- The Million Pound Drop Live
-
The Million Pound Drop Live 
Genre Quiz show Developed by Endemol Presented by Davina McCall Theme music composer Marc Sylvan Country of origin United Kingdom Language(s) English No. of series 5 (plus. 1 Christmas series) No. of episodes 51 (incl. 4 Christmas specials) (to 8 October 2011) Production Location(s) 3 Mills Studios Running time 60-90 minutes (inc. adverts) Production company(s) Remarkable Television, Endemol UK Broadcast Original channel Channel 4 Picture format 576i 16:9 Original run 24 May 2010 – present External links Website Production website The Million Pound Drop Live is a BAFTA-winning quiz show which broadcasts live on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom. The show began in May 2010 with Davina McCall having presented the show's five series to date.[1][2] She began presenting the show just before the final Channel 4 series of Big Brother (UK) launched, which she also presented.
The show uses social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter to find contestants, and also to promote the show. David Flynn, managing director of Endemol's Remarkable Television, which produced the show, said: "The plan was to create buzz and an air of mystery around the show by trickling information about auditions via Twitter and Facebook, giving fans a level of exclusivity."[3]
Contents
Format
Contestants, alone or in pairs for the first series, or only in pairs for all subsequent series, are given one million pounds in £50 notes at the start of the show, banded in 40 bundles of £25,000. They must then answer eight questions in an effort to keep as much of their money as possible. Many questions are heavily focused on current or recent events (even events that occur during the airing of the show), to push the fact that the show is broadcast live.
At the beginning of each round, the contestants have to pick a category of two choices they are given. If the contestants take too long to choose, a coin is flipped to decide. Each question is multiple-choice, with the first four questions having four choices, the next three questions having three, and the final question having just two choices. Unlike a traditional quiz where the contestants pick one answer, however, it is possible for the contestants to hedge by placing money (in multiples of £25,000) on multiple answers in proportion to how confident they are on the answer. However, one answer must always be left with no money on it, which ensures that on the final question, only one answer can be chosen. After the answers and question have been read out, the contestants have one minute to physically move their money onto trap-doors (called "drops") corresponding to the answer(s) they choose. If contestants are sure of their answer, they may choose to stop the clock before the time limit is up to carry on with the answers.
After the end of the time limit, the trap-doors relating to incorrect answers open (sometimes one by one, and with varying delays to increase suspense), and any money placed on those answers is no longer available to be won by the contestants, being picked up by security guards underneath the stage. In addition any money not placed by the end of the time limit is also lost. If they have any money left, they proceed to the next question where the process is repeated. However, if they lose all their money, they are out of the game.
The show is usually an hour and 20 minutes long, although in event of a series finale, the show carries on until the contestants either win or lose. In some episodes, the show is an hour long.
For the 2010 Christmas Specials, any contestants who lost all their money and would otherwise have left empty handed were presented with multiple doors corresponding to bonus prizes. The contestants would choose which door they wanted and would win what was 'behind' that door.
Interactivity
As the show is broadcast live, viewers are encouraged to play along online at the same time with statistics on their performance appearing on screen during the broadcast and being read out by McCall.[3] Online players receive no prize money. Bookmakers also take bets on which stage of the game the contestants will leave and how much money will still be in play at various stage of the game.[4][5]
Winners and statistics
Series Contestants Date Amount of money won 1 Katy and Andy Jackson 29 May 2010 £75,000[6] 2 Larry and George Lamb 29 October 2010 £50,000 James and Rachael 6 November 2010 £25,000 Johnny and Dee 12 November 2010 £25,000 Ryan and Lewis 13 November 2010 £50,000 Christmas Rajan and Anita 18 December 2010 £50,000 3 James and Laurence 29 January 2011 £75,000 Rick and Sophie 4 February 2011 £200,000 Rebecca and Aimee 5 February 2011 £75,000 Paul and Sarah-Lou £50,000 Harps and Avvy 18 February 2011 £25,000 Krystle and Pauline 19 February 2011 £25,000 4 Andrew and Rachael Flintoff 22 April 2011 £25,000 Riaz and Mehanaz 23 April 2011 £25,000 Ben and Joanna 29 April 2011 £25,000 Karl and Shabz 30 April 2011 £100,000 Clare and Natasha 7 May 2011 £25,000 Ash and James 13 May 2011 £100,000 Lewis and Emi 20 May 2011 £25,000 Mark and Rhys 27 May 2011 £50,000 5 Luke W and Luke P 2 September 2011 £100,000 Coral and Natalie 16 September 2011 £75,000 Nick and Katie £250,000 Dave and Janelle 24 September 2011 £200,000 Jack and Michael Whitehall £300,000 Julie and Dave 1 October 2011 £200,000 Steve and Tony 7 October 2011 £200,000 Matt and Karen £75,000 Johnny and Dee returned on 12 November 2010 following a mistake made by the question makers (see Controversy section below). They went on to win £25,000.
