Format
A panel of celebrities would bet on the ability of members of the public to achieve unlikely challenges and stunts, which they had usually planned and rehearsed many times, within a limited amount of time. The studio audience would also place a bet on the outcomes. The panellists would receive points for each outcome they predicted correctly, based on the percentage of the studio audience that also placed a correct bet. The celebrity sponsoring the challenge always had to bet that their challenger would be successful. The accumulated total of points achieved by the celebrities would be added to the points totalled by the studio audience, increased several times over, converted into pounds and donated to a charity chosen by the celebrity panellist who had achieved the highest score.Timeline
1988
Each week there would be four challenges, some in the studio and some on location presented by Ellis Ward. The panellists would each "sponsor" a challenge, and Bruce Forsyth would also sponsor one. If the challenge sponsored by the panellist or Bruce Forsyth was not achieved, that sponsor would have to do a forfeit. (e.g., being a golf caddie or1989–1990
A new theme tune composed by Jonathan Sorrell was introduced in the show's second series.Spring 1991
Series 4 saw some massive changes following the departure of Forsyth at the end of series 3 for concentration on hosting other shows like '' The Generation Game'', '' Play Your Cards Right'' and ''Autumn 1991
Series 5's airing slot was moved from Saturday nights to Friday nights and a reworked version of the theme tune was introduced.1992–1993
The departure of Ward as co-host led to the number of celebrity guests being increased from three to four per show and Kelly doing all the work on location challenges.1994
The show's airing slot was moved back to Saturday nights and the remaining episodes of the seventh series were sponsored by1995
For You Bet's eighth series, it was decided there would be no more forfeits for both the celebrities and host Matthew Kelly when sponsoring their challenges until the forfeits were reinstated in for series 9 in 1996 after Darren Day had taken over from Matthew Kelly as host. Instead, they introduced the celebrity challenge, where the lowest celebrity scorer would do only one forfeit challenge, which would be broadcast in the following week's show. The public then got to vote in at home to donate £1,000 to a charity of their choice if the celebrity succeeded or failed the challenge. The set was replaced by a new "arena" that allowed much more floor space for the challenges. It was during series 8 when Matthew Kelly had announced his intention to leave the show after 4 years to concentrate on hosting '' Stars in Their Eyes''. The viewers' phone vote for the Celebrity Challenge was dropped after Series 8 was shown.1996
For series 9, actor Darren Day took over as host from Kelly who had left the show to concentrate hosting '' Stars in Their Eyes''. The role of co-host that had been absent during series 6–8 following the departure of Ward at the end of series 5 was reinstated for all the work in the location challenges. For this penultimate series, Diane Youdale, who was better known as Jet from the UK series of '' Gladiators'', would take over as the new co-host. The forfeits, having been absent from the earlier series also returned to the show, but they were not chosen by the celebrity guests. They were automatically chosen by the crew at the end of each show for the celebrity who had lowest score in the show.1997
The show introduced a new item for the celebrities, they could play their ''YOU BET! BONUS CARD'', which meant their points would be doubled if they successfully guessed the outcome of a challenge (which can only be played once in the entire show). The celebrity challenge returned to the show, and the audience got to choose which challenge they would choose for the lowest scoring celebrity at the end of the show from two choices with cryptic clue titles (e.g., "Ooh! That's better!" or "Dangling Down"). Sarah Matravers, well known as a gong girl from '' Take Your Pick!'', replaced Youdale as co-host for this final series before the longest ever break. A new theme tune was introduced, composed by Simon Webb.2024–present
Stephen Mulhern and Holly Willoughby became the new co-hosts for the revived series, which contained only two episodes; the first of which was aired on a Saturday night and the second on a Sunday night. The number of celebrity guests per show was again increased from three to four, withEpisodes
The coloured backgrounds denote the result of each of the shows: : – indicates the celebrity successfully backed their challenge and avoided their forfeit (Series 1–7). : – indicates the celebrity failed to back their challenge and received their forfeit (Series 1–7). :BOLD – indicates the celebrity scored the most points and received money for their chosen charity. :''ITALIC'' – indicates the celebrity scored the fewest points and received a celebrity challenge/forfeit (Series 8–10).Series 1 (1988)
Series 2 (1989)
Series 3 (1990)
Series 4 (Spring 1991)
Series 5 (Autumn 1991)
Series 6 (1992)
*Audience member Susan Elvy was asked to play the part of Meryl Streep throughout the showChristmas Special (1992)
Series 7 (1993–1994)
Celebrity Special (1994)
Series 8 (1995)
Series 9 (1996)
Series 10 (1997)
Series 11 (2024)
Series 12 (2025)
Transmissions
Series
Specials
References
External links
* * * {{Wetten, dass..? 1988 British television series debuts 1980s British game shows 1990s British game shows 2020s British game shows British English-language television shows ITV game shows London Weekend Television shows Television series by ITV Studios Wagering British television series based on non-British television series Television shows filmed at Shepperton Studios Television series revived after cancellation