Based on the famous American game show The $64,000 Question, this British version was first aired by ATV on 19 May 1956. Hosted by Jerry Desmonde, the show was transmitted on Saturday nights.
The UK version of the show was originally based on a lowest common multiple of sixpence, which was soon increased so that the show would work in multiples of a shilling.
From the first to the last question, the cash prize doubled itself. Thus, the first question was for 64 shillings, the second for 128 shillings, and so on to 64,000/-.
Answering eleven very hard questions accurately meant that British contestants could go home – after five appearances – with £3,200 (64,000 shillings) in their pocket.
If the winner accepted the Val Parnell bonus and took the full amount in Defence Bonds, the total rose by 10% to £3,520.
Unlike the American show, this prize money was not taxable.
The first major winner of the British version was Vernon Goslin, a forty-two-year-old schoolmaster, who answered six of the seven parts of the 64,000-question, only to fail at the last part.
Ashley Neville Stacey, a schoolmaster from Bexley Heath, also reached 64,000, with his wife and five children there to watch him, only to find the last Biblical question too difficult.
In July 1956, Albert Norman, a 65-year-old retired diamond setter from Normandy in Surrey, became the first person to overcome the final hurdle (answering questions about boxing) and walk away from the studio with the major prize (at the time) – £1,760 worth of Defence Bonds in his pocket.
The top prize on the show was doubled to £3,200 in late 1956, and on Saturday 13 October 1956, 73-year-old Miss Jane Brown (pictured below) staked her reputation as a Dickens scholar on winning the big prize.
She won, and with £3,520 in Defence Bonds, this gentle old Victorian lady became a national celebrity and went home to Wolverhampton, her black cat, and her organ, which she bought in a jumble sale.
Ex-Detective Superintendent Robert Fabian (the famous “Fabian of the Yard”) initially acted as ‘Custodian of the Questions’ and held the key to the safe containing them. In 1957, this role fell to Ex-Detective Superintendent Fred Narborough.
The accuracy of the answers was vouched for by Encyclopaedia Britannica.
Ann Cripps, June Sylvaine, and Eve Vitt (pictured below with 64,000 shillings) served as assistants to Jerry Desmonde, escorting contestants to the famous isolation booth, presenting or handing out the physical rewards or cheques for winning contestants, and generally providing a polished and professional presence on stage, often appearing in evening wear.
The show ended in January 1958, though the concept was revived by Central Independent Television from 1990 to 1993, with Bob Monkhouse hosting.
Jerry Desmonde died on 11 February 1967. Having experienced bouts of depression following the death of his wife, Peggy Duncan, the previous year, he took his own life via gas poisoning at his London home. He was 58.
Host
Jerry Desmonde Escorts
Ann Cripps
June Sylvaine
Eve Vitt Custodian of the Questions
Ex-Detective Superintendent Robert Fabian (1)
Ex-Detective Superintendent Fred Narborough (2)
Answering eleven very hard questions accurately meant that British contestants could go home – after five appearances – with £3,200 (64,000 shillings) in their pocket.