Following Rajan and Anita's win on 18 December 2010, Rajan proposed to his girlfriend live on air to which she accepted.
On 11 February 2011, Micah and Joni lost all £1,000,000 betting on the wrong answer. As a result, they were the first contestants to lose the full £1,000,000 in one drop.
Average winnings per show
Series Amount 1 £12,500 2 £16,666 Christmas £12,500 3 £52,250 4 £31,250 5 £175,000 Statistics
- Most money won: £300,000 (to date)
- Total winnings to date: £2,200,000
- Most money lost on a single drop: £1,000,000 [7]
- Most money dropped on first question: £1,000,000
- Most questions after which the £1 million remained: 3
- Most money taken through to final question: £525,000 (to date)
Celebrity contestants
On 29 October 2010, celebrity father and son, Larry and George Lamb won £50,000 for charity by beating the final question on the show. They were the first celebrity contestants to appear on the show.
On 13 November 2010, Jimmy Carr and Johnny Vaughan also appeared but crashed out on question 4.
On 15 December 2010, singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor and her mother Janet Ellis appeared on the show. They managed to make their way to the final question, but lost after choosing the wrong answer.
On 18 December 2010, Jade Jones and Emma Bunton appeared together on the show. They crashed out on question 7, losing their remaining £50,000.
On 19 February 2011, Bruno Tonioli and Pamela Stephenson appeared on the show. They crashed out on question 5, losing their remaining £200,000.
On 22 April 2011, Andrew Flintoff and his wife, Rachael appeared on the show. They made their way to the final question and won £25,000 for their chosen charity.
On 10 September 2011, Vernon Kay and his friend, Luke, appeared on the show. They lost on question 6 with £100,000 remaining.
On 24 September 2011, Jack Whitehall and his father, Michael, appeared on the show. They won £300,000 for their chosen charities, making them the biggest winners on the Million Pound Drop to date.
Note: Celebrity contestants that lose their whole £1,000,000 are given £5,000 for their charities.
Payment
Any money won by contestants is withheld for up to six weeks pending the receipt of Criminal Records Bureau checks by Endemol.[8]
Controversy
During an episode on 5 November 2010, Johnny and Dee were faced with the options Sylvester McCoy, Paul McGann, Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant. They were then asked "Who played Dr Who for the longest period?". The contestants did not know the answer so decided to split their remaining £650,000 between McCoy and McGann. The answer was then revealed to be Tennant and they lost all their remaining money.[9] Tennant played the doctor from 2005-2010. However viewers began to query the accuracy of this question [10] saying it was open to interpretation as McCoy played the Doctor from 1987–1989, but also appeared in the charity special Dimensions in Time in 1993 and appeared in the beginning of the Doctor Who television movie in 1996 making his time playing Dr Who technically nine years uninterrupted. After producers spoke to the BBC it became apparent that Sylvester McCoy was the correct answer. Channel 4 therefore allowed the contestants to return and continue with the £325,000 that would have remained.[9] They came back on 12 November 2010, to continue the game. They got all the way to the final question and managed to win £25,000.
