British Panel Shows Trivia Quiz

Answer: Call My Bluff

Running from 1965 to the 1980s, "Call My Bluff", led by chairman Robert Robinson, was one of the classic panel games while I was growing up. The words were usually obscure enough to baffle even hardened trivia-kings but the fun came from the bizarre and convoluted bluffs the celebrities would throw out there.

"Blind Man's Bluff" is a children's game, while "What's in a Word?" is made up. "Blockbusters" was a TV quiz game for teenagers, hosted by Bob Holness who also hosted a revived version of "Call My Bluff" in the late 1990s.

Answer: Pop Music

Hosted originally by Mark Lamarr with team captains Bill Bailey and Phil Jupitus, this show has included such interesting rounds as "Identity Parade", where musicians of yesteryear need to be picked from a group of people, and "Next Line", where the contestants have to say which line follows the quoted lyric. Guests have sometimes been unable to quote from their own songs! The show's title comes from misquoting a Sex Pistols album name.

Answer: Have I Got News For You

From 1990 to 2002, the show was hosted by Angus Deayton, with two teams, usually led by Ian Hislop & Paul Merton, steering a near-libelous course in discussing the headlines. In 2002, tabloid headlines about Angus Deayton provoked merciless ridiculing from both teams and, after two shows, he was replaced by guest presenters.

Answer: True

This 1997 show was a fanboy's (and fangirl's) delight, bringing together stars from "Doctor Who", "Star Trek", "Red Dwarf" and "Babylon 5". Unfortunately, all that star power was just too much and it imploded after only one series. The host was Greg Proops and the team captains were Craig Charles (Lister from "Red Dwarf") and the seemingly ever-present Bill Bailey.

While I have no definitive information on where the title came from, "Red Dwarf" sprang from an original radio script entitled "Dave Hollins - Space Cadet".

Answer: A Question of Sport

A keen horsewoman, Princess Anne had competed at the European Eventing Championships and as part of the 1976 British Olympic Team, so she had the right sporting qualifications to participate in this panel game and held her own as a contestant. Her performance was overshadowed, however, by the blooper of her team captain Emelyn Hughes the previous week, when he identified a picture of Princess Anne as being male jockey John Reid.

Answer: Quite Interesting

This comical quiz deals in trivia with extra points for anything "quite interesting" the contestants say. However they also lose points for giving answers which "everyone knows" but which are wrong (for example, saying there are 9 planets in the solar system).

Answer: Steve Race

Steve Race was the host as well as pianist for "My Music", a musical quiz of the late '70s/early '80s starring Frank Muir, Denis Norden, Ian Wallace and John Amis.

Richard Vranch provided musical accompaniment for "Whose Line is it Anyway?",
Colin Sell is the much-put-upon pianist for "I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue", and Florence de Jong played in the background of "Joker's Wild".

Answer: False

"University Challenge" is a quiz show where teams from different British universities compete in a brainiac challenge, not a celebrity panel show. However, several British celebrities did appear as contestants while at university, including Stephen Fry, Clive James and Miriam Margolyes.

Answer: Whose Line Is It Anyway?

"Whose Line Is It Anyway?" was a game of improvisation which started on BBC Radio 4 in 1997 before becoming a TV hit with Clive Andersen as the host. In later years, many of the British improv artists were joined by American colleagues such as Ryan Stiles and Colin Mochrie, both of whom went on to star in the US version, hosted by Drew Carey.

"Strictly Come Dancing" was renamed "Dancing with the Stars" in America.
"Celebrity Poker Club" was not an exact match to the US poker show which was called "Celebrity Poker Showdown". "QI" does not have an American version.

Answer: I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue

"I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue" was intended to mock the panel games of the '60s by giving the contestants "silly things to do". These included the very complex and challenging game of "Mornington Crescent" and such play-acting as "our lovely scorer, Samantha" or the "laser-display screen" both of which were quite invisible on radio! However the comedy and mental agility displayed by the panels in such games as "Arrivals at the Ball" and "One Song to the Tune of Another" has ensured this show a place amongst the very best panel games.