Disclaimer: this is a mixture of a fantasy online game - similar to what Ross has done brilliantly - and a standard Forum DoND game. It is based on a ficticious near-future storyline that is merely meant to be plausible, not a prediction. The idea was just me going wacky, but I hope you enjoy it.

Basically: the story goes like this. After a hugely controversial Big Brother 8 in 2007, Channel 4 decided not to renew the show, pressured into admitting it did not entirely fit in with their public service requirements after ratings started to tail off - with millions of pounds in phone call revenue having to be returned after a judgement on the returning-contestant twist in 2006 too, the show lost its excuse of being a profitable means of funding more upmarket fare.

ITV, however, were in absolute dire straits, with increasingly ridiculous storylines in Coronation Street causing the show to lose popularity; ratings regularly averaged below 7.5m, catastrophic by soap standards, and their other drama series were faring even worse against a succession of slicker US imports. The nearest they had to a hit was a version of Love Island with members of the public, and even that was really successful only in comparison with the Z-list celebrity version. Earlier in 2007, there were strong rumours that Channel 4 might even overtake ITV in ratings, or at least in advertising revenue due to its younger audience, by the end of the decade.

But ITV responded quickly. It not only bought Big Brother, but it bought Deal or No Deal too - a show that was somewhat fading after two £250,000 winners in March 2007 (honestly, I'm only making this stuff up. If this really happens...) and had also not been renewed beyond 2008; many people felt the show had become too samey and was no longer fresh and exciting.

ITV attempted to change that by making substantial adjustments to the format. Firstly, the game would now run for one hour in the 6pm pre-Emmerdale slot (the news having been moved to 5pm as far back as early 2007 after The Price Is Right became solely a Saturday night show and The Sharon Osbourne Show flopped), with Millionaire-style straddling games as per the US version (this was after complaints that it was too easy to guess when the contestant in the Channel 4 version would Deal based on the way the show was edited for time). Secondly, the games would now involve 26 boxes and use the Dutch/US box-opening format, and - in a nod to the French and Italian versions upon which the Channel 4 version was based - contestants would represent ITV regions. Specifically, two contestants would represent each of the main thirteen ITV regions:



The Channel Islands are considered part of Westcountry for the purpose of this show. Both the West and the East Wings would have one contestant from each region.

The prize tree:


Finally - THE BANKER KNOWS THE BOX VALUES. As a result, we will have a separate player and Banker.

Game one will start in this thread later.

sorry if i have not read through properly, but what are you going to use with a different board?

6-5-4-3-2-1-1-1-1, same as the Dutch and US versions. It was hidden a bit:

when will you do this

First game will probably start just after 7:30pm tonight.

nice!

Sounds excellent. Good luck, KP!

As the 5:30pm ITV News on Monday, September 1, 2008 ends, and an interminable adbreak drags on, televisions across the UK tune in to Deal or No Deal - new time, new format, not a lot the same.

But still no questions except one.

Oh, a new host... for the hell of it, we'll assume Patrick Kielty. (He did the pilot for ABC in 2005, before they turned the show down and NBC took it instead.)

26 contestants on two wings. Each wing contains a contestant from each of the 13 ITV regions.

The set is similar in layout to the Channel 4 layout used between 2005 and early 2008, but very wide and not very deep, with the benches at only a slight angle to the audience - which is much bigger, several hundred people.

Those benches have large neon signs by the contestants displaying their region. To choose a player these flicker, then all turn off except one...

...and the chosen player for the first game is IAN from Ulster.

West Wing:
Anglia: Bill - 23
Border: Moirrey - 21
Central: Oliver - 19
Granada: Caitlin - 7
London: Pawel - 26
Meridian: Alice - 1
Scotland: Yvonne - 13
Tyne Tees: Gavin - 12
Ulster: Ian - 10
Wales: Meinir - 2
West: Ben - 14
Westcountry: Gillian - 17
Yorkshire: Alex - 5

East Wing:
Anglia: Zoja - 8
Border: Donald - 18
Central: Jacqui - 20
Granada: Geoffrey - 16
London: Alisha - 6
Meridian: Cyril - 11
Scotland: Ewan - 22
Tyne Tees: Wendy - 24
Ulster: Fiona - 4
Wales: Terry - 15
West: Margaret - 3
Westcountry: Quentin - 9
Yorkshire: Abbie - 25

Ian confirms to the host that Box 10 was chosen at random...

...then Mr Kielty drops a bombshell.

'We warned you all that everything you thought you knew about the show was different now. Well, we weren't joking.

The boxes were sealed by the independent adjudicator, I don't know where the money is, none of the contestants know, none of the audience know...

...BUT THE BANKER DOES.'

A noisy reaction, mostly pantomime booing, fills the studio.

'He will be trying not only to make you leave with as little as possible, but to bluff you, knowing he has the upper hand...'

'...in the first round, you will have to open six boxes. Then you will get the first offer. Are you ready?' Ian nods slowly.

'Let the game BEGIN!' cries Patrick to great applause. And the studio lights dim a bit.

'Box 25' Ian calls out confidently. That's Abbie from Yorkshire.

What happens if the Banker knows the box contains 1p? I guess he has to take the irrational decision to make offers in excess of 1p to maintain the show's entertainment value!

Box 25 - £50!

[out of character to Power5: that's hilarious especially in light of your signature... actually then it would become a game of bluff, the aim being to offer sums that make the player think they have good money while still forcing them to No Deal... probably not hard with current UK players...]

Ian smiles serenely at the pretty young Abbie.

'Box 2' he calls out. That's another attractive young-looking female, Meinir from Wales. 'Is THAT your gameplan then?' jokes Patrick, to laughter.

Box 2 - 1p!

Now the secret's out, as Ian goes over to Meinir and gives her a kiss. She's actually taller than Ian is, and Ian isn't that short.

'See, I KNEW that was his gameplan...' cries Patrick.

'And you know what? It's working too!'

'It wasn't my gameplan, and I'm not going to stick to it now!' replies Ian. 'Box 26.'

Patrick leads the audience into a cry of 'BOOYEAH!'... 'That's Pawel. Pawel, are you an attractive young female?' 'I don't think so' Pawel replies, in a slight Polish accent.

Box 26 - £500!

Ian is getting properly excited now.

'This is fantastic' says Patrick. 'You're not kidding' replies Ian. 'Box 11.' That's Cyril. 'Me?' inquires Cyril, an old and slightly frail-looking man.

Box 11 - £300!