When I heard about the Paul O'Grady Show being severely affected by Channel 4's budget cuts, I wondered how long it'd be before the press started going on about how DoND would be affected.

That article says the current DoND contract ends at the end of next year (although they also say that Noel "has said that he will be on the show for another 18 months"). I assume they wouldn't make any budget cuts or format changes during this current contract though.

If they really did have to make severe cuts after that, I can't see Endemol continuing with Channel 4 if it meant the top prize was reduced and other format changes were made. I think it's highly likely the show would move to either BBC or ITV; I don't think Sky has much chance as DoND has such a firm terrestrial TV base.

Assuming the format stayed the same, the set remained similar (if not the same), and Noel remained as presenter, I think it'd remain a popular show even if it was on another (terrestrial) channel. Anyway, the Mail is being a bit presumptuous, as it looks like the show is contracted to remain on Channel 4 until at least the start of 2011, if not mid-2011 (or later!)...

I would agree about the Daily Mail being presumptious. Anything that they print I usually end up taking with a pinch of salt regardless.

BUT!! Let's assume that DonD did end up on another terrestrial TV station, the BBC for example, would Noel want to go back to working for the BBC when he left the corporation in such acrimonious circumstances after his 'House Party' was axed in the 1990's?

I would favour ITV or maybe Channel 5. I think even Endemol know that if you change the format, they will lose viewers. You shouldn't ever change a winning formula.

As the old adage goes... "If it isn't broke, don't try to fix it".

Phil.

It's not a BBC show. It's not even remotely a BBC show. The BBC has an unwritten (I think...) rule about generally capping game show prizes at £100,000 per contestant, and it doesn't fit the BBC ethos at all.

ITV, that be another matter.

I've done the maths based on what I last heard the Edmonds contract was on and how many shows per season there are on average, and it implies he's on more like £8k per show (if he were actually on £20k per show, then in conjunction with his Sky work he'd be earning more than Jonathan Ross). Maybe it's £20k per taping day? That said, I reckon you could save half of that with a cheaper but still well-recognised host - I'd want someone else who's handled a big-money game show, preferably with a risk-reward element, so step forward Nick Hancock at probably half the cost of Noel or less. We'll call that a £5,000 saving.

The long-run mean contestant win is long established at around £15,000. So where the hell is the other £65,000 going?

How many game shows have actually changed channel in exactly the same format though?

It's hard to see what channel would commit to such a big money daytime show in the current economic climate, particularly one that's been going a few years so past its ratings peak. If it does leave C4 then I suspect we'll either get an Americanised prime time version or a "1990s money" low-budget daytime one. Probably without Noel in either case.

Well I know where it's not going. It's not going on the food in the hotel.

Joking aside, it must be very costly to put everyone up in the hotel, along with other possible expenses etc. (But I doubt it adds up to £65,000 per show!)

The Banker's salary?

Well, paying the wages of the audience team, the contestant team, the art department, the make-up and clothing people, the camera operators and other myriad technicians, etc. etc. etc., would easily account for most of that.

Even if Noel does call it a day at the time of any channel move or budget cut, he will have done close to 1500 shows by the end of next year... how many other game show hosts have done that many editions of one show? It would have to be a daily one, running most of the year, to get close to that - I doubt even something like Millionaire is close to 1000 episodes despite being over 10 years old now? Obviously there was Richard Whiteley and Carol Vorderman on Countdown who would both have appeared on several thousand. Probably Anne Robinson on The Weakest Link, given how long it has been running now. Any others?

I cant see how the show would work if they cut the money. How many people would give up up to 3 weeks of their lives for the chance of winning say 10k at the most? The allure of the big money keeps the contestants coming even if only a tiny fraction win anything of any substance.

...thats not to say that winning 10k is anything to sniff at by the way!

Cutting down the jackpot prize to £10k would probably show kill the show off!

If the top prize was £10k then nobody would ever deal, at least before the final offer!

I could see a £100k top prize version working OK, but not much less than that.

That is just scratching the service.

If Endemol West don't personally own the warehouses then they have to pay rent/lease to the Paintworks owners, then you take into account the electric and phone bills. Then there are the contracts with the portaloo hire from Chew Valley Hire, the fancy dress shops to supply the costumes for Christmas and Halloween, the tailors for the smart dress shows (New Years Eve, Love Week), the caterers for the contestants lunch, the hotel to house up the contestants for 10 days at a time, the coach company to take the contestants to and from the hotel/studio.

Then again the £65,000 wage could be the double wage Richard Hague and Glenn Hugill receive for their two main jobs on the show

Chris Tarrant has fronted 546 Millionaire episodes. Anne Robinson has presented (and winked) around 1,400 episodes but the exact total is uncertain. Ainsley Harriot has recorded around 1,100 Ready Steady Cooks. William G Stewart hosted Fifteen to One 2,265 times. Richard Whitlely holds the record at 3,959 episodes of Countdown.

From another perspective. The UK edition is the second longest running show from the DoND franchise. The Aussies hold the record with an estimated 1,250 shows but we are slowly catching up.

It'll probably be accentuated and become a vicious cycle as the bad luck/lack of big wins drive away viewers so changing the format/ introducing more gimmicks would be a huge mistake.

I think it was only recently that WWTBAM has changed its format in the prize money ladder. (Plus the jazzed up music!)

I know some people don't like change but in order to appeal to the younger audience I guess. I've also noticed on the same show an influx of 'Celebrity' WWTBAM. (And some of them even I've never even heard of and I'm knocking on 40 years old!!)

KP...

I honestly wasn't aware that the BBC has an unwritten ethos about maximum prize money attained in any quiz show.

But then, what do they show quiz/gameshow-wise?

'Weakest Link' with the arrogant Anne Robinson... (£2,500 max if I'm correct?)

'Eggheads' with Dermot Murghnahan(sp) which is about as exciting as 15 to One in slow motion.

'Can't Cook, Won't Cook' With Ainsley Harriot who I have actually met in real life back in 2003. As jovial off screen as he is in front of the cameras. Prize is... Pfft! I don't know! (Never actually watched it to be honest! )


But DonD on the BBC? £10,000 jackpot? Now some of them blues and reds would need to take some serious devaluation.

Phil.

He would, enough water has passed under the bridge since then. Noel pops up on BBC talk shows and things every now and then, it's not as if he boycotts the BBC. He was often a guest on BBC Radio Devon when he lived in the county.

Not forgetting his stint on the drivetime slot on BBC Radio 2 in the summer/autumn of 2003, when he sat in for Johnnie Walker who was recovering from cancer.

If the Mail is going on old figures, the quote for the production of a show may also include the "LTL" (which regularly paid out £5k - £15k to the winning viewer per show).