ITV’s ‘worst quiz show’ revealed by viewers – and it’s not what you would expect
UK quiz show fans have revealed the one they dislike the most – and the results may surprise you.
There were a lot to choose from but a couple really stood out as formats that got the country’s back up on Reddit.
Top of the love to hate list seems to be Deal or No Deal, with viewers baffled at how the simple format is drawn out.
Contestants each have an amount of money hidden in their sealed box, one is picked out to play and whittle down amounts that other contestants have in the hope of being left with the highest amount possible.
At various points a mysterious off camera character called ‘the banker’ rings up and offers money for the contestant’s unopened box, based on what’s left on the board.
It’s a game that relies entirely on randomness and luck to build drama and jeopardy.
Originally airing in the UK back in 2005, when Noel Edmonds was hosting, the series has recently moved to ITV from Channel 4 and is now hosted by Stephen Mulhern.
But it seems the magician turned comic host hasn’t been enough to save the show from the fan’s judgements.
Answering the question of which title was worst one fan said: “Deal or No Deal. It was just randomly opening boxes, but contestants always talked about their strategies.”
Another agreed on the simplicity of the show’s format: “Just pure luck, no skill or knowledge.”
One viewer seemed to sum up the debate on game ‘tactics’ saying: “ ‘Ooh, you’re playing a very shrewd game’ No, you’re not. You’re literally guessing what numbers are in a box to win that amount of money. That’s it, literally.
It wasn’t just Deal or no Deal that came in for criticism though as Tipping point also seemed to high on the hate list.
The show, created in 2012, uses a giant version of a traditional slot machine for contestants to answer questions and release giant coins in the hope of catching a big pay out by pushing as many coins of the edge as possible.
One fan starts things off saying simply: “Tipping Point is the worst in terms of quality”.
But it’s the in-game language that seems to really annoy viewers: “The different names for the counters wind me up for no reason ‘Oooh is that a rider!?’ ‘Woah, a ghost drop there’ “.
There were some positive comments in the post though and one fan had some clear favourites: “The evergreens are untouchable really. Family Fortunes, Catchphrase, Bullseye. Of ‘recent’ introduction the only decent one is The Chase. The Chase is top banana.”
Stephen Mulhurn’s career so far
The presenter is a mainstay on various ITV shows, but how did he become one of Britain’s most well-known faces?
Stephen first gained an interest in magic and tricks from his father who taught him as a kid.
After performing at Butlins, he became the youngest member of the Magic Circle and even made an appearance on Blue Peter in a piece about Harry Houdini.
His career started in Children’s TV when he presenter the show Finger Tips in 2001.
After four years, he launched Tricky TV on CITV in 2005, which he presented until 2010.
During this time, he was handpicked by bosses to front the ITV2 spin-off for Britain’s Got Talent.
He presented Britain’s Got More Talent until the cancelation of the companion in 2019.
But it’s not all bad news for Stephen who is known for his duties on a number of quiz shows.
In for a Penny, a format originally launched on Ant & Dec‘s Saturday Night Takeaway was launched the same year.
Before, he was chosen by bosses to host Catchphrase in 2013 and has been fronting the show ever since.
Other huge shows he presented for ITV included Big Star’s Little Star, Rolling In It and the reboot of Deal Or No Deal.
He also made regular appearances on This Morning in ‘The Hub’ segment between 2011 and 2014.
After the Philip Schofield scandal rocked ITV, he was chosen to reunite with his former CITV co-star Holly Willoughby as the host of Dancing on Ice.
Fan favourite, The Chase is presented by Bradley Walsh and has been on our screen for over 15 years now.
The format sees a team of contestants answering questions to build up a prize pot that they then have to protect from quiz expert ‘chasers’ by correctly responding to as many questions as possible.