# Take Your Pick! > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Take_Your_Pick! > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Take_Your_Pick!.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Take_Your_Pick! > Source revision: 1352729314 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|British radio and TV game show (1952–1968, 1992–1999)}} {{about|the game show|the album by Larry Carlton & Tak Matsumoto|Take Your Pick (album)}} {{Multiple issues| {{primary sources|date=January 2014}} {{more citations needed|date=January 2014}} }} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}} {{Infobox television | image = | genre = [Game show](/source/Game_show) | creator = [Michael Miles](/source/Michael_Miles) | presenter = {{plainlist| * Michael Miles (1955–68) * [Des O'Connor](/source/Des_O'Connor) (1992–99) }} | starring = {{plainlist| * Jodie Wilson (1992) * [Gayle and Gillian Blakeney](/source/Gayle_and_Gillian_Blakeney) (1994) * [Sarah Matravers](/source/Sarah_Matravers) (1996) * Sasha Lawrence (1998–99) }} | voices = {{plainlist| * [Bob Danvers-Walker](/source/Bob_Danvers-Walker) (1955–68) * [John Sachs](/source/John_Sachs) (1992) * [Steve Jones](/source/Steve_Jones_(English_presenter)) (1994–99) }} | country = United Kingdom | language = English | num_series = {{plainlist| * 13 (Associated-Rediffusion) * 5 (Thames) }} | num_episodes = {{plainlist| * 494 (Associated-Rediffusion) * 74 (Thames) }} | location = {{plainlist| * [Wembley Studios](/source/Wembley_Studios) (1955–68){{cite web |url=https://www.tvstudiohistory.co.uk/itv-studios-in-london/wembley-studios/ |title=Wembley Studios (Rediffusion) |publisher=TV Studio History |accessdate=18 November 2022}} * [Teddington Studios](/source/Teddington_Studios) (1992–99){{cite web |url=https://www.tvstudiohistory.co.uk/itv-studios-in-london/teddington-pearson-barnes-trust-pinewood/ |title=Teddington (Pearson, Barnes Trust, Pinewood) |publisher=TV Studio History |accessdate=18 November 2022}} }} | runtime = 30 minutes (inc. adverts) | company = {{plainlist| * [Associated-Rediffusion](/source/Associated-Rediffusion) (1955–68) * [Thames](/source/Thames_Television) for [Central](/source/Central_Television_(United_Kingdom)) (1992–99) }} | channel = [ITV](/source/ITV_(TV_network)) | first_aired = {{start date|1955|9|23|df=yes}} | last_aired = {{end date|1968|7|26|df=yes}} | first_aired2 = {{start date|1992|2|24|df=yes}} | last_aired2 = {{end date|1999|12|23|df=yes}} }} '''''Take Your Pick!''''' is a British [game show](/source/game_show) originally broadcast by [Radio Luxembourg](/source/Radio_Luxembourg_(English)) starting in 1952. The show was transferred to [television](/source/television) in 1955, one day after the launch of [ITV](/source/ITV_(TV_network)), where it continued until 1968. It was the first game show broadcast in the UK to offer cash prizes.{{cite web |url= http://www.tv.com/shows/take-your-pick/ |title=Take Your Pick |website=tv.com |date=2012 |publisher=CBS Interactive |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120424085047/http://www.tv.com/shows/take-your-pick/ |archive-date=24 April 2012}} The programme was later revived from 24 February 1992 to 23 December 1999. The show featured female assistants to accompany [Des O'Connor](/source/Des_O'Connor). They were Jodie Wilson in the first two of the revived series, then [Gayle and Gillian Blakeney](/source/Gayle_and_Gillian_Blakeney) in 1994, followed by [Sarah Matravers](/source/Sarah_Matravers) (1996) and Sasha Lawrence in 1998. ==History== [[File:TakeYourPick.jpg|thumb|left|''Take Your Pick!'' host [Michael Miles](/source/Michael_Miles).]] The first version of the television show was produced by [Associated-Rediffusion](/source/Associated-Rediffusion) (later [Rediffusion London](/source/Rediffusion_London)), while the revival was made by [Thames Television](/source/Thames_Television), whose arrival as the new [London](/source/London) weekday ITV company had led to the demise of the original show. During the gameplay, contestants would answer a series of questions without using the words ''yes'' or ''no'' in what was known as the "Yes-No Interlude". If they inadvertently used a 'yes' or a 'no' in answering a question, they would be [gong](/source/gong)ed off the stage. If successful, however, contestants would answer more questions to win modest monetary prizes. At the climax of the show, contestants would be offered the choice to either keep all the money they had earned or trade it for a mystery prize contained in a box. The prize could be something valuable such as a [holiday](/source/holiday) or a [washing machine](/source/washing_machine), or a [booby prize](/source/booby_prize) such as a [mousetrap](/source/mousetrap) or a bag of [sweets](/source/sweets). The first version was hosted by [Michael Miles](/source/Michael_Miles). After its