''Waffle'' is a British

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 ...

that 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 ...

from 24 March to 24 June 1998. It was hosted by

Nick Weir Nicholas David Weir (born 20 November 1964) is an English people, English entertainer and presenter. He was the second presenter of ''Catchphrase (UK game show), Catchphrase'' and is currently the Senior Vice President of Entertainment for Royal C ...

and was Weir's first nationally broadcast game show. The guests in the first episode were

Lisa Riley Lisa Jane Riley (born 13 July 1976) is an English actress and television presenter. Riley portrayed Mandy Dingle in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale'' between 1995 and 2001, and again from 2019. She also replaced Jeremy Beadle as the presenter of ' ...

, then-host of fellow Granada-produced show ''

You've Been Framed! ''You've Been Framed!'' is a British television series where viewers can contribute to the programme with their humorous home movies for the entertainment of others. It is produced by ITV Studios and comedian Harry Hill has been providing narrat ...

'', and

Jonathan Kerrigan Jonathan Kerrigan (born 14 October 1972) is an English actor well known for various leading roles on TV including '' In The Club'', ''Casualty'', '' Heartbeat'', ''Merseybeat, The Five'' and ''Reach For The Moon''. Films include '' Diana'', ''FL ...

from ''

Casualty Casualty may refer to: *Casualty (person), a person who is killed or rendered unfit for service in a war or natural disaster **Civilian casualty, a non-combatant killed or injured in warfare * The emergency department of a hospital, also known as ...

''. Other contestants over the run of the series included

Claudia Winkleman Claudia Anne Irena Winkleman (born 15 January 1972) is an English television presenter, radio personality, film critic and journalist. Between 2004 and 2010, she presented '' Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two'' on weeknights on BBC Two. Since ...

Michael Willson Michael Andreas Willson (born 29 October 1963) is a British former professional sportsperson best known for his role as Cobra on the British TV show ''Gladiators'' Career Willson has said he often appeared on ''Gladiators'' drunk and was nea ...

(A.K.A. Cobra) from ''

Gladiators A gladiator ( la, gladiator, "swordsman", from , "sword") was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gla ...

'' and actor

Kevin Lloyd Kevin Reardon Lloyd (28 March 1949 – 2 May 1998) was a British television actor, who came to prominence in the role of DC Alfred "Tosh" Lines in Thames Television's police drama series ''The Bill''. Early life Lloyd was born in Derby in ...

from ''

The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, first broadcast on ITV from 16 August 1983 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, '' Woodentop'', broadcast in August 1983. The programme focused on ...

'' who died in 1998 whilst both shows were still running. He was a contestant in several episodes. Cheryl Andrews, comedian John Martin and television presenter

Lionel Blair Lionel Blair (born Henry Lionel Ogus; 12 December 1928 – 4 November 2021) was a Canadian-born British actor, choreographer, tap dancer, and television presenter. From the late 1960s until the early 1980s, he made regular appearances as a danc ...

also appeared as contestants.

Format

The concept behind the game is that contestants identify individual words through

rebus A rebus () is a puzzle device that combines the use of illustrated pictures with individual letters to depict words or phrases. For example: the word "been" might be depicted by a rebus showing an illustrated bumblebee next to a plus sign (+) ...

es, rather than well-known phrases in ''

Catchphrase A catchphrase (alternatively spelled catch phrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through word of mouth and a variety of mass ...

''. It's based on the board game ''Hudson's Rebus''. The prizes on the show are comically cheap and humorous, with the winning prize being a waffle toaster and the consolation prize being

waffle A waffle is a dish made from leavened batter or dough that is cooked between two plates that are patterned to give a characteristic size, shape, and surface impression. There are many variations based on the type of waffle iron and recipe used ...

s themselves. The set features a large rotating "W" in the background, this being the "W" from the ''Waffle'' logo. The audience are seated at either end of the desk that the first round is played on, although it has been noted that with this set up, some the audience appear to have not been able to see the game very clearly. Weir introduces the show as "the show that celebrates the great British art of waffle".

External links

* * {{UKGameshow, Waffle 1998 British television series debuts 1998 British television series endings 1990s British game shows English-language television shows ITV game shows Television shows produced by Granada Television Television series by ITV Studios