Merchandise
A board game was released in November 2010.[11]
Transmissions
Series Start date End date Episodes 1 24 May 2010 29 May 2010 6 2 25 October 2010 13 November 2010 9 Christmas 15 December 2010 18 December 2010 4 3 28 January 2011 19 February 2011 8 4 22 April 2011 28 May 2011 12 5 2 September 2011 8 October 2011 12 Ratings
Channel 4 figures is from BARB. Channel 4 +1 viewing figures from Digital Spy. Weekly Ranking is from BARB.[12]
Series 1
Episode No. Airdate Viewers on Channel 4 Viewers on Channel 4 +1 Total viewers Channel 4 Weekly Ranking 1 24 May 2010 2,120,000 213,000 2,233,000 10 2 25 May 2010 1,970,000 213,000 2,183,000 12 3 26 May 2010 2,250,000 171,000 2,321,000 6 4 27 May 2010 2,250,000 190,000 2,440,000 5 5 28 May 2010 2,360,000 140,000 2,500,000 2 6 29 May 2010 2,190,000 169,000 2,359,000 7 Series 2
Episode No. Airdate Viewers on Channel 4 Viewers on Channel 4 +1 Total viewers Channel 4 Weekly Ranking 1 25 October 2010 2,090,000 111,000 2,201,000 13 2 26 October 2010 2,200,000 198,000 2,398,000 9 3 27 October 2010 2,210,000 221,000 2,431,000 8 4 28 October 2010 2,080,000 232,000 2,312,000 14 5 29 October 2010 2,690,000 203,000 2,893,000 2 6 5 November 2010 2,010,000 211,000 2,121,000 16 7 6 November 2010 1,380,000 120,000 1,500,000 Outside Top 30 8 12 November 2010 2,370,000 120,000 2,490,000 9 9 13 November 2010 1,470,000 187,000 1,657,000 Outside Top 30 Christmas
Episode No. Airdate Viewers on Channel 4 Viewers on Channel 4 +1 Total viewers Channel 4 Weekly Ranking 1 15 December 2010 2,240,000 150,000 2,390,000 8 2 16 December 2010 1,060,000 236,000 1,296,000 Outside Top 30 3 17 December 2010 1,060,000 440,000 1,500,000 Outside Top 30 4 18 December 2010 1,820,000 111,000 1,931,000 29 Series 3
Episode No. Airdate Viewers on Channel 4 Viewers on Channel 4 +1 Total viewers Channel 4 Weekly Ranking 1 28 January 2011 2,410,000 197,100 2,707,100 9 2 29 January 2011 2,390,000 243,000 2,633,000 12 3 4 February 2011 2,790,000 120,000 2,910,000 5 4 5 February 2011 2,520,000 274,000 2,794,000 8 5 11 February 2011 2,570,000 229,000 2,799,000 6 6 12 February 2011 2,330,000 240,000 2,570,000 12 7 18 February 2011 2,330,000 175,000 2,505,000 11 8 19 February 2011 2,140,000 312,000 2,452,000 14 Series 4
Episode No. Airdate Viewers on Channel 4 Viewers on Channel 4 + 1 Total viewers Channel 4 Weekly Ranking 1 22 April 2011 1,900,000 207,000 2,107,000 4 2 23 April 2011 1,740,000 168,000 1,908,000 6 3 29 April 2011 2,060,000 155,000 2,215,000 5 4 30 April 2011 2,060,000 268,000 2,328,000 6 5 6 May 2011 2,020,000 131,000 2,151,000 7 6 7 May 2011 2,030,000 270,000 2,300,000 6 7 13 May 2011 2,090,000 156,000 2,246,000 3 8 14 May 2011 1,510,000 120,000 1,630,000 23 9 20 May 2011 2,310,000 186,000 2,496,000 3 10 21 May 2011 1,850,000 216,000 2,066,000 9 11 27 May 2011 2,010,000 183,000 2,193,000 3 12 28 May 2011 2,540,000 108,000 2,648,000 2 Series 5
Episode no. Airdate Viewers on Channel 4 Viewers on Channel 4 + 1 Total viewers Channel 4 Weekly Ranking 1 2 September 2011 2,100,000 219,000 2,329,000 7 2 3 September 2011 1,980,000 176,000 2,156,000 8 3 9 September 2011 1,510,000 147,000 1,657,000 23 4 10 September 2011 1,810,000 120,000 1,930,000 8 5 16 September 2011 1,980,000 256,000 2,236,000 4 6 17 September 2011 1,870,000 167,000 2,037,000 5 7 23 September 2011 1,680,000 225,000 1,905,000 19 8 24 September 2011 1,720,000 247,000 1,967,000 15 9 30 September 2011 197,000 10 1 October 2011 171,000 11 7 October 2011 12 8 October 2011 Future series
