Password (British game show)
Password is a British panel game show based on the US version of the same name. It was originally aired on ITV produced by ATV from 12 March to 10 September 1963, hosted by Shaw Taylor. A decade later, it returned and aired on BBC2 from 24 March to 28 April 1973 hosted by Brian Redhead before moving to its flagship channel BBC1 from 7 January 1974 to 1976, first hosted by Eleanor Summerfield, then by Esther Rantzen. It returned six years later, airing on Channel 4 produced by Thames in association with Talbot Television and Goodson-Todman Productions from 6 November 1982 to 14 May 1983 hosted by Tom O'Connor and then finally aired back on ITV produced by Ulster from 22 July 1987 to 29 July 1988, hosted Gordon Burns.
Password | |
---|---|
Genre | Panel game |
Created by | Bob Stewart |
Presented by | Shaw Taylor (1963) Brian Redhead (1973) Eleanor Summerfield (1974) Esther Rantzen (1974–75) Tom O'Connor (1982–83) Gordon Burns (1987–88) |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
Original language | English |
No. of series | 1 (ATV era) 3 (BBC era) 1 (Channel 4 era) 2 (UTV era) |
No. of episodes | 27 (ATV era) 39 (BBC era) 25 (Channel 4 era) 43 (UTV era) |
Production | |
Running time | 30 mins (inc. adverts) |
Production companies | ATV (1963) Thames in association with Talbot Television and Goodson-Todman Productions (1982–3) Ulster (1987–8) |
Distributor | ITV Studios Fremantle UTV Media |
Release | |
Original network | ITV (1963, 1987–88) BBC2 (1973) BBC1 (1974–75) Channel 4 (1982–83) |
Picture format | 4:3 |
Original release | 12 March 1963 – 29 July 1988 |
Chronology | |
Related shows | Password |
Gameplay
Gameplay is identical to the US version. Two celebrity-civilian teams compete, and after being given the password, the team in control has to decide whether to pass or play. Clues were worth 10 points if the player guessed the password on the first try, 9 on the second try, and so on down to 5 points for the last try (teams only got three guesses each in the UK version). The first side to earn 25 points won the game, and celebrities switched partners after each game. The first player to win three games continued as champion.
After a team accumulated 25 points or more, the points were turned into cash, at £1 per point. The winning team then played the lightning round, where teams had to guess 5 passwords in 60 seconds. Each word earned the contestant an extra £5 per word, or £50 if the team guessed all 5.
Transmissions
ATV era
Series | Start date | End date | Episodes |
---|---|---|---|
1 | 12 March 1963 | 10 September 1963 | 27 |
BBC era
Series | Start date | End date | Episodes |
---|---|---|---|
1 | 24 March 1973 | 28 April 1973 | 6 |
2 | 7 January 1974 | 27 August 1974 | 27 |
3 | 29 December 1974 | 3 January 1975 | 6 |
Channel 4 era
Series | Start date | End date | Episodes |
---|---|---|---|
1 | 6 November 1982 | 14 May 1983 | 25 |
UTV era
Series | Start date | End date | Episodes |
---|---|---|---|
1 | 22 July 1987 | 20 October 1987 | 13 |
2 | 20 June 1988 | 29 July 1988 | 30 |
External links
- Password (1973) at BFI
- Password (1982–3) at BFI
- Password (1987–8) at BFI
- Password at UKGameshows.com