''Jokers Wild'' is a British

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

panel game A panel show or panel game is a radio broadcasting, radio or television game show in which a panel of celebrities participates. Celebrity panelists may compete with each other, such as on ''The News Quiz''; facilitate play by non-celebrity conte ...

show that originally aired on

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

as a pilot on 15 April 1969 and then as a full series from 9 July 1969 to 20 November 1974. It was hosted by

Barry Cryer Barry Charles Cryer (23 March 1935 – 25 January 2022) was an English writer, comedian, and actor. As well as performing on stage, radio and television, Cryer wrote for many performers including Dave Allen, Stanley Baxter, Jack Benny, Rory ...

. The show was based on two American panel game shows: '' Stop Me If You've Heard This One'' and ''

Can You Top This? ''Can You Top This?'' was a radio panel game in which comedians told jokes and tried to top one another. The unrehearsed program, sponsored at one point by a papaya-flavored soft drink called Par and later by Colgate-Palmolive, was created by ...

''.

Format and performers

Each week two teams of three comedians each played for points by telling

joke A joke is a display of humour in which words are used within a specific and well-defined narrative structure to make people laughter, laugh and is usually not meant to be interpreted literally. It usually takes the form of a story, often with ...

s on a certain subject chosen by the host, who would pull the selection from a box on his desk. Typical examples were

politics Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...

or the

mother-in-law A parent-in-law is a person who has a legal affinity with another by being the parent of the other's spouse. Many cultures and legal systems impose duties and responsibilities on persons connected by this relationship. A person is a child-in-la ...

. When a member of a team was telling a joke, a member of the other team could interrupt the joke by pressing the buzzer and finishing the joke to score bonus points for his/her team. The turn did not end, however, until the comedian whose proper turn it was finished a joke with a punchline. Before the commercial break one of the comedians would be given one minute to get as many

laugh Laughter is a Pleasure, pleasant physical reaction and emotion consisting usually of rhythmical, often audible contractions of the Thoracic diaphragm, diaphragm and other parts of the respiratory system. It is a response to certain external or ...

s as possible from the

studio A studio is an artist or worker's workroom. This can be for the purpose of acting, architecture, painting, pottery (ceramics), sculpture, origami, woodworking, scrapbooking, photography, graphic design, filmmaking, animation, industrial design ...

audience An audience is a group of people who participate in a show or encounter a work of art, literature (in which they are called "readers"), theatre, music (in which they are called "listeners"), video games (in which they are called "players"), or ...

. The more laughs, the more points were scored. At the end of the show the team with the most points won a gag trophy of a

jester A jester, court jester, fool or joker was a member of the household of a nobleman or a monarch employed to entertain guests during the medieval and Renaissance eras. Jesters were also itinerant performers who entertained common folk at fairs and ...

carrying the Yorkshire Television chevron logo. In each team of three, two of the comedians were regular contestants; the third was a guest comedian. Guest comedians regularly appeared for two shows in succession before new guests appeared. For much of the run of the series, Ted Ray and

Arthur Askey Arthur Bowden Askey, (6 June 1900 – 16 November 1982) was an English comedian and actor. Askey was known for his short stature (5' 2", 1.58 m) and distinctive horn-rimmed glasses, and his playful humour incorporating improvisation ...

served as team captains, usually regularly supported by

Ray Martine Raymond Isaacs (6 October 1928 – 19 June 2002), who performed as Ray Martine, was a British comedian, especially on television in the 1960s and early 1970s. Life and career He was born to Jewish parents in London, and underwent national se ...

and

Les Dawson Leslie Dawson Jr. (2 February 1931 – 10 June 1993) was an English comedian, actor, writer, and presenter, who is best remembered for his deadpan style, curmudgeonly persona and Mother-in-law joke, jokes about his mother-in-law and wife. Earl ...

respectively. Some of the other comedians who appeared on the show, either as guests or as temporary team captains or regular contestants, were

Jon Pertwee John Devon Roland "Jon" Pertwee (; 7 July 1919 – 20 May 1996) was an English actor, comedian, entertainer, cabaret performer and TV presenter. Born into a theatrical family, he served in the Royal Navy and the Naval Intelligence Division during ...

John Cleese John Marwood Cleese ( ; born 27 October 1939) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. Emerging from the Cambridge Footlights in the 1960s, he first achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter and ...

Rolf Harris Rolf Harris (born 30 March 1930) is an Australian entertainer whose career has encompassed work as a musician, singer-songwriter, composer, comedian, actor, painter and television personality. He often used unusual instruments in his performan ...

, Ted Rogers,

Norman Collier Norman Collier (25 December 1925 – 14 March 2013) was a British comedian who achieved popularity following television appearances in the 1970s. He was best known for his 'faulty microphone' routine and for his chicken impressions. Career and ...

Chic Murray Charles Thomas McKinnon "Chic" Murray (6 November 1919 – 29 January 1985) was a Scottish comedian and actor. He appeared in various roles on British television and film, most notably in the 1967 version of ''Casino Royale'', and portrayed ...

Alfred Marks Alfred Edward Marks OBE (born Alfred Edward Touchinsky; 28 January 19211 July 1996) was a British actor and comedian. In his 60-year career, he played dramatic and comedy roles in numerous television programmes, stage shows and films. His self- ...

Lance Percival John Lancelot Blades Percival (26 July 1933 – 6 January 2015), known as Lance Percival, was an English actor, comedian and singer, best known for his appearances in satirical comedy television shows of the early 1960s and his ability to impro ...

Charlie Chester Charlie Chester MBE (26 April 1914 – 26 June 1997) was an English comedian, radio and television presenter and writer, broadcasting almost continuously from the 1940s to the 1990s. His style was similar to that of Max Miller. Life and ...

Tim Brooke-Taylor Timothy Julian Brooke-Taylor OBE (17 July 194012 April 2020) was an English actor and comedian best known as a member of The Goodies. He became active in performing in comedy sketches while at the University of Cambridge and became president ...

and Jack Douglas. Series co-creator, and father of comic Michael McIntyre, Ray Cameron, appeared as a panellist on several episodes in the first series. In the first series, compère Barry Cryer was joined by an assistant, although her role in the show was very limited and the idea of an assistant was dropped after a handful of episodes. Points were awarded on an arbitrary basis by Cryer (sometimes with help from the studio audience). In early series, jokes scored either five or ten points each. In later series, any number of points up to ten could be awarded. The system of points scoring was, by and large, not a major factor in the show in any case, but simply a way to suggest competitiveness between the comedians.

DVD releases

The first two series of ''Jokers Wild'' have been released on DVD by Network.

Transmissions

Series

Specials

External links

* *{{UKGameshow, Joker%27s_Wild, Jokers Wild 1969 British television series debuts 1974 British television series endings 1960s British game shows 1970s British game shows ITV panel games Television series by ITV Studios Television series by Yorkshire Television English-language television shows 1960s British comedy television series 1970s British comedy television series