Michael John Miles (1 June 1919 – 17 February 1971) was a New Zealand-born television presenter in Great Britain known for the

game show A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or Let's Play, demonstrative and are typically directed b ...

Take Your Pick ''Take Your Pick!'' is a United Kingdom game show originally broadcast by Radio Luxembourg starting in 1952. The show was transferred to television in 1955 with the launch of ITV, where it continued until 1968. It was the first game show broad ...

'' from 1955 to 1968, produced by

Associated Rediffusion Associated-Rediffusion, later Rediffusion London, was the United Kingdom, British ITV (TV network), ITV franchise holder for Greater London, London and parts of Home counties, the surrounding counties, on weekdays between 22 September 1955 an ...

and later by

Rediffusion London Associated-Rediffusion, later Rediffusion London, was the British ITV franchise holder for London and parts of the surrounding counties, on weekdays between 22 September 1955 and 29 July 1968. It was the first ITA franchisee to go on air, ...

Early life

Born in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

, New Zealand, Miles left school to become a broadcaster after persuading his local station to hire him. He then travelled to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, before moving on to

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

as a newsreader, leaving only days before the island was invaded by the Japanese Army during the Second World War.

Career

Although he produced radio shows during the war years, it was with the transfer of his quiz show ''Take Your Pick'' to television that he made his name. The programme, which had already been heard on

Radio Luxembourg Radio Luxembourg was a multilingual commercial broadcaster in Luxembourg. It is known in most non-English languages as RTL (for Radio Television Luxembourg). The English-language service of Radio Luxembourg began in 1933 as one of the earlies ...

for three years, was one of the first game shows 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 ...

in September 1955 when the new channel began its broadcasts (ITV's other early quiz show was ''

Double Your Money ''Double Your Money'' was a British quiz show hosted by Hughie Green. Originally broadcast on Radio Luxembourg since 1950 and based on the American radio quiz '' Take It Or Leave It'' (1940–1947), it transferred to ITV in September 1955, a fe ...

'', presented by

Hughie Green Hugh Hughes Green (2 February 1920 – 3 May 1997) was an English radio and television presenter, game show host and actor. Early life Green was born in Marylebone, London, to a Scottish father, Hugh Aitchison Green, a former British Army offic ...

). ''Take Your Pick'', which was masterminded by Miles (who was reputed to earn the phenomenal sum of £20,000 a year) relied on public participation and was a ratings success. The show was cancelled in 1968, when producers Associated Rediffusion were forced to become

Thames Television Thames Television, commonly simplified to just Thames, was a Broadcast license, franchise holder for a region of the British ITV (TV network), ITV television network serving Greater London, London and surrounding areas from 30 July 1968 until th ...

in the ITV franchise reshuffle. (The show was revived in 1992 with

Des O'Connor Desmond Bernard O'Connor (12 January 1932 – 14 November 2020) was an English comedian, singer and television presenter. He was a long-time TV chat-show host, beginning with ''The Des O'Connor Show'' in 1963, which ran for ten years. He a ...

.) Miles then hosted a similar show called ''Wheel of Fortune'', not to be confused with the later

of the same name, for

Southern Television Southern Television was the ITV broadcasting licence holder for the South and South-East of England from 30 August 1958 to 31 December 1981. The company was launched as 'Southern Television Limited' and the title 'Southern Television' was con ...

. Rumours of an

alcohol Alcohol most commonly refers to: * Alcohol (chemistry), an organic compound in which a hydroxyl group is bound to a carbon atom * Alcohol (drug), an intoxicant found in alcoholic drinks Alcohol may also refer to: Chemicals * Ethanol, one of sev ...

problem were unfounded; he in fact had

epilepsy Epilepsy is a group of non-communicable neurological disorders characterized by recurrent epileptic seizures. Epileptic seizures can vary from brief and nearly undetectable periods to long periods of vigorous shaking due to abnormal electrical ...

and often locked himself in his dressing room, ashamed of his condition. He died in 1971 aged 51, while on business in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. Miles was married with one son and a daughter. Miles and ''Take Your Pick'' were parodied in a

Monty Python Monty Python (also collectively known as the Pythons) were a British comedy troupe who created the sketch comedy television show '' Monty Python's Flying Circus'', which first aired on the BBC in 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four ...

sketch (titled "Spot the Brain Cell" in its LP version), in which

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 ...

as a quizmaster called Michael cheerfully mocks the stupidity of a female contestant played by

Terry Jones Terence Graham Parry Jones (1 February 1942 – 21 January 2020) was a Welsh comedian, director, historian, actor, writer and member of the Monty Python comedy team. After graduating from Oxford University with a degree in English, Jones and ...

. 1919 births 1971 deaths British game show hosts New Zealand emigrants to the United Kingdom Mass media people from Wellington City {{UK-tv-bio-stub