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Family Fortunes

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This article is about the British TV show. For the Irish show, see Family Fortunes (Irish TV series). For the history book, see Leonore Davidoff.

Family Fortunes
GenreGame show
Based onFamily Feud
by Mark Goodson
Presented by
Narrated by
Theme music composer
  • Jack Parnell & David Lindup (1980–85)
  • Mike Alexander (1987–2002)
  • Ash Alexander & Simon Darlow (2006–15)
  • Marc Sylvan (2020–)
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series
  • 22 (original)
  • 2 (revival)
No. of episodes
  • 575 (original)
  • 30 (revival)
Production
Production locations
Running time
  • 30 minutes (inc. adverts, 1980–2002)
  • 60 minutes (inc. adverts, 2020–present)
Production companies
Original release
NetworkITV
Release6 January 1980 (1980-01-06) –
6 December 2002 (2002-12-06)
Release20 September 2020 (2020-09-20) –
present
Related
Family Feud

Family Fortunes is a British television game show based on the American game show Family Feud. The programme ran on ITV from 6 January 1980 to 6 December 2002. A celebrity version, All Star Family Fortunes, followed from 2006 to 2015. In 2020, the original version of the show returned after 17 years with Gino D'Acampo as host.[3]

The game involves two families providing answers to 'everyday questions' that were surveyed by 100 members of the British public before the show to win prizes (mainly cash). The top answers to the surveys are displayed on a large electronic board, christened by Bob Monkhouse as "Mr. Babbage".

Monkhouse was responsible for changing the name of the show to Family Fortunes as he felt that "feud" sounded too aggressive.[4]

Hosts and presentation

Family Fortunes was first hosted by comedian Bob Monkhouse (1980–83), followed by singer and entertainer Max Bygraves (1983–85). The show returned on 27 June 1987 with Les Dennis as presenter and remained on air for the next 15 years.[5] It was then moved to a daily daytime slot, hosted by Andy Collins.

The most well-known aspects of the show are the large computer screen (named "Mr Babbage" by original host Bob Monkhouse) and the famous computerised sound used when wrong answers are given. The computer screen name, "Mr Babbage", was in recognition of the English mathematician, philosopher, inventor and mechanical engineer Charles Babbage, who originated the concept of a programmable computer. During the Monkhouse and Bygraves era, the board was also used to show the closing credits at the end of the episode. In 1987, a completely different board was used for the first Dennis series, however a board similar to the original Mr Babbage one was used from the following year until its end in 2002. Both the All-Star and 2020 versions use a video wall for the board.

Format

Two family teams, each consisting of five members, are asked to guess the results of surveys in which 100 people would be asked open-ended questions (e.g., "We asked 100 people to name any animal that lives wild in the United Kingdom" or "We asked 100 people to name a food you smell to be sure it's fresh"). Although rarely acknowledged during the programme, the 100 people surveyed are invariably audience members who have volunteered before the show or the families themselves who would be asked questions for the next series.[6]

Each round begins with a member of each family (in rotation, meaning all players do this at least once) approaching the podium. As the question is read, the first of the two nominees to hit the buzzer gives an answer. If it is not the most popular answer, the other nominee is asked. If both nominees fail to give an answer that is on the board, the next members of each family are chosen to answer the question, starting in the same order as the first two nominees. The family with the more popular answer then chooses whether to "play" the question or "pass" control to the other family.

The host then passes down the line of the controlling team, asking for an answer from each member. After each answer, the board reveals whether it features. If not or if they can not come up with an answer in time, the family is charged with a strike (marked with an X), losing control of the board upon their third strike (officially known as striking out in the official rules) in the round. If a family manages to come up with all the answers before striking out, they win the amount in pounds of the total number of people who had given the answers.

If a family strikes out, the opponent is given the chance to "steal" by coming up with an answer that may be amongst those missing. Only the head family member (the first family member or the designated captain) may give the answer after consultation. If the answer is present, this family wins the round and is said to have "stolen" the money. Otherwise, the family that plays the board keeps the money.

