''Touch the Truck'' was a British
Channel 5 endurance gameshow which aired in March 2001. It was hosted by
Dale Winton
Dale Jonathan Winton (22 May 1955 – 18 April 2018) was an English radio DJ and television presenter. He presented the shows ''Dale's Supermarket Sweep'' from 1993 until 2001 and again in 2007, the National Lottery game show '' In It to W ...
and involved a group of 20 contestants holding onto a stationary truck. The last person left touching the truck — a
Toyota Land Cruiser Amazon — won it.
The show was filmed at the
Lakeside Shopping Centre
Lakeside Shopping Centre, is a large out-of-town shopping centre located in West Thurrock, Essex just beyond the eastern boundary of Greater London. It was constructed on the site of a former chalk quarry. The first tenants moved into the compl ...
in Thurrock, Essex.
Jerry Middleton, 39, from Winchester, Hampshire, was the winner who managed to stay awake touching the vehicle for 81 hours 43 minutes and 31 seconds. He stated that he was going to sell the vehicle to fund a political party. Middleton stood at the
2001 General Election in the
Kingston and Surbiton
Kingston and Surbiton () is a constituency created in 1997 represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2017 by Ed Davey, the Leader of the Liberal Democrats. Kingston and Surbiton has been considered a marginal seat, as wel ...
constituency, but gained only 54 votes of a turnout of 49,093.
Rules
According to the rules
of the competition, disqualification occurred when:
*a contestant overran breaks which were 10 minutes every two hours, and 15 minutes every six hours,
*a contestant removed both hands from the truck, or
*a contestant fell asleep.
The format
The format was devised by
Glenn Barden
Glenn Barden was one of the series producers of the National Geographic series '' One Strange Rock'' hosted by Will Smith.
He became known in the UK in 2000 for creating the controversial television endurance show '' Touch the Truck'', which was d ...
and Dave Hills and is owned by Vashca. It has been subsequently licensed to the Philippines, Indonesia, Portugal and Turkey.
In popular culture
The show played a significant part in the second episode of
Diane Morgan
Diane Morgan (born 5 October 1975) is an English actress, comedian, television presenter, and writer. She is best known for playing Philomena Cunk on Charlie Brooker's '' Weekly Wipe'' and in other mockumentaries, as Liz in the BBC Two sitcom ...
's 2020 BBC sitcom ''
Mandy''.
See also
* ''
Hands on a Hard Body: The Documentary''
References
External links
Vashca*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Touch The Truck
2001 British television series debuts
2001 British television series endings
2000s British game shows
Channel 5 (British TV channel) original programming
English-language television shows