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''Weakest Link'' (also known as ''The Weakest Link'') is a 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 Let's Play, demonstrative and are typically directed b ...
which
first appeared in the United Kingdom on
BBC Two
BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...
on 14 August 2000 and originally ended on 31 March 2012 when its host
Anne Robinson
Anne Josephine Robinson (born 26 September 1944) is an English television presenter and journalist. She was the host of BBC game show ''The Weakest Link'' (2000–2017). She presented the Channel 4 game show ''Countdown'' from June 2021 to July ...
completed her contract. The original British version of the show is still aired around the world on
BBC Entertainment
BBC Entertainment is an international television channel broadcasting comedy, drama, light entertainment, reality and children's programming (some regions only) from the BBC, Channel 4 and other UK production houses. The channel broadcasts regi ...
. The game begins with a team of eight or nine contestants who take turns answering general knowledge questions within a time limit to create chains of correct answers in a row. At the end of each round, the players vote one contestant, "The Weakest Link", out of the game. Once two players are left, they play in a head-to-head contest, with five questions asked to each contestant in turn, to determine the winner.
The format has been licensed across the world, with many countries producing their own series of the programme and is the second most popular international franchise, behind only the ''
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?'' (often informally called ''Millionaire'') is an international television game show franchise of British origin, created by David Briggs, Mike Whitehill and Steven Knight. In its format, currently owned and ...
'' franchise, which also originated in the UK.
Format
The programme sees a group of contestants ranging from five to nine players who will need to work as a team to try to win as much as possible of a maximum cash jackpot by correctly answering general-knowledge questions in a series of rapid-fire rounds.
Each round features a money chain of anywhere from five to nine increasing cash values, with a maximum cash target that the team must attempt to reach within a time limit. Questions are asked of the team members sequentially. In the first round, play will typically start with the first player alphabetically or by a random-draw before the game starts. The team can most quickly achieve the target by stringing together a chain of consecutive correct answers, the minimum number of which depends on the number of "links" in the money chain, usually but not always the same as the number of contestants at the start of the show. A correct answer increases the value of the succeeding question, while an incorrect answer breaks the chain, losing all money accumulated in that chain. A contestant can secure the accumulated money in the chain by saying "Bank" before their question is asked, some versions require the contestant to wait to bank until their name is called; doing so however resets the chain to zero and the team must rebuild again. The round ends when the team has either run out of time or banked the target, in which case the round ends prematurely. The target amount is the maximum amount available in the round. If the team banks a total exceeding this amount, it is rounded down to the maximum amount. Only the money that has been banked is taken forward in the game, forming the total prize money available at the end.
Each round ends with the team voting off one person from the game. Before the votes are revealed, a voice-over announcer reveals who statistically is the Strongest Link and Weakest Link, determined by how many questions were answered correctly and incorrectly, the amount of money banked and lost, and the total monetary value of the questions asked. The votes are then revealed, followed by inquiry by the host for the reasoning behind the vote, along with berating of the contestants. The person with the most votes is named the Weakest Link regardless of the statistics, is eliminated from the game, and wins nothing. In the event of a tie, the Strongest Link is immediately deemed immune from the vote and must break the tie.
This process repeats, with each successive round beginning with the Strongest Link from the last round, or the second-Strongest Link, if the Strongest Link was voted off, and the time limit available to them decreasing usually by 10 or 15 seconds. Once there are two players remaining, they play one final round, where the money banked is multiplied by a certain amount. In some versions, however, the game has gone straight to the head-to-head finale after the final elimination.
The final two contestants then compete in a head-to-head round to determine the winner, with the Strongest Link from the last round determining who begins the round. The contestants are alternately asked a series of five questions each. The player who correctly answers the most wins the money accumulated in the game. If there is a draw, the game continues to sudden death, where the first to answer a question correctly over their opponent's incorrect answer wins. The loser, like all other contestants prior, goes home with nothing.
Game rule and format variations
Compared with the original format, the others have some changes, making them not the same as the original.
Host
In the UK original series, the host is
Anne Robinson
Anne Josephine Robinson (born 26 September 1944) is an English television presenter and journalist. She was the host of BBC game show ''The Weakest Link'' (2000–2017). She presented the Channel 4 game show ''Countdown'' from June 2021 to July ...
