Knightmare

1 9 8 7 – 1 9 9 4 (UK)
113 x 25 minute episodes

This children’s game show series featured teams of contestants exploring a computer-generated fantasy world – The Dungeon of Deceit – with special effects and cunning puzzles.

One brave child, ‘the Dungeoneer’, wearing the giant, horned “Helmet of Justice” (basically a bucket with tusks which impaired his vision) battled against the forces of evil with the aid of three friends whose role it was to advise the blind hero around the dangers of the chromakey dungeon and the computer-generated fantasy world.

Generally, the quest was for either the cup, the sword, the shield or the crown, and hosting this mighty quest was the cryptic and smug Dungeon Master, one Treguard of Dunshelm, played fantastically by Hugo Myatt (like a version of Brian Blessed with less yelling).

His job was to spur on the Dungeoneer’s allies who watched on from his antechamber as our hero traversed the Room of Choice, the Catacombite Room, Merlin’s Chamber, the Cogs of Doom, the Beast’s Stomach, the Causeways and the Corridor of Blades.

Several characters appeared throughout the dungeon to help or hinder the contestant, including Folly (a jester), Lilith, Cedric (a monk), Merlin (the magician) and Olgarth and Granitas (wall monsters who guarded the level 1 Clue Room).

In Series 4, Treguard got an assistant – Pickle the Elf. Pickle remained until Series 6 and was replaced by Majida for Series 7.

The Dungeon was filled with people and things that could either hinder or help the team, and they usually came up against Mogdred and, in the later series,’ Lord Fear.

Treguard (Dungeon Master)
Hugo Myatt
Olgarth/Granitas
Guy Standeven
Lillith
Mary Miller
Folly the Jester
Alec Westwood
Merlin/Mogdred
John Woodnutt
Cedric the monk/Casper
Lawrence Werber
Gumboil
Edmund Dehn
Pickle
David Learner
Majida
Jackie Sawiris
Motley
Paul Valentine
Hordriss
Clifford Norgate
Lord Fear
Mark Knight
Lissard
Cliff Barry
Sidriss
Iona Kennedy