Game show hosts

[George 1978]

Who were your favourite game show hosts? Mine would be:

1) BOB MONKHOUSE - Great mid-Atlantic voice a la Hughie Green and Dickie Henderson. Always preferred his version of Wipeout to Paul Daniels' version to be honest.

2) BRUCE FORSYTH - Loved him on Play Your Cards Right. "You're so much better than last week".

3) MICHAEL BARRYMORE - Brilliant on Strike it Lucky/Rich, and giving bungee jumping prizes to elderly contestants. Pity about the swimming pool incident.

4) JIM BOWEN - Comedian (with a capital C) who knew very little about darts or game shows, but and that darts players living the West Midlands had always wanted a speedboat.

5) ROY WALKER - Great host on Catchphrase, until Nick Weir took over.

6) Er...

7) That's it.

Runners up: Les Dennis, Cilla Black, Terry Wogan and Matthew Kelly.


Who was your favourite game show host? - does the host make the show or does the show makes the host?

[Moonraker]

Re: Game show hosts

Larry Grays on was quite funny hosting the Generation Game.
Paul Daniels in a quiz show he hosted.

[staffslad]

Re: Game show hosts

I think it is the interaction between the show and host that either succeeds or fails. Successful shows can go downhill if a new but unsuitable host takes over. Case in point: Family Fortunes had been well received with its original host, Bob Monkhouse, but got a pasting when Max Bygraves took over.

My favourite hosts:

Bob Monkhouse, Bruce Forsyth, Les Dawson, Terry Wogan, Larry Grayson (preferred him to Brucie on Generation Game).

[George 1978]

Re: Game show hosts

Hosting a game show is like driving a car, (hence the use of the word "vehicle" being used by lots of professionals). A game show that has a different host is like a car with a different driver - they have their own way of doing things. Monkhouse was a good friend of Bygraves, bit I doubt that Bygraves was a good friend of the game show format! I would have said "if it's up there, I'll give you the money myself" if I heard that he was to get the Family Fortunes host job!

By the way, I originally wrote a more detailed opening gambit above, but as soon as I clicked on "Post", I ended up a blank screen and when I clicked back, all the text that I wrote was gone (I mentioned it in the other forum). I was livid - I really hate it when that happens.

[George 1978]

Re: Game show hosts

Larry Grays on was quite funny hosting the Generation Game.
Paul Daniels in a quiz show he hosted.

Every Second Counts, perhaps?

[Clare]

Re: Game show hosts

Every Second Counts, perhaps?

Or "Odd One Out"?

[Clare]

Re: Game show hosts

Judge Nutmeg, "The Wheel of Justice"!

Which reminds me, I liked Nicky Campbell on "The Wheel of Fortune".

[George 1978]

Re: Game show hosts

Or "Odd One Out"?

Yes, it could be that one.

[staffslad]

Re: Game show hosts

I was just thinking about game shows and remembered a couple of hostesses, Anne Aston and Monica Rose.

Anne Aston was a hostess on The Golden Shot when Bob Monkhouse was host. She was an attractive, bubbly blonde. She had trouble adding up the contestants' scores, and for years I thought that was part of the show, but I did read somewhere that she genuinely found that part tricky. She had a few other TV and film roles, but I have not seen her on TV for a very long time.

Monica Rose was selected by Hughie Green as a hostess after appearing as a contestant in Double your Money. I remember her as hostess on The Sky's the Limit, which was also hosted by Green. She was quite petite and chirpy. Tragically, she took her own life in 1994 after battling depression for many years. One thing about The Sky's the Limit was that contestants could win pounds or dollars, but it would be the same denomination e.g. £100 or $100. I was baffled when some contestants chose dollars as even at a young age I knew that a pound was worth way more than a dollar.