1000 Heartbeats | |
---|---|
Genre | Game show |
Created by | Paul Farrer |
Presented by | Vernon Kay |
Starring |
The Quartet Sarah Chapman Catriona Parker Hayley Pomfrett Llinos Richards |
Voices of | Dilly Barlow |
Composer(s) | Paul Farrer |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
Original language(s) | English |
No. of series | 2 |
No. of episodes | 55 (as of 15 January 2016) |
Production | |
Running time | 60 minutes (inc. adverts) |
Production company(s) | Hungry Bear Media |
Release | |
Original network | ITV |
Picture format | 16:9 (HDTV) |
Audio format | Stereo |
Original release | 23 February 2015 | – present
Chronology | |
Related shows | The Cube |
1000 Heartbeats is a British daytime game show that aired on ITV which started on 23 February 2015 and is hosted by Vernon Kay.
Wearing an electronic heart-rate counter and standing on a lighted circular platform known as "The Plate," a single contestant answers questions in order to win money over a total of seven rounds. While a round is in progress, the contestant's heartbeats are continuously counted and deducted from an initial total of 1,000. If the total reaches zero, the game ends immediately and the contestant is defeated and leaves empty-handed. During gameplay, the contestant's heart rate is displayed on a monitor and relayed to a live string quartet playing the show's musical score; they adjust their tempo (beats per minute) to match the heart rate and maximise tension.
The contestant must give seven correct answers to complete Round 1, and the required number decreases by one for each subsequent round (six in Round 2, five in Round 3, etc.). Each incorrect answer deducts 25 heartbeats (50 from Series 3 to present). The contestant may change out a question by stepping off the Plate, at a cost of 100 beats (50 in Series 1). Any correct answers given prior to stepping off are counted toward the number required to complete the round once play resumes.
Each completed round increases the contestant's winnings as follows:
At the start of each new round, the contestant is shown an example of the game to be played and may choose to "Cash Out" with the money banked to that point rather than play on. In order to win the money, he/she must complete one final "Cashout Game." The contestant is shown a series of true/false statements and must give five consecutive correct answers before running out of heartbeats. Any incorrect response breaks the chain and deducts 25 beats (50 from Series 3 to present). Completing the Cashout Game allows the contestant to leave with the accumulated money, but failing to complete it forfeits the entire bank. The contestant may not step off the Plate during this game.
The contestant must correctly answer five consecutive true or false statements in order to keep the money in his/her bank. Each incorrect answer breaks the chain and deducts 25 heartbeats (50 from Series 3); the contestant can't step off the Plate during this game.
Any contestant who successfully cashes out at the £10,000 level is given a chance to play Recall unofficially, using the remaining heartbeats on the counter, and see if he/she would have been able to win the full £25,000.
Kay's wife, Tess Daly, and comedian Leigh Francis (in character as Keith Lemon) played for charity during this special.