Shafted

Shafted
Genre	Quiz Show
Presented by	Robert Kilroy-Silk
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language(s)	English
No. of series	1
No. of episodes	20 (16 un-aired)
Production
Running time	30 minutes
Release
Original network	ITV
Picture format	576i (SDTV)
Audio format	Stereo
First shown in	2001
Original release	5 November 2001 – 26 November 2001

Shafted
Genre	Quiz Show
Presented by	Red Symons
Country of origin	Australia
Original language(s)	English
No. of series	1
No. of episodes	40
Production
Location(s)	Melbourne, Victoria
Running time	30 minutes
Release
Original network	Nine Network
Picture format	576i (SDTV)
Audio format	Stereo
Original release	11 February – 5 April 2002

Shafted was a short-lived British quiz show on ITV, presented by Robert Kilroy-Silk, based on game theory.

The game begins with six players and is played in five rounds. In the first round, each player must secretly declare how much money they would like to receive, to a maximum of £25,000. Once the amounts are revealed, the person who has asked for the largest amount is immediately eliminated from the game and receives nothing. Each of the other five is credited with the amount they requested.

In each of the next three rounds, the host reads the first few words of a question and invites the players to wager a portion of their totals. Once the wagers are entered, the host reads the entire question and the player who made the largest wager has to answer it. A correct answer adds the wager to their total, while a miss deducts it. Once the host has asked as many questions as there are players still in the game, the leader chooses one opponent to eliminate with no winnings. The totals of all remaining players are then increased to match that of the leader.

At the beginning of the third round, each player is given an option to "Shift," or force an opponent to answer a question meant for them. Each player can use this option once during the third or fourth rounds.

A complete question often leads in a very different direction from that suggested by its incomplete prompt. Example:

In the fifth and final round, the two remaining players stand at podiums facing each other in a form of the prisoner's dilemma, with the leader's total at stake. A brief snippet of a backstage interview with each player is shown to the audience, after which both of them must secretly decide to "share" or "shaft." Their choices are revealed to the home viewers, but not to the audience, host, or players, and they are then given a chance to discuss the situation and change their decisions if they wish. Their final choices determine the fate of the jackpot.

Despite good viewing figures, the show was dropped four episodes after it started in 2001, and was listed as the worst British television show of the 2000s in the Penguin TV Companion (2006).

Kilroy-Silk's actions on the show were frequently mocked on Have I Got News for You in late 2004, particularly his delivery of the show's tag-line, "Their fate will be in each other's hands as they decide whether to share or to shaft", and the associated hand actions. During several episodes, a clip of this was inserted into the show at some point, occasionally the clip continues to surface in the show.

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