Don't Try This at Home (TV series)

Don't Try This at Home!
Format	Game show
Directed by	Jonathan Glazier Chris Power (Studio Director) Jonathan Bullen John Gorman
Presented by	Davina McCall (All Series) Darren Day (Series 1) Kate Thornton (All Series) Paul Hendy (All Series)
Narrated by	Russ Williams
Country of origin	United Kingdom
No. of series	6
No. of episodes	44
Production
Producer(s)	Mark Wells Ken Warwick Martyn Redman Anne Cornell Rob Clark Victor Glynn (Executive) Nigel Lythgoe (Executive)
Location(s)	The London Studios
Running time	60mins (inc. commercials)
Production company(s)	LWT Golden Square Pictures
Broadcast
Original channel	ITV
Picture format	4:3
Original run	16 May 1998 (1998-05-16) – 7 April 2001 (2001-04-07)

Don't Try This At Home was a reality show produced by LWT with Golden Square Pictures and broadcast on ITV between 16 May 1998 and 1 September 2001. It took up the slot of the Saturday challenge game show slot left by its long running and more sedate predecessor You Bet!. The executive producers were Nigel Lythgoe for LWT and Victor Glynn for Golden Square Pictures.

It featured real people facing tough challenges such as swinging under a bridge. It was hosted by Davina McCall with co-hosts including Darren Day, Kate Thornton, Paul Hendy and Russ Williams as the event commetator. A lifetime medal was awarded for winning a challenge or having a very good try.

Challenges

The Saturday Challenge

A member of the audience either picked randomly or planted was picked to do something a bit scary. Before the end of the show they went to the secret location with co-host Kate Thornton and performed the challenge. Challenges included driving under a truck moving at 30 mph, standing on a podium and landing on your feet after a car knocked the stand over.

The Don't Try This at Home! World News

Footage of people doing outrageous things from around the world.

Paul Hendy's Shoppers' Challenge

Paul Hendy was challenged to persuade a certain amount of shoppers to do something. Fight their way out of a giant paper bag or finding a £5 note in three boxes of yukky stuff. If he didn't get the requisite amount of shoppers to do it then he had to do the challenge himself in the studio the next week. An incredibly funny moment occurred in the 2nd episode of the 1st series, where one of his challenges was to make people eat sheep's testicles. He walked up to a man and asked him "Are you peckish?" and he replied "No, I'm Turkish!".

Face Your Phobia

A member of the audience is invited onto the floor as Paul Hendy asks them about their fear of (e.g. Snakes). They then enter the booth and stay in there for 30 seconds.

The Super Challenge

A challenge that took several weeks to complete and was very difficult. These included climbing to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa or canoeing the Amazon.

The Challenge of a Lifetime

The main feature of the show, where a person would participate in a stunt after being nominated or writing in to the programme themselves. Davina then turned up unannounced and asked them to pick one of three envelopes, each with a different challenge inside given by a cryptic clue. They then travelled to the place of the challenge which could have been round the other side of the world. These challenges asked of you more than you wanted them too and such challenges included handfeeding sharks in Australia, jumping down a 100m gorge in New Zealand on a wire decender, abseiling the tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere, driving a car across a huge drop on nothing but two slack wires and so on. The person could back out if they wanted which from the second series onwards, meant that the host herself was allowed to try the challenge. If the host failed, an expert would perform the challenge.

Transmissions

Series	Start date	End date	Episodes
1	16 May 1998	4 July 1998	8
2	23 January 1999	27 February 1999	6
3	11 September 1999	4 December 1999	10
4	8 January 2000	19 February 2000	6
5	24 June 2000	29 July 2000	6
6	17 February 2001	7 April 2001	8

External links

• Don't Try This at Home at the Internet Movie Database
• Don't Try This at Home at BFI
• Don't Try This at Home at UKGameshows.com