Million Pound Drop has been renewed through series five and six, with a total of seventeen episodes between them to be aired later in 2011.[13] Series five began its 12-episode run on 2 September 2011.[14]
International versions
Country Title Host Network Top Prize First Airdate 
Albania100 Milionë Eno Popi Top Channel 10,000,000 lek 11 January 2011 
ArgentinaSalven el Millón Susana Giménez Telefe AR$1,000,000 9 June 2011 
Australia [15]The Million Dollar Drop Eddie McGuire Nine Network A$1,000,000 21 March 2011 
Brazil [16]Um Milhão na Mesa Silvio Santos SBT R$1,000,000 21 September 2011 
Chile [17]TBA Don Francisco Canal 13 CL$500.000.000 TBA 
ColombiaMillones por montones María José Barraza Canal Caracol CO$1.000.000.000 25 July 2011 
Egypt [18]انت والمليون
Inta wal milyonTBA Mehwar TV EGP1,000,000 November 2011 
Estonia [19]Rahaauk Alari Kivisaar TV3 €100,000 12 September 2011 
France [20]Money Drop Laurence Boccolini TF1 €250,000 1 August 2011 
GermanyRette die Million! Jörg Pilawa ZDF €1,000,000 13 October 2010 
GreeceMoney Drop Grigoris Arnaoutoglou Mega TV €300,000 16 October 2010 
HungaryA 40 Milliós Játszma Rákóczi Ferenc TV2 40,000,000 Ft 29 November 2010 
India (Bengali) [21]কোটি টাকার বাজি
Koti Takar BajiJeet Star Jalsha Rs1,000,000 15 October 2011 
Israelאל תפיל את המיליון
Al Tapil Et HaMilyonErez Tal Channel 2 (Keshet) ₪1,000,000 13 October 2010 
Italy [22]The Money Drop Gerry Scotti Canale 5 €1,000,000 12 December 2011 
Kazakhstan [23]Шоу Сорок Миллионов Тенге
Shou Sorok Millionov TengeAbdel' Mukhtarov tv7 40,000,000 ₸ 22 January 2011 
Latvia [24]Paņem 100 000... ja vari Edgars Ludāns TV3 €100,000 1 October 2011 [25] 
Lithuania [26]100 000 eurų grynais Marijonas Mikutavičius TV3 €100,000 2 September 2011 
Malaysia [27]RM 1,000,000 Money Drop TBA Astro Ria RM1,000,000 TBA 
Netherlands[28]Show Me The Money Beau van Erven Dorens SBS 6 €1,000,000 11–22 April 2011 
PolandPostaw na milion Łukasz Nowicki TVP2 1,000,000 zł 5 March 2011 
RussiaШоу Десять миллионов
Shou Desyat' MillionovMaxim Galkin Russia 1 10,000,000 руб. 4 September 2010 
Serbia [29]Multimilioner Dragan Nikolić RTV Pink 10,000,000RSD 13 September 2011 
Singapore (English)[30]Million Dollar Money Drop George Young MediaCorp TV Channel 5 S$1,000,000 9 August 2011 
Spain [31]Atrapa un Millón Carlos Sobera Antena 3 €1,000,000 (weekly) 4 February 2011 Atrapa un Millón Diario € 200,000 (daily) 4 April 2011 Atrapa dos Millones € 2,000,000 (special) 21 October 2011 
Sweden[32]Pengarna på bordet Peter Jihde TV4 2,000,000 Kr. 3 October 2011 
Switzerland (German)[33]Die Millionen-Falle René Rindlisbacher SF1 1,000,000SFr 4 July–15 August 2011 
TurkeyBir Milyon Canlı Para Engin Altan Düzyatan Show TV 1,000,000TL 25 October 2010 
UkraineШоу на два мiльйони
Shou Na Dva MilyoniAndriy Domanskyi 1+1 2,000,000 грн. 12 January–30 March 2011 
United StatesMillion Dollar Money Drop Kevin Pollak Fox US$1,000,000 20 December 2010 References
- ^ "Series 1 : Episode 1 : The Million Pound Drop Live". http://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-million-pound-drop-live/episode-guide/series-1/episode-1.
