the presenter was the ultra-suave
movie star James Mason, an early heart-throb of hers, and I was his scriptwriter.
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BANGING
WITH MANNING (IBA/Polygram Video)
Not
a TV show, but an adult video. At the time of its release in 1992
there was a vogue for sex-education videos, and Polygram decided
to make its own satirical contribution to the genre, fronted by
the one and only Bernard Manning and scripted by me. Just in case
it caused embarrassment to the producers of the children’s
programmes I was working on, I did it under a pseudonym –
Vic Rains. Unfortunately, nobody was fooled. |
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