''The Golden Shot'' is a
British television 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 demonstrative and are typically directed by a host, ...
produced by
ATV for
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 ...
between 1 July 1967 and 13 April 1975, based on the German TV show ''
Der goldene Schuß''. It is most commonly associated with host
Bob Monkhouse
Robert Alan Monkhouse (1 June 1928 – 29 December 2003) was an English comedian, writer and actor. He was the host of television game shows including ''The Golden Shot'', '' Celebrity Squares'', '' Family Fortunes'' and '' ''Wipeout'.
Ear ...
, but three other presenters also fronted the show. Hostess
Anne Aston was on hand to read out the scores achieved by the contestants, and each month a "Maid of the Month", usually a glamour model of the era, would demonstrate the prizes and announce the contestants. When Bob Monkhouse returned to present the show in 1974, he was joined by co-hostess (to Anne Aston) Wei Wei Wong, who had recently been seen in ''
The Man with the Golden Gun'' and who was an ex-member of
the Young Generation and Second Generation dance troupes. This was one of the earliest regular appearances by an East Asian woman on British TV.
The show was broadcast live and used a crossbow attached to a TV camera to shoot a bolt at a target, using the camera as the crossbow's viewfinder. The person who loaded the crossbows was referred to by the nickname "Bernie" (or "Heinz" in early episodes), giving rise to the catchphrase "Bernie, the bolt".
Gameplay
The show involved the "Tele-Bow", a
crossbow
A crossbow is a ranged weapon using an elastic launching device consisting of a bow-like assembly called a ''prod'', mounted horizontally on a main frame called a ''tiller'', which is hand-held in a similar fashion to the stock of a long fire ...
attached to a
television camera
A professional video camera (often called a television camera even though its use has spread beyond television) is a high-end device for creating electronic moving images (as opposed to a movie camera, that earlier recorded the images on film). ...
guided by a contestant. It shot a
bolt at an exploding target embedded in an apple positioned on a topical backdrop (usually an enlargement of Bob's own cartoons). In the first round, the crossbow was operated by blindfolded cameraman Derek Chason receiving instructions from a contestant, playing either at home by phone or in the studio from an isolation booth. First-round winners from previous shows would be invited to the studio to compete in pairs using crossbows fitted with butts, sights, and triggers mounted on stands. In later rounds, the contestants operated the crossbow themselves, first by remote control using a joystick, and finally handling the Tele-Bow directly for the ultimate prize. The last and most difficult task was to fire the crossbow bolt to cut a fine thread holding a small door closed. Breaking the thread opened the door, producing a shower of gold coins.
Contestants who successfully negotiated seven (later four) rounds of targets won a reasonable prize; those who missed got a negligible one. Most who reached the final stage operated the Tele-Bow like a rifle, with mixed results. One winner simply stood next to it and used a light touch on the rifle butt, sighting using the TV screen.
In his autobiography, host
Bob Monkhouse
Robert Alan Monkhouse (1 June 1928 – 29 December 2003) was an English comedian, writer and actor. He was the host of television game shows including ''The Golden Shot'', '' Celebrity Squares'', '' Family Fortunes'' and '' ''Wipeout'.
Ear ...
recounted the story of a person who competed on the show from a telephone kiosk while watching a television in a rental shop over the road. While the contestant was directing the bolt, however, an assistant came in and switched the televisions off or changed the channel.
Another story Monkhouse told was about a priest (who was in the studio audience) audibly praying during the programme that he wouldn't get injured by the bolt, only for the bolt to ricochet off the target and land beside the priest.
Broadcast history
The show's first host was Canadian singer and record producer
Jackie Rae
John Arthur Rae, CM, DFC (May 14, 1921 – October 5, 2006) was a Canadian singer, songwriter and television performer.
Biography
He was born John Arthur Cohen to immigrants in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1921. His father Goodman Cohen was Lithu ...
. Bob Monkhouse was a guest star on the tenth episode, and his autobiography reveals he did so fully intending to demonstrate to the producers that he should replace Rae as host. The plan worked, and Monkhouse took over as host from the 15th show onward. His quick wit, and willingness to revel in the show's chaotic nature led the Monkhouse era to be regarded as the show's golden age; by programme 26, the viewing figures were up by 50%. Because the programme was broadcast live (necessary because contestants took part over the telephone), Monkhouse often chatted to the participants to fill in whilst the crossbow was adjusted after the previous round.
