Crosswits was a British TV quiz show, originally hosted by
Barry CryerBarry Charles Cryer OBE is a British writer and comedian. Cryer has written for many noted performers, including Dave Allen, Stanley Baxter, Jack Benny, Rory Bremner, George Burns, Jasper Carrott, Tommy Cooper, Les Dawson, Dick Emery, Kenny Everett, Bruce Forsyth, David Frost, Bob Hope, Frankie...
for one series in 1987, then comedian
Tom O'ConnorTom O'Connor is a British actor and comedian. He is best known for presenting game shows such as Crosswits, The Zodiac Game, Name That Tune , I've Got A Secret and Gambit.-Early life:...
took over until the show ended in 1998.
Produced by
Tyne Tees TelevisionTyne Tees Television is the ITV television franchise for North East England and some of North Yorkshire...
from their City Road studios in
Newcastle upon TyneNewcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England...
, the show could most usually be found in the 9.25am slot just after
TV-amTV-am was a breakfast television station that broadcast to the United Kingdom from 1 February 1983 to 31 December 1992. It made history by being the first national operator of an ITV franchise at breakfast-time, and was broadcast every day of the week, for most or all of the period between 06:00...
/
GMTVGMTV is the national ITV breakfast television contractor, broadcasting in the United Kingdom. It is owned by GMTV Ltd, comprising ITV plc and The Walt Disney Company...
had finished, although in later years it was shown in the early afternoons, at around 1.30pm and, in some regions, the evening.
Crosswits was a British TV quiz show, originally hosted by
Barry CryerBarry Charles Cryer OBE is a British writer and comedian. Cryer has written for many noted performers, including Dave Allen, Stanley Baxter, Jack Benny, Rory Bremner, George Burns, Jasper Carrott, Tommy Cooper, Les Dawson, Dick Emery, Kenny Everett, Bruce Forsyth, David Frost, Bob Hope, Frankie...
for one series in 1987, then comedian
Tom O'ConnorTom O'Connor is a British actor and comedian. He is best known for presenting game shows such as Crosswits, The Zodiac Game, Name That Tune , I've Got A Secret and Gambit.-Early life:...
took over until the show ended in 1998.
Produced by
Tyne Tees TelevisionTyne Tees Television is the ITV television franchise for North East England and some of North Yorkshire...
from their City Road studios in
Newcastle upon TyneNewcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England...
, the show could most usually be found in the 9.25am slot just after
TV-amTV-am was a breakfast television station that broadcast to the United Kingdom from 1 February 1983 to 31 December 1992. It made history by being the first national operator of an ITV franchise at breakfast-time, and was broadcast every day of the week, for most or all of the period between 06:00...
/
GMTVGMTV is the national ITV breakfast television contractor, broadcasting in the United Kingdom. It is owned by GMTV Ltd, comprising ITV plc and The Walt Disney Company...
had finished, although in later years it was shown in the early afternoons, at around 1.30pm and, in some regions, the evening. The show consisted of two members of the public competing against each other to solve simple crossword puzzles. Each member of the public was helped out by a "celebrity" partner. The announcers for the show were generally Tyne Tees continuity announcers such as
Bill SteelBill Steel is a television and radio broadcaster from North East England. He has also acted, briefly appearing in Coronation Street.He began his working life at the General Electric as a trainee accountant, and moved into television in the 1960s, first working in the Tyne Tees Television...
, Judi Lines and Jonathan Morrell.
Main game
Basically the game was the same as its
American counterpartThe Cross-Wits was an American syndicated game show which premiered on December 15, 1975 and lasted for five seasons until its cancellation on September 12, 1980. It was hosted by Jack Clark, with Jerri Fiala as hostess...
, except that there were two players (one celebrity & one contestant) on each team instead of three. As in the American version, teams took turns solving words in a
crossword puzzleFor the common puzzle, see CrosswordCrossword Puzzle was the second to last album made by The Partridge Family and was not one of the most popular albums. It was released in 1973 and did not produce a U.S. single. This album was finally released on CD in 2003 on Arista's BMG Heritage label...
(by virtue of clues), all of them are clues to a master puzzle. Each correct answer keeps control and earns one point per letter in the answer plus a chance to solve the master puzzle for 10 bonus points. Later in the run, teams always took turns whether they were right or wrong.
There were also special rounds in the game:
- Song Round - all clues were lyrics to a well-known song.
- Anagram Round - the first letter of every clue word make a clue word.
- Mystery Round - finding a keyword after one clue without assistance from a clue word wins the contestant a cordless phone.
The team with the most points when time runs out, wins the game & plays the same Crossfire round as the American version.
Crossfire round
The winning team was shown one last crossword puzzle, with 10 words none of which are clues to a master puzzle. The host reads rapid-fire clues to each of the 10 words. Each correct words brings the winning team extra closer to a holiday for the contestant, and if they can solve all ten in 60 seconds or less, they win the holiday, otherwise the winning player wins consolation prizes.
Transmissions
| Series | Start date | End date | Episodes |
|---|
| 1 |
6 January 1987 |
?? |
?? |
| 2 |
27 October 1987 |
?? |
?? |
| 3 |
25 April 1988 |
17 June 1988 |
40 |
| 4 |
15 May 1989 |
14 July 1989 |
45 |
| 5 |
9 April 1990 |
25 May 1990 |
35 |
| 6 |
29 April 1991 |
21 June 1991 |
40 |
| 7 |
13 April 1992 |
26 June 1992 |
55 |
| 8 |
17 May 1993 |
18 June 1993 |
25 |
| 9 |
4 April 1994 |
?? |
?? |
| 10 |
21 October 1996 |
?? |
?? |
| 11 |
6 January 1998 |
?? |
?? |
External links
- Crosswits at UKGameshows.com
UKGameshows.com is a website dedicated to British game shows. The site currently provides information on more than 1,500 British game show formats from 1938 to the present day, over 500 mini-biographies of hosts, along with numerous other background articles....