Unlike several quiz shows on this list, the many-years-later revival hosted by Sandi Toksvig (another presenter in whose ability to win the quiz if ever called upon to play you could have total confidence) didn’t lose any of the magic. It’s the no-nonsense quiz show so good that former contestant Trevor Montague famously wore a disguise and went on a second time under a fake name, something he later had to defend himself against done in court.
10. Blockbusters
It’s impossible to separate Blockbusters (the original, not the revival or comedy versions) from its lore: the gag of contestants asking suave presenter Bob Holness: “Can I have a P, please Bob?”, the audience hand-jive performed over the closing credits, the urban myths about Holness having played saxophone on Gerry Rafferty’s “Baker Street” (he didn’t) and having once played James Bond in the 1950s (he did, on radio)… Underneath all that and the 1980s nostalgia though, stands a strong format that gave a stage to young quizzers.
Imported from the US with the alteration that the contestants were school pupils aged between 16 and 18 (think of it as a feeder for University Challenge), Blockbusters involved a pair of quizzers going against a solo competitor. The aim was to create a Connect 4-like chain of correct answers, each with its initials provided as a clue, connecting two sides of a hexagonal board before your opponent(s) did the same. That done, it was time for the famous “Gold Run” – a solo repeat with the eventual chance of a prize. The gameplay worked, the questions were well calibrated, and the kids were impressively knowledgeable, if all quite posh. A classic.
9. Eggheads
What a concept! A Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young-style supergroup, but for quizzing. Eggheads didn’t just have a slick presenter posing questions to hopefuls, it had pre-made quiz teams face off against, to quote OG host Dermot Murnaghan, “the greatest quiz team in Britain”, made up of the winners of previous TV quizzes. First individually and then with as many as were left after the head-to-head rounds, groups of ordinary quizzers took on the might of the Eggheads – and usually lost.
The original Eggheads Five of Chris, Kevin, Daphne, CJ and Judith were a legendary line-up – the Avengers or X-Men of the quizzing world. After their 2003 – 2008 heyday, the show diluted the pool with new, rotating members, but it was never quite the same, like a world-famous rock group touring under the same name but with only the original drummer. After Eggheads moved to Channel 5 in 2021, it floundered and isn’t expected to return in the near future, but for a good long while, it was appointment teatime viewing feat. quizzing royalty. Rest in peace, Chris Hughes.
8. Richard Osman’s House of Games
If the contestants are celebrities, does it count as a bonafide quiz show? Absolutely. Richard Osman’s House of Games has questions, buzzers, an array of 1970s-style prizes fresh off the Generation Game conveyor belt… and however much of a lark it may be, it’s not an 8 Out of 10 Cats or Shooting Stars-style comedy. These people have come to play (apart from Patsy Kensit, who didn’t know why she’d come.)