On celebrity specials, each top answer adds a bonus of £200 (later £250) to that family's charity.

Double Money

Following three rounds before a commercial break (two rounds in series 1), "Double Money" is played. Gameplay is the same as in the first rounds, but each answer is now worth £2 for each person who said it, and there are generally fewer possible answers. The family who passed £300 (£200 in series 1) first goes through to play "Big Money" (known in some overseas versions as "Fast Money") for the jackpot. On the 2020 revival, the fifth and sixth questions score double points (for the sixth question, each family nominates one person to answer the question from the podium) and the losing family receives £2 per point and a "Family Fortunes buzzer" doorbell. The winning family would be guaranteed ten times their winning score.

Big Money

This involves two contestants (out of the five in the family team) answering five questions that fit with those given by the 100 people surveyed each within a narrow time limit. The first contestant answers the five questions within 15 seconds (20 in the revival). Then the second contestant (who was out of earshot) answers within 20 seconds (25 in the revival), the extra time being to allow for the likelihood of them repeating the first contestant's answer. If this happens, they are asked for another one. Each point gives the family £2 (£10 per point in the revival), up to £398 (£1,990 in the revival), and those points would be added to their earlier winnings. If they get 200 points or more from the ten answers, they then win the top cash prize.

From 1994 onwards, a bonus star prize was available for naming all five "top" (most popular) answers and scoring 200 points. The star prize couldn't be won if they failed to score at least 200 points even if all five top answers had been named.

In the 2020 revival, the top answers were not revealed until after the second contestant gave their answers and their point values were shown, an element that was previously seen in the All-Stars version of the show.

Cash and prizes

The top cash prize in "Big Money" during the first series (1980) was £1,000. From the second series (1981), the prize started at £1,000, then rose by £500 weekly if no one won, to a limit of £3,000 (£2,500 from 1981 to 1982), which it could stay at for more than one week if it still was not won. Once the prize was won, it reverted to £1,000 for the next edition. In the 1987 series, it started at £1,000 and, if not won, rose by £1,000 per week to a maximum of £3,000. From the 1988 series, the prize was fixed at £3,000. After the abolition of the IBA's prize limits, the top prize rose to £5,000 from 1996. The money had to be shared out between contestants.

The bonus star prize was always a family car between 1994 and 1998. From 1998 to 2002, contestants had the choice of either a car or a holiday for up to twelve people. The car suppliers were Honda in 1994, SEAT in 1995 and Daewoo between 1996 and 2002. On the all-star specials, 200 points along with all five top responses donated £5,000 to both teams.

During the programme's brief daytime run in 2002, the prize values were reduced significantly. If the contestants scored over 200 points, they won £1,000 and if they found five top answers, it was increased to £3,000. As with the previous prizes, the £3,000 could only be won if the family scored 200+ points.

In the 2020 revival, the top cash prize is £10,000, which would be tripled to £30,000 if one or both contestants named all of the top answers.

From the second series in 1981 onward, spot prizes were available in the main game, turning up seemingly at random when certain answers were found. These ranged from household appliances like washing machines, vacuum cleaners and toasters, to home entertainment goods such as televisions, video cassette recorders and camcorders. During the two series hosted by Bygraves, if a contestant won a music prize such as a record player, he would usually throw in one of his own LP's as a bonus. In later series, when prize limits were lifted, some of the spot prizes on offer included short weekend breaks away or shopping vouchers.