demise, Miles hosted a similar show for [Southern Television](/source/Southern_Television) called ''Wheel of Fortune'', not to be confused with the later ''[Wheel of Fortune](/source/Wheel_of_Fortune_(British_game_show))'' of the same title. [Bob Danvers-Walker](/source/Bob_Danvers-Walker), who was the voice of [Pathé](/source/Path%C3%A9) News from 1940 until its demise in 1970, was the show's announcer. Alec Dane was on hand to bang the gong. Harold Smart was at the electronic organ. A similar formula was used for ''Pot of Gold'', another game show hosted by O'Connor. Singer and television personality [Des O'Connor](/source/Des_O'Connor) became the host for the second version, which aired from 1992 to 1999. His future wife, [Australian](/source/Australians) born Jodie Wilson, was one of the hostesses; she would later be replaced by former ''[Neighbours](/source/Neighbours)'' twins [Gayle and Gillian Blakeney](/source/Gayle_and_Gillian_Blakeney), also from [Australia](/source/Australia). A one-off revival was broadcast in 2005 as part of ''[Ant & Dec's Gameshow Marathon](/source/Gameshow_Marathon_(British_game_show))'', a celebrity game show tournament produced as part of commemorations of ITV's 50th anniversary. Another one-off revival was broadcast as part of the similar 2020 ITV series ''[Alan Carr's Epic Gameshow](/source/Alan_Carr's_Epic_Gameshow).''{{cite web|date=13 June 2019|title=ITV orders reboot of five classic gameshows from Talkback|url=http://www.televisual.com/news-detail/ITV-orders-reboot-of-five-classic-gameshows-from-Talkback_nid-7958.html|publisher=Televisual}} filmed at [Dock10 studios](/source/Dock10_(television_facility)). This version added a bonus round, where one of the contestants would select boxes from rows of a pyramid, and could risk their prizes for a chance at a major prize inside one of two "golden boxes" placed at the top of the pyramid. ==Gameplay== ===Yes-No interlude=== In this opening game, the host asked the contestant a series of questions in a 60-second span. Contestants were not permitted to say "yes" or "no", nor could they nod or shake their heads. If they did, the co-host would bang the gong and the next contestant would be introduced. Those completing the minute successfully were awarded 5 shillings (25p). In the 1992–1999 version they were awarded £1 a second. ===Box numbers and the prizes=== There were 10 boxes numbered from 1 to 10. Three of them would contain booby prizes, one would contain a card awarding a star prize (e.g., a small car or holiday package), and six would contain cards announcing other prizes (e.g., appliances, furniture, or a "treasure chest" of cash (£80 in the Miles series, £500 in the first O'Connor series, £1,000 for the remaining series). No-one, including the host, knew which prize was in each box. However, the audience was given a preview of the actual prizes, shown on screen, and listed by Bob Danvers-Walker, from off-screen. The list always culminated in the announcement of "tonight's star prize". Contestants would be asked general-knowledge questions. If they answered three out of four questions correctly, they picked a key from a set of ten, corresponding to one of the first ten boxes. The host would then try to buy back the key with increasing amounts of cash, up to about £50 (or, in the revival, several hundred pounds). One box also contained a key to "Box 13," which could hold either a valuable item or a booby prize. The host would make a new offer to buy back both that key and the prize in the chosen box; if the contestant turned it down, they had to decide between taking the prize or whatever was in Box 13. ==International version== A Portuguese adaptation based on the 1992–98 version called ''[A Amiga Olga!](/source/%3Apt%3AA_Amiga_Olga)'' (''My Friend Olga!'') presented by [Olga Cardoso](/source/Olga_Cardoso) aired on [TVI](/source/%3Apt%3ATVI) from 1993 until 1994. Additionally, this was Cardoso's first debut on television.{{cite news |last1=Fonseca |first1=Sofia |title=Morreu Olga Cardoso, locutora do 'Despertar' e apresentadora do 'Amiga Olga' |url=https://www.dn.pt/sociedade/olga-cardoso-hospitalizada-aps-avc |access-date=7 December 2025 |publisher=Diário de Notícias |date=3 December 2025}} ==Cultural references== {{unsourced|section|date=January 2025}} A sketch in ''[Monty Python's Flying Circus](/source/Monty_Python's_Flying_Circus)'' (called "Spot the Brain Cell" in a later audio version) features [John Cleese](/source/John_Cleese) portraying a wildly exaggerated version of Michael Miles. One contestant opts to play for a blow on the head and, after rejecting several offered "prizes" that are actually forms of physical abuse, receives it in the form of being hit over the head with a giant mallet. An early version of this sketch appeared in ''[At Last the 1948 Show](/source/At_Last_the_1948_Show)''. For a