Only in our country could there be a programme like 'Call My Bluff', a show in half-hour editions which suggests three different definitions for an actual (but obscure) word, and lets one of the opposing team guess which one is correct.
In such a simple set-up there's a lot of humour. There had been a couple of earlier incarnations of this show (one I remember being presented by Robert Robinson, with Arthur Marshall and Frank Muir as team captains) before it returned in 1997 with Bob Holness as presenter, Sandi Toskvig and Alan Coren as team captains. This was a good mix, and in the actors, comedians and journalists who came on as guests there was a lot of scope to make the half-hour as entertaining as possible.
Threatened with cancellation after five years the show underwent a further revamp with Fiona Bruce replacing Bob Holness, and Rod Liddle replacing Sandi Toskvig. Alan Coren lingers on as an entertaining and crabby bon viveur. 'Call My Bluff' is a look back at TV past, a gentler time, and all the better for it. I hope it continues in some form or other for a long time yet.