Transmissions

Original

Series Start date End date Episodes Recorded Presenter
1 6 January 1980[7] 13 July 1980[8] 26 1979–1980 Bob Monkhouse
2 9 January 1981[9] 11 July 1981[10] 26 1980
3 12 December 1981[11] 4 September 1982[12] 29 1981
4 31 December 1982[13] 24 June 1983[14] 26 1982–1983
5 14 October 1983[15] 8 April 1984[16] 24 1983 Max Bygraves
6 18 January 1985[17] 31 May 1985[18] 18 1984
7 27 June 1987[19] 29 August 1987[20] 26 1987 Les Dennis
10 April 1988[21] 31 July 1988[22]
8 23 September 1988[23] 16 December 1988[24] 26 1988
9 April 1989[25] 2 July 1989[26]
9 1 September 1989[27] 22 December 1989[28] 17 1989
10 31 August 1990[29] 28 December 1990[30] 18 1990
11 29 November 1991 18 April 1992 20 1991
12 10 July 1992 1 January 1993 21 1992
13 10 September 1993 31 December 1993 17 1993
14 1 October 1994 15 April 1995 22 1994
15 1 September 1995 26 January 1996 22 1995
16 31 August 1996 8 March 1997 26 1996
17 13 September 1997 21 February 1998 21 1997
18 31 August 1998 25 June 1999 26 1998
19 25 September 1999 11 July 2000 26 1999
20 16 September 2000 13 January 2002 24 2000
21 4 May 2002 31 August 2002 10[a] 2001
22 2 September 2002 6 December 2002 70 2002 Andy Collins

Revival

Series Start date End date Episodes Recorded
1 20 September 2020 3 January 2021 10[31] 2020
2 12 September 2021 27 December 2021 20[32] 2021
23 October 2022 20 November 2022
16 April 2023 21 May 2023
3 TBA TBA 10[33] 2024

Ratings

Series 18

Episode no. Air date Viewers
(millions)[34]		 ITV weekly
ranking[34]
1 31 August 1998 — —
2 7 September 1998 — —
3 21 September 1998 5.95 28
4 28 September 1998 6.47 29
5 3 October 1998 7.05 23
6 10 October 1998 7.17 25
7 17 October 1998 7.08 27
8 24 October 1998 7.38 29
9 31 October 1998 7.30 29
10 7 November 1998 7.34 27
11 28 November 1998 7.54 27
12 5 December 1998 8.23 26
13 12 December 1998 7.27 27
14 19 December 1998 7.20 29
15 23 January 1999 7.47 25
16 30 January 1999 7.71 29
17 6 February 1999 7.70 30
18 13 February 1999 7.87 30
19 20 February 1999 7.52 25
20 27 February 1999 8.04 25
21 11 May 1999 7.87 18
22 24 May 1999 7.97 13
23 31 May 1999 6.40 25
24 11 June 1999 — —
25 18 June 1999 6.17 21
26 25 June 1999 5.40 27

All Star Family Fortunes

All Star Family Fortunes
GenreGame show
Presented byVernon Kay
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series11
No. of episodes126 (inc. 1 special)
Production
Production locationThe London Studios
Running time45 minutes (2006–2010, 2013–2014)
60 minutes (2011–2012, 2015)
Production companiesTalkback Thames (2006–2011)
Thames (2012–2015)
Original release
NetworkITV
Release28 October 2006 (2006-10-28) –
14 June 2015 (2015-06-14)

A celebrity revival of the show presented by Vernon Kay began airing on 28 October 2006 and ended on 14 June 2015 after its eleventh series.

Format

In this version, the game ends after four rounds (five during the hour-long series with two or three Single and two Double), ignoring the 'first to 300 points' rule that the previous incarnations employed, and the losing family receives a consolation prize of the greater of £1,000 or £10 times their score (£3 per point in series 1). Also in Big Money, the celebrity automatically plays the final, meaning that only one other member needs to be picked. If they get 200 points or more from the ten answers, they win £10,000 for their chosen charity, which would be tripled if they get all five top answers, and if they score less than 200 points, those points plus their earlier score would be multiplied by £10 (£3 per point in series 1).

Transmissions

Series Start date End date Episodes
1 28 October 2006 23 December 2006 8
2 27 October 2007 5 January 2008 10
3 13 September 2008 17 January 2009 13
4 20 September 2009 27 February 2010 17
5 11 September 2010 25 December 2010 15
6 20 August 2011 25 December 2011 11
7 11 February 2012 27 December 2012 15
8 6 January 2013 3 March 2013 9
9 29 June 2013 3 August 2013 6
10 28 December 2013 2 March 2014 10
11 28 December 2014 14 June 2015 11

