We all have our favourite contestants, but what have been your favourite shows and why? They aren't necessarily the shows of your favourite contestants, as there are ways of categorising a good show based on criteria such as:

Who the contestant is playing
How their game goes
What they win
What the current 22 is
How involved the other contestants and the audience are during the show
What Noel is like during the game
Events during the show, such as PJ's final swap offer
How exciting / tense / dramatic / funny / upsetting / sad the whole show is
Etc.

Pat M is my favourite contestant ever but her game fell a bit flat when she won only £1,000 after having a trainwreck of a game, so I don't class her show as one of the best ever - same for Steven, Spiky Paul and Shahid (2) - I liked them a lot on the wings and in their games but I wouldn't classify their shows as the best ever.

My favourite shows ever are possibly Lance's and Mad Sarah's, who admittedly, are in my top 5 contestants ever - Lance 2nd and Mad Sarah 3rd, but other shows such as Hannah's and 1p Trevor's are possibly some of the best ever for very different reasons - Hannah for a great turnaround, and Trevor for the drama surrounding the opening of box 1.

I've just thought of some more to add to my all-time list - Stevie's and June's for the humour element - oh and possibly Khanny's as his no dealing was so bizarre, and the swap at the end saved him from total disaster.

In that case, Bunney's game springs to my mind straightaway wen he put his own initiative against Sarah's card.

I totally agree with H about Lance's game.

I think Morris' was great because of all the players' rhymes (even if the Banker's was the best lol!!!).

Will post more as I can think of the best reasons to support them

1) Mally
2) Gaz
3) Bunney
4) Brenda
5) Rodney

Loved all 5 of these games the most....

Gaz's will possibly forever be the best show ever although I'd say Bunney's comes a good second. I'll forever love that moment in Bunney's game where it's the end of round 5, he's had a bad round and his offer drops from £42,000 to £31,000, and he suddenly goes really calm and you think he's going to Deal...AND HE DOESN'T!! And a good thing too!

Bunney's or Mad Sarah's for the funniest shows!

I think the best shows have the rare combination of a great character in the chair, an exciting game, a big win, and good involvement of those in the wings. So let's see which ones tick most or all of those boxes:

Lance - memorable player, fantastic game and huge win. Slight anti-climax with the deal and the £100k in the box, and not the greatest ever wing line-up.

Morris - another great character, all the others doing the poems was great, as was the game itself - shame about the final gamble not paying off though!

Bunney - well another personality nobody will forget, and similarly to Morris's game I loved seeing those in the wings with their songs! And a game to match with a six-figure win, though hypothetical swap always a bit of an anti-climax.

Mad Sarah - a unique character and great show, one of the best ever wing line-ups at the time and also beat the Banker even though it wasn't among the biggest ever wins!

Psychic Sarah - another completely unique game, as she destroyed the board in the early stages before recovering to deal for a substantial amount, and then the outcome of that remarkable swap was revealed! Also a great wing line-up.

Rodney - very recent so hard to say where it ranks in the all-time list, but a great character who just brought such an energy and positive attitude to the game after so much recent bad luck and caution, and ended up with one of the biggest wins and an OPW as well!

Also worth a mention in the funny/entertaining category - Elizabeth and Mandy, Russell, Mad Paul, June are among those that come to mind.

While I'd say the best two moments ever were the revealing of the £250k in Laura's game and the £100k in Gaz's, they were pretty ordinary games up to the stage of the second break so in terms of the show as a whole I'd say others were better.

Then there's those that I wouldn't want to class as the "best" as they were painful viewing but unforgettable - Nick, Trevor and Sally in particular of the 1p club games, the controversy of PJ's game, Donna's painful early deal, Lucy's 50-show celebration turning to disaster, and Geordie's which was the first bad outcome I ever saw and went to the first big character I remember on the wings!

For me the contestants in the wings always play a supporting role to the main player in the chair. But its the luck of the boxes and bravery of the player that make or break a game.

Bunney's game stands out as my favorite. It was sheer entertainment all the way through and his bravery and guts will always remain in my mind.

Lynne was another gutsy player with a mischievous and slightly sardonic personality that sticks in my mind.

Pyschic Sarah's game was amazingly tense but slightly marred by her not having the courage of her convictions to go on and get the £250k. Still one of my favorites though.

Of more recent games Graeme and Rodney are memorable for me.

OK well I would say it has to have a good player in my book, so the likes of Jennifer, Gaz and Laura are gone straight away...they were lovely people but if they had had average games I doubt any of us would remember who they were (well I would because I remember everyone but you get my point). I'd rather see an absolute legend win £10,000 than someone dull win £150,000.