In January 1968, the show moved to Sunday afternoons at around 16:40.
Michael Grade
Michael Ian Grade, Baron Grade of Yarmouth, (born 8 March 1943) is an English television executive and businessman. He has held a number of senior roles in television, including controller of BBC1 (1984–1986), chief executive of Channel 4 (1 ...
has claimed that this resulted from a remark he made to his uncle,
Lew Grade
Lew Grade, Baron Grade, (born Lev Winogradsky; 25 December 1906 – 13 December 1998) was a British media proprietor and impresario. Originally a dancer, and later a talent agent, Grade's interest in television production began in 1954 ...
, ATV's deputy chairman and joint managing director, that the cinemas were full on Sunday afternoons because there was nothing to watch on television. However, the Midlands and North weekend franchisee
ABC Television ABC Television most commonly refers to:
*ABC Television Network of the American Broadcasting Company, United States, or
*ABC Television (Australian TV network), a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Australia
ABC Television or ABC ...
had been showing the programme in this slot since late September 1967, so Grade must share the credit with ABC's programme controller
Brian Tesler. The scheduling change coincided with a move of the production from
ATV Elstree near London, to the Alpha Studios at
Aston in
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...
. Audience levels peaked at 16 million. The studio facilities in Birmingham, situated in a converted cinema, were rather run-down and unreliable (they dated from the start of ATV's franchise in 1956) and simply not well-suited to a fast-moving live show like ''The Golden Shot''; as such, technical failures were common, but Monkhouse was well able to cover for them through his quick-witted humour. From 1970, the show moved to the new
ATV Centre in Birmingham.
In 1972, Monkhouse was spotted accepting a gift from
Wilkinson Sword
Wilkinson Sword is a formerly British brand for razors and other personal care products sold in Europe, owned by the US company Edgewell Personal Care. The company was founded as a manufacturer of guns made in Shotley Bridge in County Durham, ...
representative Bob Brooksby. The following week, a Wilkinson Sword "his and hers" grooming kit was the bronze prize on the show. ATV's production controller Francis Essex suspected
collusion
Collusion is a deceitful agreement or secret cooperation between two or more parties to limit open competition by deceiving, misleading or defrauding others of their legal right. Collusion is not always considered illegal. It can be used to att ...
and fired Monkhouse, although publicly it was announced that he "was being released to find opportunities for his abilities elsewhere". The gift was in fact the collectable book ''The Shy Photographer'' and there was no collusion; however Monkhouse's side of the story was not made public until his autobiography ''Crying with Laughter'' was published in 1993.
The next host was comedian and entertainer
Norman Vaughan, who was assisted by regular hostess
Anne Aston and for several months "Maid of the Month"
Cherri Gilham
Cherri Gilham (born 31 December 1944), also known as Cheryl Gilham, Cherry Gilham, and Cheryl G DeMille, is a former comedy actress who was one of the first "Page 3" girls and is now a writer, musician and video producer.
Biography
Modell ...
. In theory, Norman Vaughan was an ideal host for the show but the pressure of the live show seemed to overwhelm him and he was never as confident a host as Monkhouse. Audience figures began to drop and in late 1973, he was replaced by comedian (and former
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...
)
Charlie Williams along with hostess Wendy King. Williams, of Barbadian ancestry on his father's side and Yorkshire on his mother's side, was rather a novelty on British TV at the time, being a black man with a broad
Yorkshire accent
The Yorkshire dialect (also known as Broad Yorkshire, Tyke, Yorkie or Yorkshire English) is a dialect of English, or continuum of dialects, spoken in the Yorkshire region of Northern England. The dialect has roots in Old English and is influe ...
. Despite his cheerfulness and amiability he proved unsuited to handling the pressure of a live TV show where things frequently went wrong. After six months, Williams was also replaced.