- ^ "The Million Pound Drop Live". Watch With Mothers. http://watchwithmothers.net/2010/05/25/the-million-pound-drop-live/. Retrieved 2010-05-25.
- ^ a b Andrew Laughlin (20 May 2010). "C4 boosts online for 'Million Pound Drop'". Digital Spy. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/digitaltv/news/a220898/c4-boosts-online-for-million-pound-drop.html. Retrieved 2010-05-25.
- ^ skyBET - Million Pound Drop
- ^ Ladbrokes - The Million Pound Drop
- ^ Jun Merrett (9 June 2010). "The journalist who beat The Million Pound Drop". Press Gazette. http://blogs.pressgazette.co.uk/wire/6631.
- ^ The Million Pound Drop Live at UKGameshows.com
- ^ The Million Pound Drop application form, downloadable (access code and registration required) from www.themillionpounddrop.com
- ^ a b Gavin Allen (9 November 2010). "Red-faced Channel 4 hand Million Pound Drop couple £325,000 reprieve after admitting it was wrong on Doctor Who". Daily Mail. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1327676/Channel-4-hand-Million-Pound-Drop-couple-325k-Doctor-Who-error.html.
- ^ Victoria Murphy (8 November 2010). "Million Pound Drop quiz couple lose £325,000 on 'right' answer about Doctor Who". Daily Mirror. http://www.mirror.co.uk/celebs/tv/news/2010/11/08/million-pound-drop-quiz-couple-lose-325-000-on-right-answer-about-doctor-who-115875-22700905/.
- ^ "MILLION POUND DROP FOR CHRISTMAS 2010 LAUNCH". Toys 'n' Playthings. http://www.toysnplaythings.co.uk/news/million_pound_drop_for_christmas_2010_launch.aspx.
- ^ "BARB". Archived from the original on 25 April 2009. http://www.barb.co.uk/. Retrieved 26 March 2009.
- ^ "Channel 4 orders more "Million Pound Drop"". http://realscreen.com/2011/04/20/channel-4-orders-more-million-pound-drop/. Retrieved 2011-04-26.
- ^ "We can announce that we’re back with @ThisisDavina for a new series on the 2nd Sept, every Fri & Sat for 6 weekends!". http://twitter.com/#!/the1mpounddrop/status/104141382742048768. Retrieved 2011-08-18.
- ^ http://channelnine.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=8209389
- ^ http://megacanal.wordpress.com/2011/08/23/um-milhao-na-mesa-estreia-dia-21-de-setembro/
- ^ http://espectaculos.13.cl/television/canal-13-busca-la-mejor-pareja
- ^ http://news3.youm7.com/News.asp?NewsID=483705&
- ^ http://www.ohtuleht.ee/432300
- ^ http://www.ozap.com/actu/money-drop-laurence-boccolini-tf1-lancement/433164
- ^ http://www.endemoldistribution.com/content/readnews.aspx?id=1683
- ^ http://moneydrop.it/index.html
- ^ [1]
- ^ [2]
- ^ [3]
- ^ [4]
- ^ http://www.astro.com.my/moneydropmy/
- ^ http://www.sbs6.nl/web/show/id=1470087/langid=43/dbid=550/typeofpage=73941
- ^ http://www.gledamo.tv/index.php?id=3801
- ^ "Million Dollar Money Drop". http://entertainment.xin.msn.com/en/tv/channel-5/programmes/money-drop.aspx?cp-documentid=4772725.
- ^ [5]
- ^ http://www.tv4.se/1.2189590/2011/06/28/peter_jihde_leder_tv4_s_nya_gameshow_pengarna_pa_bordet
- ^ http://www.glanzundgloria.sf.tv/Nachrichten/Archiv/2011/04/05/Schweiz/Rene-Rindlisbacher-moderiert-neue-SF-Quizshow?WT.zugang=gg_newsteaser
External links
Categories:- 2010 British television programme debuts
- 2010s British television series
- British game shows
- British quiz shows
- Channel 4 television programmes
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