. Producers chose her with the intention of being both firm to the contestants yet understanding when a contestant gets voted off. However, in producing the show, Robinson began to act cold, harsh and mean to the contestants. Some international hosts like
Chazia Mourali,
Montserrat Ontiveros,
Andrei Georghe,
Neena Gupta
Neena Gupta (born 4 June 1959) is an Indian actress and television director who works in Hindi films and television. Known for her work in both art-house and commercial films, she won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress for pl ...
,
Hülya Uğur Tanrıöver,
Fiona Coyne,
Goedele Liekens
Goedele Maria Gertrude Liekens (born 21 January 1963 in Aarschot) is a Belgian politician, sexologist and television presenter, currently serving as a member of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives for the party Open VLD, to which she was elec ...
,
Laurence Boccolini
Laurence Boccolini (born 8 May 1963) is a French radio and television host.
Career Radio
Her career began in the early 1980s on the RTY radio. In 1987, she joined Europe 1 where she hosted many programs, including ''Lenoir'', ''Les Inconnus de ...
, and
Trine Gregorius went to the BBC Studio for instruction and training purpose (meeting the UK production team and Anne Robinson) to replicate the presenting style.
However, the format distributor
BBC Worldwide
BBC Worldwide Ltd. was the wholly owned commercial subsidiary of the BBC, formed out of a restructuring of its predecessor BBC Enterprises in January 1995. The company monetises BBC brands, selling BBC and other British programming for broadcas ...
changed the rules and this is not required anymore. As a result, some international hosts are nicer and more relaxed to the contestants. This has changed the whole program style compared with the original
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
series. The first notable example of this change was seen during
George Gray's tenure as host in the 2002–03 syndicated version of the American edition; other times where this has happened were in France (2014–15), Turkey (2015, 2019), Finland (2017–18), Cyprus (2017–21), the Netherlands (2019–20), Greece (2019–), the United States (2020–), Australia (2021–22), and the United Kingdom (2021–).
The new Dutch host
Bridget Maasland is also the first host worldwide not to wear black clothing on every episode. Although she does wear dark and black suits on about half of the shows, she often wears bright colored outfits in the other episodes. Her style of hosting resembles the style Anne Robinson adapted in the later UK shows, asking contestants more about their private lives, let them sing and dance during the voting and chit chat about more than just the mistakes made.
The hosting attitude of
Jane Lynch
Jane Marie Lynch (born July 14, 1960) is an American actress, comedian and author. She is known for starring as Sue Sylvester in the musical comedy series '' Glee'' (2009–2015), which earned her a Primetime Emmy Award. Lynch also gained recog ...
who hosted the
American edition's 2020 revival was more so that of sarcasm, and snarky - reminiscent of her noted
Sue Sylvester
Susan "Sue" Rodham Sylvester is a fictional character of the Fox musical comedy-drama series, '' Glee''. The character is portrayed by actress Jane Lynch, and appears in ''Glee'' from its pilot episode, first broadcast on May 19, 2009, through ...
character from ''
Glee
Glee means delight, a form of happiness.
Glee may also refer to:
* Glee (music), a type of English choral music
* ''Glee'' (TV series), an American musical comedy-drama TV series, and related media created by Ryan Murphy
* ''Glee'' (Bran Van 30 ...
''.
US version
Syndicated
In the second syndicated version of the American version, after the second to last round, the last two contestants do not face the clock and the money tree. Instead, the remaining two contestants go straight into the head-to-head round. In the event the Strongest Link is voted off, the Second-Strongest Link makes the decision as to who goes first.
2020 revival
Unlike the original version, the top prize money available increases after each round. The top prize money starts at $25,000 in round 1 and increases by $25,000 per round until round 4. The top prize money in rounds 5 and 6 is set at $250,000 and $500,000, respectively.
A minor addition to the game is that of a buzzer added to each contestant's podium. This is used both to bank money (with contestants not only having to say the word "bank" before being asked the question but must also press the buzzer), as well as to reveal the contestant's vote.
Some non-gameplay variations were also adapted to the revived series: the contestants no longer handwrite their votes, rather they vote via a touch screen panel, tapping the button of the player they wish to vote off. This screen is also used to present visual information for visual questions - where the host will ask the contestants to identify items that appear on the screen. Additionally, the host will discuss the contestants' mistakes before the vote reveals - with the weakest link being eliminated immediately after the vote reveal. Like season 2 of the syndicated version, once only two contestants remain the game goes straight to the head-to-head round.
