Fifteen to One
| Fifteen to One | |
|---|---|
Fifteen to One logo used from 2013.
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| Also known as | Celebrity Fifteen to One |
| Genre | Quiz show |
| Created by | John M. Lewis |
| Presented by |
William G. Stewart (1988–2003) Adam Hills (2013– (Celebrity)) Sandi Toksvig (2014–) |
| Voices of | Anthony Hyde (1988–9) Laura Calland (1989–2003) Philip Lowrie (alternating) Sarah Wynter (substitute) Jennie Bond (2013– (Celebrity)) David Riley (2014) Bill Torrance (2014–2016) Donald Pirie (2017-) |
| Theme music composer | Paul Maguire (1988–2003) Marc Sylvan & Richard Jacques (2013–) |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 35 (inc. Schools series (Original)) 6 (Revival) |
| No. of episodes | 2,265 (inc. Schools series (Original)) 200 (Revival) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Tom Blakeson (2013–) |
| Producer(s) |
William G. Stewart (1988–2003) Ed de Burgh (2013–) |
| Location(s) | Capital Studios (1988–2003) Pinewood Studios (2013) Elstree Studios (2014–) BBC Pacific Quay (2014–) |
| Running time | 30–45 minutes (1988–2003) 60 minutes (2013–) |
| Production company(s) | Regent Productions (1988–2003) Remedy Productions and Argonon (2013–) |
| Distributor | FremantleMedia |
| Release | |
| Original network | Channel 4 |
| Picture format |
4:3 (1988–95, 1997–2000) 16:9 (1995–6, 2000–3, 2013–) |
| Original release | 11 January 1988 – present |
Fifteen to One is a British general knowledge quiz show broadcast on Channel 4. It originally ran from 11 January 1988 to 19 December 2003 and had a reputation for being one of the toughest quizzes on TV. Throughout the show's run, it was presented and produced by William G. Stewart. Thousands of contestants appeared on the programme, which had very little chatting between host and contestant that is often a feature of other television quiz shows.
The basis of the show was devised by John M. Lewis, a former sales manager for British Telecom. He submitted the idea to Regent Productions who developed the programme into a 30-minute format. Originally, there were 20 starting contestants but the figure was cut down to 15 in order to fit the available running time. The number varied in other countries.
The Fifteen to One format is sold internationally by DRG-Zeal TV from London.
At the start of the grand finale of the 35th and final original series, William G. Stewart provided some statistics about the show, stating that nearly 350,000 questions had been asked to 33,975 contestants in a total of 2,265 programmes.
On 20 September 2013, a special one-off episode, hosted by Adam Hills, aired on Channel 4 and was titled Celebrity Fifteen to One. Two previous celebrity specials were aired before then, in 1990 and 1992 respectively. Amongst the changes were an overhaul in the studio set and presentation, the doubled time length of the programme (from 30 minutes to 60 minutes) and the introduction of the host's catch phrase, "Lights out," spoken when a contestant is eliminated from the game before the final round.
On 9 December 2013, it was announced that Fifteen to One would return for a new 20-part daytime series in 2014, hosted by Sandi Toksvig, and primetime celebrity specials, which will be hosted by Adam Hills. The show now broadcasts between 30-40 episodes per series, depending on contestant application numbers and airing schedule.
The 15 contestants stood in a semicircle, each behind a lectern with a number from 1 to 15 (a similar layout was used by the later game show The Weakest Link). Although the design varied slightly over the years, the essential elements were a number on the front of the lectern, a name badge on top of the lectern (in the earlier series, the badge was worn by the contestant) and three green neon lights to represent the lives of the contestant. The numbers were allocated by drawing lots from a bag before videotaping. Upon elimination from the game, a contestant had to sit down and his or her spotlight went out.
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