Winner Takes All

1 9 7 5 – 1 9 8 7 (UK)

Jimmy Tarbuck welcomed the guests and the unseen Geoffrey Wheeler – who also devised the game – asked the questions (verified by Encyclopaedia Britannica) in this popular long-running general knowledge quiz show produced by Yorkshire Television.

Bringing the contestants to the starting line were hostesses Jan Michelle and Tina Robinson.

The four contestants competed in a little knockout tournament to find one winner who would “take all” (hence the name) – namely a big cash prize – at the end of each show. The winner then stayed on the following week, risking a proportion of their winnings to date in the pursuit of even more money.

Five questions were offered, one at a time, together with six possible answers. Each answer was accompanied by appropriate odds, ranging from even money through 2:1, 3:1, 4:1 and 5:1 to the rank outsider at 10:1.

The contestants had to select an answer and back it with a proportion of their points bank (starting with a £50 stake), losing the gambled points if the answer was wrong but reaping the rewards if they gambled correctly.

The contestant with the most points was, naturally enough, the winner. In the final round, pounds replaced points but only the winner could take away his final total.

When Jimmy Tarbuck left the series in 1987 to present a new game show, Tarby’s Frame Game, Geoffrey Wheeler was brought into vision as joint host and question master.

Jimmy Tarbuck
Geoffrey Wheeler
Tina Robinson
Jan Michelle