time, after Miles' death, the sketch was not shown by the [BBC](/source/BBC), but it has since been reinstated. Also, in the [Dirty Hungarian Phrasebook](/source/Dirty_Hungarian_Phrasebook) sketch in ''[Monty Python's Flying Circus](/source/Monty_Python's_Flying_Circus)'', a prosecutor (played by [Eric Idle](/source/Eric_Idle)) plays the game with Alexander Yalt (played by [Michael Palin](/source/Michael_Palin)). The prosecutor manages to gong Yalt "out" for answering a question with "yes" (although Yalt was probably unaware of playing the game in the first place). A sketch in the [BBC Radio](/source/BBC_Radio) comedy series ''[The Burkiss Way](/source/The_Burkiss_Way)'' featured a "Dinosaur-Cheese Interlude", in which contestants were required to answer questions without mentioning any species of [dinosaur](/source/dinosaur) or any variety of [cheese](/source/cheese). Naturally, all the contestants did accidentally mention them. The sketch was resurrected in an episode of ''[The Kenny Everett Television Show](/source/The_Kenny_Everett_Television_Show)'' (which shared the same scriptwriters). A fifth-season episode of the radio show [Hancock's Half Hour](/source/Hancock's_Half_Hour) (broadcast May 1958) had [Tony Hancock](/source/Tony_Hancock) appear on the (unnamed) show and win £4,000. The British [progressive rock](/source/progressive_rock) band [Hatfield and the North](/source/Hatfield_and_the_North) named one of their songs "The Yes No Interlude". It is included in their second LP, ''[The Rotters' Club](/source/The_Rotters'_Club_(album))''. Also the song "Fitter Stoke has a bath" on the same LP, contains the lyrics "Michael Miles, bogey man". The 1970s radio programme ''[I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again](/source/I'm_Sorry%2C_I'll_Read_That_Again)'' made frequent references to ''Take Your Pick!'' with phrases such as (in this case, apropos of a [vampire](/source/vampire) rabbit and its coffin): "Stake the bunny!" "Hop in the box!" ==Transmissions== ===Associated-Rediffusion=== {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" |- ! Series !! Start date !! End date !! Episodes |- | '''1''' || 23 September 1955 || 1 June 1956 || 36 |- | '''2''' || 21 September 1956 || 14 June 1957 || 39 |- | '''3''' || 20 September 1957 || 13 June 1958 || 39 |- | '''4''' || 19 September 1958 || 26 June 1959 || 41 |- | '''5''' || 18 September 1959 || 10 June 1960 || 39 |- | '''6''' || 16 September 1960 || 23 June 1961 || 41 |- | '''7''' || 15 September 1961 || 8 June 1962 || 39 |- | '''8''' || 14 September 1962 || 7 June 1963 || 39 |- | '''9''' || 13 September 1963 || 5 June 1964 || 39 |- | '''10''' || 18 September 1964 || 11 June 1965 || 39 |- | '''11''' || 24 September 1965 || 18 March 1966 || 26 |- | '''12''' || 30 September 1966 || 12 May 1967 || 33 |- | '''13''' || 29 September 1967 || 26 July 1968 || 44 |} ===Thames=== Series 1 and 2 were commissioned and produced by Thames. After Thames lost its ITV franchise, the remaining series were commissioned by [Central](/source/Central_Independent_Television) and produced by Thames. {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" |- ! Series !! Start date !! End date !! Episodes |- | '''1''' || 24 February 1992 || 11 May 1992 || 10 |- | '''2''' || 8 July 1992 || 23 September 1992 || 12 |- | '''3''' || 12 July 1994 || 23 November 1994 || 20 |- | '''4''' || 13 May 1996 || 26 August 1996 || 16 |- | '''5''' || 5 June 1998 || 23 December 1999 || 16 |} ==References== {{Reflist}} ==External links== *{{IMDb title|id=0198248|title=Take Your Pick! (1955–1968)}} *{{IMDb title|id=0389690|title=Take Your Pick! (1992–1999)}} *[https://web.archive.org/web/20090115235538/http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/series/21212 ''Take Your Pick! (1955–1968)''] at [British Film Institute](/source/British_Film_Institute) *[https://web.archive.org/web/20121006011704/http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/series/20712 ''Take Your Pick! (1992–1999)''] at British Film Institute *{{UKGameshow|Take_Your_Pick}}. Category:1955 British television series debuts Category:1999 British television series endings Category:1950s British game shows Category:1960s British game shows Category:1990s British game shows Category:British television series revived after cancellation Category:English-language British television shows Category:ITV game shows Category:Television series by Fremantle (company) Category:Television shows produced by Associated-Rediffusion Category:Television shows produced by Thames Television Category:Television shows shot at Teddington Studios --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Take Your Pick!](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Take_Your_Pick!) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Take_Your_Pick!?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.