1 versus 100 lottery TV show

The BBC will start broadcasting a brand new National Lottery game show later this month. The Saturday night show, known as “1 vs 100”, was created by Endemol, the same company that gave us Big Brother, and will be presented by popular television host Dermot O’Leary.

1 vs 100, like most Endemol shows, has been adopted by several countries already, including Vietnam, Holland and America, and although the exact format can and does vary slightly from country to country, the main elements are fairly predictable.

The aim of 1 vs 100 is for one main contestant to beat 100 other players, sometimes referred to as “the mob”. The main contestant is asked a question (in some countries he can choose between “easy” and “difficult”) and the mob also have to answer.

If the contestant gets a question wrong, he is out of the game. Fortunately, he can choose to “buy” exemption from the question by sacrificing a portion of the prize money on offer for the game. With the minimum sacrifice standing at around 25% (and rising to 75%), this isn’t an option to take lightly.

If the contestant gets the question right, attention turns to the mob and all those who answered incorrectly are eliminated from the game. The show then proceeds to ask the next question, and so on, until the main contestant or the whole mob have been eliminated.

1 vs 100 also includes addition rules which tend to vary according to the country broadcasting the show. For example, the Dutch show allows the main contestant to use a “doubler” when faced with a question which he thinks the mob won’t be able to answer. If he’s right, but he himself is able to answer the question, twice the usual amount of money is added to the prize fund. However, the contestant may use this doubler only once.

We will have to wait and see what the exact format of the UK show brings, but one thing we can be sure about is that the popularity of Dermot O’Leary, the National Lottery and Endemol’s offerings are all likely to add up to some very entertaining viewing this autumn.

-11/9/06