Sale of the Century (UK game show)

Infobox Television
show_name = Sale of the Century


caption =
format = Game Show
picture_format = 4:3
runtime = 30mins (inc. adverts)
creator = Al Howard
starring = Nicholas Parsons (ITV) Peter Marshall (Sky One) Keith Chegwin (Challenge TV)
channel = ITV (8 January, 1972 - 13 November, 1983) Sky One (198? - 199?) Challenge TV (1997)
first_aired = 1972
last_aired = 1997
num_series =
num_episodes =
country = UK
producer = Anglia
related = Sale of the Century
imdb_id =

"Sale of the Century" was first shown on ITV from 1972 to 1983 hosted by Nicholas Parsons, it was revived on Sky One from the late 80s to the early 90s hosted by Peter Marshall, it was revived for the final time but on Challenge TV hosted by Keith Chegwin.

As in the original US edition, there was no "Who am I" instead, six instant bargains would be offered throughout the show. Any of the three players were allowed to buzz in and purchase the Instant Bargain, rather than only offering the prize to the player in the lead. There were three distinct rounds of questioning, with the values rising appropriately (e.g. £1, £3, £5).

Also, in the earliest days, a mini-sale was offered just before intermission, in which a number of smaller gifts were offered for less than £5 each. In this situation, more than one player could buy a given gift, and a player could buy any or all of the prizes on offer.

The series was one of the most consistently high-rating entertainment shows of the 1970s, gaining peak viewing figures of 20 million. This original version of the show was restricted in the prize amount through then national agreements, meaning that the featured cars has to be below £1,500. The producers hence preferred to engage with foreign manufacturers to provide better value prize, often including top of the range Lada's.

On 22 December 1978 (at the time that Nicholas Parsons was hosting the show), an all-out strike at the BBC meant that 21.2 million viewers watched the programme, the highest ever rating for a game show produced by ITV.

The 1989 version followed the Grundy format oddly, the 1997 version reverted to the original rules (except for the mini-sale), despite being produced by the then-parent company of Grundy.

No UK editions to date have offered a cash jackpot.

External Links

* [http://www.ukgameshows.com/page/index.php?title=Sale_of_the_Century "Sale of the Century"] at UKgameshows.com