Password (British game show)
Password is a British panel game show based on the US version of the same name. It was announced that the series would be commissioned on ITV1 in 2024 after a successful pilot hosted by Alan Carr and Daisy May Cooper on March 28 2023.
Password | |
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Genre | Panel game |
Created by | Bob Stewart |
Presented by | Shaw Taylor (1963) Brian Redhead (1973) Eleanor Summerfield (1974) Esther Rantzen (1975–76) Tom O'Connor (1982–83) Brian Munn (1985) Gordon Burns (1987–88) Alan Carr (2024) Daisy May Cooper (2024) |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
Original language | English |
No. of series | 1 (ATV era) 3 (BBC era) 1 (Channel 4 era) 3 (UTV era) |
No. of episodes | 27 (ATV era) 39 (BBC era) 26 (Channel 4 era) 70 (UTV era) |
Production | |
Running time | 30 mins (inc. adverts) |
Production companies | ATV (1963) Thames in association with Talbot Television and Goodson-Todman Productions (1982–83) Ulster (1985–88) Talkback (2024) |
Release | |
Original network | ITV (1963, 88) BBC2 (1973) BBC1 (1974–76) Channel 4 (1982–83) Ulster (1985–87) ITV1 |
Picture format | 4:3 |
Original release | 12 March 1963 |
Related | |
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. On Channel 4, the first player to win two games continued as champion. On later series, teams played best-of-five matches.
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.
On the Channel 4 series, each player earned £2 per point and the first winner of two games continued as champion. Winners of £500 retired until the semifinals.
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 1975 | 3 January 1976 | 6 |
Channel 4 era
Series | Start date | End date | Episodes |
---|---|---|---|
1 | 6 November 1982 | 14 May 1983 | 26 |
UTV era
Series | Start date | End date | Episodes |
---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 September 1985 | 15 November 1985 | 20 |
2 | 5 January 1987 | 13 March 1987 | 20 |
3 | 20 June 1988 | 29 July 1988 | 30 |