On 20 March 1974, Francis Essex met with Bob Monkhouse to invite him back onto the show. Monkhouse had no hesitation in accepting the offer, though, his agent negotiated that he would only return if ATV took up an option on the American game show ''
The Hollywood Squares
''Hollywood Squares'' (originally ''The Hollywood Squares'') is an American game show in which two contestants compete in a game of tic-tac-toe to win cash and prizes. The show Television pilot, piloted on NBC in 1965 and the regular series debut ...
''. This was agreed, and Monkhouse returned as host of the new season of ''The Golden Shot'' on 14 July 1974. It was complete with a new theme song, "Golden Day", written by
Lynsey de Paul and
Barry Blue
Barry Blue (born Barry Ian Green, 4 December 1950) is an English singer, producer, and songwriter. As an artist, he is best known for his hit songs " Dancin' (on a Saturday Night)" and "Do You Wanna Dance" (both 1973).
Blue has also been a pr ...
and sung by
Stephanie de Sykes and Rain. Very soon it was obvious that the show was back at its peak
however, the last edition of the show was transmitted on 13 April 1975, with Monkhouse, Vaughan and Williams all hosting it together. ATV felt that the show had a long successful run, and it was retiring various old shows to make way for new ones, including Monkhouse's version of ''Hollywood Squares'', ''
Celebrity Squares
''Celebrity Squares'' is a British comedy game show based on the American comedy game show '' Hollywood Squares''. It first ran from 20 July 1975 to 7 July 1979 and was hosted by Bob Monkhouse, then—also hosted by Monkhouse—from 8 Ja ...
'', which debuted on 20 July 1975.
Bernie, the bolt!
The show's catchphrase became ''"Bernie, the bolt!"'' (originally ''"Heinz, the bolt!"'', as Heinz had been brought over from Germany when the show was imported). The instruction was from the host to the armourer that the crossbow bolt should be loaded. Three people acted as "Bernie" on the show; Alan Bailey, Derek Young, and Johnny Baker (a film unit
grip). There was an element of mystery associated with the crossbow loaders, as they were not introduced by name and said nothing.
Revivals
The programme was revived in two forms.
In 1991, the idea was used for the final round, "The Dart Through the Heart", of the Bob Monkhouse gameshow for newly married couples, ''
Bob's Your Uncle
"Bob's your uncle" is a phrase commonly used in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth countries that means "and there it is" or "and there you have it" or "it's done". Typically, someone says it to conclude a set of simple instructions or when a ...
''. The winning couple would compete for a jackpot where one partner was blindfolded and the other guided them in trying to shoot a dart into a heart-shaped target. The armourer for this was female, and introduced by the request, "Donna, the dart".
On 1 October 2005, as part of their ''
Gameshow Marathon'' celebrating 50 years of the
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 ...
network,
Ant & Dec
Ant & Dec are a British television presenting duo, consisting of Anthony McPartlin (born 18 November 1975) and Declan Donnelly (born 25 September 1975), from Newcastle upon Tyne, England. Formed after their meeting as child actors on CBBC's ...
hosted a one-off revival that was the only edition of the series to be broadcast live. The show was revived again as a one-off on
Vernon Kay's ''
Gameshow Marathon'' on 28 April 2007.
Parodies
The show was parodied as "The Golden Shoot" in an episode of
The Benny Hill Show
''The Benny Hill Show'' is a British comedy television show starring Benny Hill that aired on the BBC and ITV (from 1969) between 15 January 1955 and 1 May 1989. The show consisted mainly of sketches that were full of slapstick, mime, parody ...
broadcast 25 December 1969.
See also
* ''
TV Powww
''TV Powww'' (often stylized as ''TV POWWW'') was a franchised television game show format, in which home viewers controlled a video game via telephone in hopes of winning prizes.
History
The ''TV Powww'' format, produced and distributed by Flor ...
'' (similar US program, involving video games)
References
External links
* .
''The Golden Shot''at BFI.
* .
{{DEFAULTSORT:Golden Shot, The
ITV game shows
Television series by ITV Studios
1967 British television series debuts
1975 British television series endings
1960s British game shows
1970s British game shows
English-language television shows
Television shows produced by Associated Television (ATV)
Television shows shot at ATV Elstree Studios