Strike It Lucky, 1986
It’s twenty years since Strike It Lucky finished. Based on the American show of the same name, it began it’s run in 1986 and just one year later (1987) it had become was the fifth most watched program on UK television.
During the show’s early years it became known for it’s outlandish and often highly eccentric contestants. The introductory footage of the prizes also became noteworthy as it was very often filmed in black and white and presented in a slapstick style.
Strike It Lucky ran for thirteen series clocking up a mammoth two hundred and thirteen shows along the way.
The show was produced by Thames Television for ITV for the first nine series. Taking a break in 1993, it returned for it’s final four series in 1996 under a new title “Michael Barrymore’s Strike It Rich”. Still based on an American show of the same name (which unlike it’s counterpart was short-lived) this time the show was produced by LWT. The show moved to new studios with a newly designed set.
Strike It Lucky remains one the very few ITV programs to have been produced by both Thames and LWT (weekday and weekend ITV franchise holders in London, respectively).
Summary
Three teams of two start out to compete to win cash and prizes.
One member of each team stands at the podiums to answer questions, while the other moves along a path lined with ten television monitors.
Each team has it’s own path and the moving contestants start at the first monitor. They need a total of nine steps to reach the other end, along the way they can bank cash and prizes by choosing to stay at that point. All along the path they must avoid the hotspots.
The team in control is given a category and a list of six answers, and the answering contestant chooses to play two, three, or four questions. If they answer all the questions correctly, their teammate gains the right to move one step ahead per question. An incorrect answer gave the next team in line a chance to steal control by answering the same question and any that followed it.
Clips
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Starring: Michael Barrymore
Voice Over
JohnBenson
Robin Houston
Nick Jackson
Details
Channel: ITV
Created By: Kline And Friends
Original Transmission Dates: 29th October 1986 – 23rd August 1999