Whodunnit ? – 1972
Many years ago (well 50 to be exact) through the mists of time there was a popular talent show called Opportunity Knocks (we’ve covered it). When Opp Knocks was off the air during the summer we had Whodunnit ? for much of that time. In this age of multi- channel TV, it’s another of those shows that gets left to one side, so we thought we’d dust it down and take a closer look.
This Thames production for the ITV network was devised by a couple of well known names from the world of comedy.
Whodunnit was a TV game show loosely based around the board game Cluedo. It ran for six series between 1972 and 1978. A pilot episode was produced and we believe broadcast on 15th August 1972, this was hosted by Shaw Taylor, who was replaced by Edward Woodward when the series proper began in 1973.
In it’s early days the show was hosted by Edward Woodward and adopted the familiar panel-game studio layout, of bland set with panelists sat behind desks. This would change from series three when the murder scene itself was used as the set back drop. From series two Doctor Who and Navy Lark star Jon Pertwee (who had himself been a panellist on the first series) took over hosting duties.
Summary
Celebrity panellists were shown a dramatised murder and had to guess the identity of the killer or killers from the clues presented. This was done by the panellists interviewing the remaining characters to establish who the murderer was. The only clue – only the murderer could lie.
Clips
From the Pilot Episode
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Edward Woodward Hosts Series 1
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Jon Pertwee Hosts From series 2 Onwards
Hosted By
Shaw Taylor (pilot)
Edward Woodward (series one)
Jon Pertwee (series two – six)
Details
Channel: ITV
Written By: Lance Percival and Jeremy Lloyd
Produced By: Thames Television
Original Transmission Dates:
15th August 1972 (pilot)
25th June 1973 – 26th June 1978
Where To Watch
Selected episodes can be found on You Tube, the complete series collection is available on DVD from Network On Air