Saturday night TV in the UK is the stuff of legend. Over the years, some of the heaviest hitters in the British small screen industry have duked it out to leave their mark on the primetime weekend spot. Fridays have always been the nights of comedy – panel shows and sitcoms are what you expect to see to close out the working week.

 

That Saturday night slot has seen a lot of change through the years, though. As the afternoon turned into evening, there’s been a wide variety of different types of shows to take that spot. You’ve Been Framed, Stars In Their Eyes, and Gladiators were linchpins of the 90s and early-2000s as far as weekend TV was concerned.

 

In recent years, this variety in shows has largely dwindled, with the mid-2000s seeing a shift toward talent shows like Pop Idol, The X Factor, and Britain’s Got Talent. However, there was once a different kind of show that became a Saturday staple. That was the National Lottery game show that accompanied the weekly draw. So what became of them, and why were they such a mainstay of British TV?

 

Game shows as Popular as Ever With the British Public

The root of any game show’s popularity is quite a simple one to identify. Obviously, people enjoy being given a chance to win and go up against the jeopardy of an all-or-nothing situation. It’s probably why the lottery and game shows went together so well – the same desire that drives people to buy a lottery ticket drives people to participate in game shows.

 

There’s a reason shows like Pointless and The Chase remain some of the most-watched. Britain loves game shows. You can see evidence of this even at the live casino, where players can find game show-style titles alongside live-streamed table games like roulette and blackjack. This shows that there’s a real demand for this type of entertainment.

 

Additionally, many of these online game shows take the form of shows that TV fans have enjoyed for years. In particular, Wheel of Fortune’s influence is evident, as many of these games use a spinning wheel as a key mechanic in their gameplay. It’s clear that people are seeking out games like this and actively enjoy the gameplay.

 

A Classic National Lottery Show With Iconic Presenter

Ask anyone about their favourite National Lottery draw show, and it’s likely that one of the first to be brought up will be In It To Win It. It lasted a lengthy 14 years, from 2002 to 2016, and was one of the best-loved game shows of all time. Players battled it out to stay on Winners’ Row and have a chance to win £100,000.

 

It wasn’t just the excitement of the game itself, either. It was presented by Supermarket Sweep host Dale Winton, who was one of the most iconic light entertainment personalities the UK has ever had. He was a regular on TV screens throughout the country for decades, and his death in 2018 meant that the UK game show scene had lost one of its most important figures.

 

The combination of an innovative game show style with the ever-cheeky banter of Winton made some of the best Saturday night TV. You don’t make it to 18 series and more than 170 episodes without striking gold with your format. It’s likely that the loss of Dale is part of why we haven’t seen a revival of the show, especially as we approach the 10th anniversary of its last series.

 

Where Have the Saturday Box Office Game Shows Gone?

The decision by the National Lottery and the BBC to move the Saturday draw to iPlayer means that the gameshows we all loved have no place on TV anymore. British TV is likely worse off for it, too. We enjoyed Ian Wright’s “Wright Around the World.” We loved “1 vs. 100.” “Who Dares Wins!” was a great game show.

 

Ultimately, though, the cutting of costs by all the big TV stations means that it’s unlikely that we will see a return to their Saturday night slot, which is now held by shows like Doctor Who. Throughout the year, a handful of different quiz shows were broadcast, featuring various sets, presenters, and prizes. With expenditure under scrutiny at both the BBC and the National Lottery, these are unnecessary outlays. We can only reminisce about what was a glorious time for game shows.