They're Only Easy If You Know The Answers Quiz

Answer: UK

Chris Tarrant was the original question master on 'Millionaire' when it first broadcast on ITV in 1998. (The BBC, with great foresight, had previously rejected the concept!) The idea was that a contestant answered a series of multiple-choice questions. Getting 15 right would earn them £1m. Within a few years, the show was being broadcast in 100 countries.

Answer: Groucho Marx

The show was not just about answering questions, it was a showcase for Marx's incredible mind. Much of the programme was devoted to his ad-libbed remarks.

Answer: Take Your Pick

Contestants won keys to one of 13 locked boxes, each of which concealed a prize. Three of the boxes contained booby prizes. At the end of the show the presenter, Michael Miles, would offer cash in return for the keys. The challenge was for the contestant to "take the money or open the box", knowing that they could be left with a booby prize, or a mystery valuable prize that not even Miles knew of.

Answer: The Weakest Link

'The Weakest Link' was first broadcast on BBC Television in the UK with Anne Robinson asking the questions. She transferred to the USA when the show went Stateside. The concept was that 13 contestants would answer individual questions but at the end of each round had a chance to vote off 'the weakest link'.

This could have been the person who answered fewest questions correctly, but quite often was a tactical decision to vote off someone a contestant considered stronger than himself or herself.

At the end of the show, the one person left went home with all the money that had been won by everyone. One other person, as the saying went: "leaves with nothing". When asking the contestants to vote, Anne Robinson would come up with a disparaging choice, for example, asking "Who is the gum on the bottom of your shoe?" or "Who is slower than a snail with a limp?"

Answer: Tony Barber

Barber was the host from 1980 until 1991. 'Sale of the Century' featured three contestants per show each answering general knowledge questions. They could earn money for each correct answer and either consolidate their cash or use some of it to buy luxury items

Answer: Family Feud

The show first aired in 1976, initially on ABC and then CBS. The format was picked up in several other countries. Richard Dawson was the first presenter, from 1976 to 1985.

Answer: University Challenge

'University Challenge' first ran from 1962 to 1987 on ITV and was then picked up again in 1994 on BBC Two. Two teams of four represented universities. They sat on a level studio floor, but the marvels of split-screen television enabled the programme makers to show one team in the top of the screen and the other below them.

It enabled viewers to see the faces of all eight students as they listened and reacted to the questions. Each round started with the quizmaster offering a 'starter for 10'. The team that buzzed in first with the correct answer earned 10 points then got three questions on a theme subject that they could confer on.

Answer: Supermarket Sweep

More than 1,000 shows were broadcast between 1965 and 2003 (with several gap years). As well as answering questions, the contestants were let loose with an empty shopping trolley in an empty supermarket to get points from items they collected.

Answer: Deal Or No Deal

This was a Dutch idea originally. The show then spread worldwide from its origins in 2003.

Answer: Bob Barker

Barker started on 'Truth or Consequences' in 1956 and it ran until 1975. Next was 'End of the Rainbow' (1957-1958) and then 'The Family Game' (1967).
In 1971 came the pilot of 'Simon Says', which was never commissioned, then 'The Price Is Right' (1972-2007). It was to become the longest-running quiz show on US TV.