Changes from this version were featured in the 2021 Australian version - with the top prize being $250,000 and the prize increases for each round being as follows ($10,000, $15,000, $20,000, $30,000, $75,000, $100,000).
French version
The latest French version (aired from 2014 to 2015) also does not use the clock and money tree for the final round, and in the penultimate round is the 3-player triple stake round for
€
The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists ...
15,000 and lasts 90 seconds.
Dutch version
In the Dutch version that started in May 2019, just like on the latest French version, round 8 was cut from the format after they aired the show for two weeks. Instead, in round 7, the money triples, and one last player is eliminated after that round. Making the top prize money no longer €10,000, but €9,000. After that, the remaining two contestants go straight into the head-to-head round. However, in the 2nd series, the number of contestants dropped to 7. The top prize money decreased to €8,000, and the 90-second round returned.
International versions
![WL-map](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/59/WL-map.png)
The format is currently distributed by
BBC Studios
BBC Studios is a British content company. It is a commercial subsidiary of the BBC that was formed in April 2018 through the merger of the BBC's commercial production arm and the BBC's commercial international distribution arm, BBC Worldwide. ...
, the commercial arm of the BBC, following their merger with
BBC Worldwide
BBC Worldwide Ltd. was the wholly owned commercial subsidiary of the BBC, formed out of a restructuring of its predecessor BBC Enterprises in January 1995. The company monetises BBC brands, selling BBC and other British programming for broadcas ...
and also is produced by different production companies. Australia was the 1st country to adapt the format; not all the international versions share the same title as UK.
As with the original British version, all of the hosts wear black clothing (or sometimes dark colours with black). Most versions also have disciplinarian female hosts, again similar to the British original—with exceptions being Fausto Silva (Brazil), Tasos Tryfonos (Cyprus and Greece),
Julien Courbet
Julien Courbet (born 7 February 1965) is a French journalist, television presenter and producer.
Early life and education
Julien Courbet was born Frédéric René Courbet in Eysines, a town located in the suburb of Bordeaux, department of Giron ...
(France), Riku Nieminen (Finland),
Nikolai Fomenko
Nikolay Vladimirovich Fomenko (russian: Николай Владимирович Фоменко, born 30 April 1962) is a Russian musician, comic actor, professional motor racer, former president of Marussia Motors and former engineering direc ...
(Russia), Eamon Dunphy (Ireland),
Edu Manzano
Eduardo "Edu" Manzano (; born September 14, 1955) is a Filipino American, Filipino-American actor, fashion model, TV commercial model, comedian, politician, United States Air Force veteran and television game host. He was previously the host of ...
,
Allan K. (both Philippines),
Shirō Itō
is a Japanese actor and comedian.
Filmography
Film
* ''Zatoichi and the One-Armed Swordsman'' (1971)
* '' Lupin III: Strange Psychokinetic Strategy'' (1974)
* ''Princess from the Moon'' (1987)
* ''A Taxing Woman'' (1987)
* ''Minbo'' (1992)
* ' ...
(Japan), Pedro Granger (Portugal),
Enrico Papi
Enrico Papi (born 3 June 1965) is an Italian television presenter.
Tv
Rai
* '' Fantastico bis'' (Rai 1, 1988-1990)
* '' Unomattina'' (Rai 1, 1990-1994)
* '' La Banda dello Zecchino'' (Rai 1, 1992)
* '' Unomattina Estate'' (Rai 1, 1992-1993) ...
(Italy), Tseng Yang Qing (Taiwan), Baybars Altuntaş (Turkey),
George Gray (United States) and
Romesh Ranganathan
Jonathan Romesh Ranganathan (born 27 March 1978), is an English actor and comedian. He is known for his deadpan and often self-deprecating comedy.
Ranganathan has made numerous appearances on television comedy panel shows, and in 2016 he co-p ...
(United Kingdom). Gray, Courbet and Ranganathan are comedians, and those versions were designed to play off comedy.
In Croatia, in May 2010, the quiz reached its 1,008th episode, and with the British original is the only version to have reached as many episodes.
Legend:
Currently airing
No longer airing
Unsold pilot
Future version
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weakest Link
2000s game shows
2010s game shows
2020s game shows