So the character is the most important thing but it also has to be an exciting game with a biggish win, and preferably an OPW...although in some cases, most notably Lance, the fact that it wasn't an OPW is pretty irrelevant.

Based on those criteria I'd say my top ten games were:

1. Lance
2. Mad Sarah
3. Pat G
4. June
5. Lynne
6. Frank (1)
7. Elizabeth and Mandy
8. Stella
9. Susan
10. JT

Although if you asked me again tomorrow I'd probably have completely changed my mind. People who just missed the list were Jainie, Ron, Dawn, Roy (1) (mainly because of the stupid hypothetical swap), Bearded Gary, Melanie and Valerie.

You could add really entertaining trainwrecks as well, if the player's clearly OK about it and having a laugh, then it becomes much easier viewing as there's no tension involved.

So I'll put a 10 of (in no particular order)

Lance
Melanie
Rodney
Emi
Pennie
Derek
Morris
Jeff (break a leg)
Harry
Mad Sarah

Though there's about 100 others I could mention....

I have many favourites, I will be here all day if I were to discuss them all. Here are a few of them:

Bunney: £110,000
David J: £70,000
Tom: £33,000
Morris: £20,000
Wrighty: £32,000
Danny: £20,000
Alfie: £20,000

and many more

I think my favourite games of all time are:

1) Chantelle
2) Thanh
3) Bunney
4) Brenda
5) Kirsty (1)

In terms of who i loved/hated, Georgina Joey Hannah. best ever.

In gameplay terms probably Rodney

Claudine's game was in my opinion the best game we have ever had- and it is very unlikely that a game will ever get any better. The time of year contributed to the excitement of it all as well. Turning down that £44 031 still shocks me when I see it. It was a great moment, and it was actually the only time that my whole family have been clutched together staring at people opening red boxes. I must have watched it over and over again on youtube and it still never bores me.
Also, Claudine herself, and that amazing smile! Wonderful game.

I really liked Gabrielle's show (16/1/07, £15,000). Very heartwarming.

After spreading so much luck to so many other players, via her patented lucky feather slippers (including Laura250K!) it was nice to see her get some much needed luck of her own, right at the last minute. Bless...

Gabrielle rocks

I think it's easier for me to explain types of games I like with good examples...

Costly Banker blunders: when the Banker makes rubbish offers, the player rejects them and ends up getting the big-money OPW. I think these are my favourite 'big finishes' on one level, or at least were, but I've started to turn against them thinking they are 'engineered' big finishes. And of course when they go wrong, that's arguably the worst type of game. I will say these are probably the most dramatic, though for me it's almost more wanting Endemol to lose money than the players to win it! Examples: Laura, Gaz, £35k Matt.

Comedy trainwrecks: when even Beryl might have won a blue, and the game dissolves into nonsense. The best of these are when the player treats the situation with humour. Examples: Emi, 1p Nick. £1 Mike would go here but I have too many doubts about that game, being a low-offer trainwreck in the Sequencegate era.

Noel-silencers: when the player takes a Deal that appears to be safe, or at least is overtly criticised by the host, but ends up being good for an OPW. Even better when Noel ends up completely changing tack... or having to speak through gritted teeth. Examples: Jeannie, Tax-Free Harry, Melanie.

Funny money games: when players prove highly entertaining and the boxes go in their favour too, leading to big-money games (preferably OPWs but this is by no means required). Examples: Lance, £32k Paul, Mad Sarah, Bunney.

Thought-provokers: when the offers are very well judged such that any of several courses of action would be perfectly justifiable. Made even sweeter when they're OPWs. Examples: Rita 1, £45k Nick.

I'd probably have Elizabeth and Mandy's game as one of the best of all time - it fit both of the last two categories (offer 3 was a tough one, offer 4 arguably a waste but offer 5 a big decision arguable either way, and they took offer 5 for an OPW).

I thought you'd put the likes of Trevor (1), Aaron and more recently Eric up there, KP? The ones who provided the best advice in the wings, played their own game the way they advised others to, and beat the Banker as well!

I'd actually not thought of that but they have to be up there too! Arguably some (Aaron 1 and Eric certainly) count as 'thought-provokers' - they both rejected offers that could easily have been taken, accepted offers that easily could have been rejected, and yet in each case it was entirely logical to act in that way. I like that

Gaz 1 also since i could simply take the fast cat for 5mins and go and get one of his ice creams, then take the 5min journey back to gosport.

having met a DoND legend

basically coz he lives relatively close to me.

I liked Kathleen's game today and Gaz (£100,000) and (£70,000.01).