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
GenrePanel game
Created byBob Stewart
Presented byShaw Taylor (1963)
Brian Redhead (1973)
Eleanor Summerfield (1974)
Esther Rantzen (1974–75)
Tom O'Connor (1982–83)
Gordon Burns (1987–88)
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series1 (ATV era)
3 (BBC era)
1 (Channel 4 era)
2 (UTV era)
No. of episodes27 (ATV era)
39 (BBC era)
25 (Channel 4 era)
43 (UTV era)
Production
Running time30 mins (inc. adverts)
Production companiesATV (1963)
Thames in association with Talbot Television and Goodson-Todman Productions (1982–3)
Ulster (1987–8)
DistributorITV Studios
Fremantle
UTV Media
Release
Original networkITV (1963, 1987–88)
BBC2 (1973)
BBC1 (1974–75)
Channel 4 (1982–83)
Picture format4:3
Original release12 March 1963 (1963-03-12) 
29 July 1988 (1988-07-29)
Chronology
Related showsPassword

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

SeriesStart dateEnd dateEpisodes
112 March 196310 September 196327

BBC era

SeriesStart dateEnd dateEpisodes
124 March 197328 April 19736
27 January 197427 August 197427
329 December 19743 January 19756

Channel 4 era

SeriesStart dateEnd dateEpisodes
16 November 198214 May 198325

UTV era

SeriesStart dateEnd dateEpisodes
122 July 198720 October 198713
220 June 198829 July 198830

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