International versions

See also: Celebrity Family Feud § International versions
Country Local name Host Network Air date
Australia All Star Family Feud Grant Denyer Network Ten 2016–2018
Belgium Familieraad (2014) Chris Van den Durpel vtm 2014
Germany Familien-Duell - Prominenten-Special Daniel Hartwich RTL 2013
Ghana Family Feud Ghana Steve Harvey TV3 2020–present
Indonesia New Famili 100 Tukul Arwana Indosiar 2013
South Africa Family Feud South Africa Steve Harvey e.tv 2020–present
United States Celebrity Family Feud Al Roker NBC 2008
Steve Harvey ABC 2015–present
¿Qué dicen los famosos? Rodrigo Vidal Telemundo 2022–present

International versions which use similar elements to All Star Family Fortunes

Country Local name Host Network Air date
India Family Fortunes RJ Mantra Big Magic 2015–2016
Indonesia Super Family Darius Sinathrya antv 2009–2011
New Famili 100 Tukul Arwana Indosiar 2013–2015
Ireland Alan Hughes' Family Fortunes Alan Hughes TV3 2012–2014
Myanmar မိသားစုပြိုင်ပွဲ Kaung Htet Zaw Channel 7 2016–2022
Turkey Birimiz Hepimiz Için Mehmet Ali Erbil Star TV 2009
Aileler Yarişiyor Ufuk Özkan TRT 1 2012–2014
Ukraine Просто шоу Yuriy Horbunov 1+1 2013

Notes

  1. ^ Twenty-four episodes were recorded for Series 21, but ITV only aired the first ten episodes within the schedule. The remaining fourteen episodes were not transmitted until Challenge started broadcasting this series, although they did eventually air on ITV during the 2004 Christmas season.

References

  1. ^ "Elstree – ATV & BBC". TV Studio History. Archived from the original on 19 December 2021. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  2. ^ a b "Ex-ITV Regional Studios". TV Studio History. Archived from the original on 19 December 2021. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  3. ^ Edwards, Chris (1 July 2020). "Family Fortunes reboot series with Gino D'Acampo officially announced by ITV". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 1 July 2020. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  4. ^ "Fortunes favours the brave". Leicester Mercury. 21 July 2020. Archived from the original on 4 December 2022 – via PressReader.
  5. ^ "Les Dennis quits "Family Fortunes"".
  6. ^ Les Dennis, Fingers on Buzzers podcast, 30 October 2020
  7. ^ "05 Jan 1980, 16". Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  8. ^ "12 Jul 1980, 14". Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  9. ^ "09 Jan 1981, 18". Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  10. ^ "11 Jul 1981, 16". Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  11. ^ "12 Dec 1981, 16". Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  12. ^ "04 Sep 1982, 16". Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  13. ^ "31 Dec 1982, 24". Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  14. ^ "24 Jun 1983, 22". Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  15. ^ "14 Oct 1983, 26". Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  16. ^ "7 Apr 1984, 28". Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  17. ^ "18 Jan 1985, 24". Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  18. ^ "31 May 1985, 24". Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  19. ^ "27 Jun 1987, 30". Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  20. ^ "29 Aug 1987, 26". Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  21. ^ "9 Apr 1988, 39". Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  22. ^ "30 Jul 1988, 33". Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  23. ^ "23 Sep 1988, 40". Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  24. ^ "16 Dec 1988, 40". Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  25. ^ "Evening Times - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  26. ^ "Evening Times - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  27. ^ "1 Sep 1989, 38". Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  28. ^ "22 Dec 1989, 34". Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  29. ^ "31 Aug 1990, 34". Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  30. ^ "28 Dec 1990, 32". Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  31. ^ "Our survey says: Family Fortunes is back". Fremantle. 1 July 2020. Archived from the original on 9 August 2020.
  32. ^ Darvill, Josh (15 December 2020). "Family Fortunes will be back with Gino d'Acampo for new series in 2021". TellyMix. Archived from the original on 15 December 2020.
  33. ^ Darvill, Josh (2 October 2023). "Family Fortunes renewed for new series with Gino D'Acampo". TellyMix. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
  34. ^ a b "Weekly Top 30 Programmes". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
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