Take Your Pick

Infobox Television
show_name = Take Your Pick


caption =
format = Game Show
picture_format = 4:3
runtime = 30mins (inc. adverts)
creator = Michael Miles
starring = Michael Miles (1955 - 1968) Des O'Connor (1992 - 1998)
channel = ITV
first_aired = 1955
last_aired = 1998
num_series =
num_episodes =
country = UK
producer =
related =
imdb_id =

"Take Your Pick" was a UK game show originally broadcast by Radio Luxembourg in the early 1950s. The show transferred to television in 1955 with the launch of ITV, where it continued until 1968. As it was the first game show broadcast on commercial television in the UK (and the BBC did not at that point offer monetary prizes on its game shows), it was also by default the first British game show to offer cash prizes.

The programme was later revived from 1992 to 1998.

The first television version was produced by Associated-Rediffusion (later Rediffusion London), while the revival was made by Thames Television (whose arrival as the new London weekday ITV company had led to the original show's demise).

If they got through the "Yes-No Interlude" (in which they were required to answer a series of questions without using the words "yes" or "no" or be gonged offstage), contestants would answer questions to win modest monetary prizes and at the climax of the show had to decide whether to "take the money" or "open the box". The box could contain good prizes (for the time) such as holidays or a washing machine but could also contain booby prizes such as a mousetrap or a bag of sweets.

The first version was hosted by Michael Miles (after its demise, Miles hosted a similar show for Southern Television called "Wheel of Fortune", not to be confused with the later Wheel of Fortune (UK game show) of the same title). Bob Danvers-Walker, the voice of Pathé News from 1940 until its demise in 1970, was the show's announcer, and Alec Dane was on hand to bang the gong. At the electronic organ was Harold Smart.

Des O'Connor became the host for the second version in the 1990s. His future wife Jodie Wilson was one of the hostesses; she would later be replaced by "Neighbours" twins Gayle and Gillian Blakeney.

It was revived again for one night only as part of "Ant & Dec's Gameshow Marathon" in 2005, a series of the Geordie duo presenting classic ITV gameshows as part of the channel's 50th anniversary in their own style.

A similar formula was used for "Pot Of Gold", another game show, hosted by O'Connor.

The Des O'Connor series is currently being repeated on Challenge.

Cultural references

A sketch in "Monty Python's Flying Circus" (called "Spot the Brain Cell" in a later audio version) has John Cleese playing an "evil" game show host, hitting contestants over the head with a giant hammer, which is clearly a wildly exaggerated version of Michael Miles (the game he is compering is a parody of the "Yes-No Interlude" from "Take Your Pick"). An early version of this sketch appeared in "At Last the 1948 Show". For a time after Miles' death the sketch was not shown by the BBC, but it has since been reinstated.

Also, in the Hungarian Tourist sketch in "Monty Python's Flying Circus", a prosecutor (played by Eric Idle) plays the game with Alexander Yalt (played by Michael Palin). The prosecutor manages to gong Yalt "out" (although Yalt was probably unaware of playing the game in the first place).

A sketch in the BBC Radio comedy series "The Burkiss Way" features the "Dinosaur-Cheese Interlude", in which contestants are required to answer questions without mentioning any species of dinosaur or any type of cheese. Naturally, all of the contestants do accidentally mention them.

External links

* [http://www.ukgameshows.com/page/index.php/Take_Your_Pick "Take Your Pick"] at UKgameshows.com
* [http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/11650?view=synopsis British Film Institute: synopsis of a typical episode of "Take Your Pick" from September 1955]