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GamesMaster was a British
Great Britain

Great Britain is an island lying to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the List of islands by area, and the largest in Europe. With a population of 58.9 million people it is List of islands by population....
 television show, screened on Channel 4
Channel 4

Channel 4 is a UK Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom television broadcaster which began transmissions on 2 November 1982. Although commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the #Channel Four Television...
 from 7 January 1992 to 3 February 1998, and was the first-ever UK television show dedicated to computer and video games.

amesMaster began when Janice Poole, formerly of LWT, who had set up her own production company Hewland International, took an interest in her son Joseph's love of video games.






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GamesMaster was a British
Great Britain

Great Britain is an island lying to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the List of islands by area, and the largest in Europe. With a population of 58.9 million people it is List of islands by population....
 television show, screened on Channel 4
Channel 4

Channel 4 is a UK Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom television broadcaster which began transmissions on 2 November 1982. Although commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the #Channel Four Television...
 from 7 January 1992 to 3 February 1998, and was the first-ever UK television show dedicated to computer and video games.

Origins

GamesMaster began when Janice Poole, formerly of LWT, who had set up her own production company Hewland International, took an interest in her son Joseph's love of video games. She put together a pitch for a show that would translate the excitement of games playing into watchable television. It was Channel 4
Channel 4

Channel 4 is a UK Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom television broadcaster which began transmissions on 2 November 1982. Although commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the #Channel Four Television...
 that became interested in the concept and green lit the production. However, because it had been pitched as a competitive event programme, the show was always under the jurisdiction of the "sports" department amongst shows such as Football Italia
Football Italia

Football Italia is an Football in Italy programme in the United Kingdom, which as of August 2007 is currently known as Football Italiano....
, horse racing and Indian volleyball.

Format and hosts

Though it featured reviews of games, most of the show was about challenges where game players would compete against one another for the title of "GamesMaster Champion". Contestants who were successful at their challenges were rewarded with the coveted "GamesMaster Golden Joystick" trophy. Dominik Diamond
Dominik Diamond

Paul Dominik Diamond is a Scottish television and radio presenter and newspaper columnist. He is best known as the original presenter of Channel 4's video gaming programme GamesMaster, as host of The Dominik Diamond Breakfast Show on Galaxy Scotland and as a columnist for the Daily Star ....
 usually presented the show with Sir Patrick Moore
Patrick Moore

Sir Alfred Patrick Caldwell-Moore, Commander of the British Empire, Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society, Royal Astronomical Society known as Patrick Moore, is an England Amateur astronomy who has attained prominent status in astronomy as a writer, researcher, radio commentator and television presenter of the subject and who is credite...
 appearing in pre-recorded inserts as the 'Games Master'. During these challenges, Dominik was joined by a host of commentators. These included Derrick Lynch, Kirk Ewing, Rik Henderson, Dave Perry, Tim Boone, Edward Laurence amongst others.

For the third series, Dexter Fletcher
Dexter Fletcher

Dexter Fletcher is an English people actor, best known for his lead role as Spike Thomson in the British TV comedy Press Gang alongside Julia Sawalha....
 became the main presenter; this change was criticised by fans, who saw the new host as over-the-top, and too 'in-your-face'. To balance this, the production company dropped all other co-presenters and gave UK games champion Dave Perry
Dave Perry

Dave Perry was a creator of and co-commentator on the United Kingdom computer and video games television shows GamesMaster and Games World....
 a regular co-presenter slot on every show. Fletcher was more well known for playing an American character called "Spike" in the ITV
ITV

ITV is a public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom television network of British television broadcasters, set up under the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC....
 drama series Press Gang
Press Gang

Press Gang is a United Kingdom children's television comedy-drama consisting of forty-three episodes across five series that were broadcast from 1989 to 1993....
. Without his fake accent, some viewers thought his genuine Cockney slang was actually put on for the effect of making the show seem more trendy.

Review segments

From the very first episode, GamesMaster included reviews of forthcoming titles. In an attempt to give the show some authority and get the gaming press on their side, as well as eliminate the need for extra staff to review games, the reviews featured a host of magazines journalists from the publishing house EMAP
EMAP

EMAP is a United Kingdom media company, specialising in the production of business-to-business magazines, and the organisation of business events and conferences....
. This meant the show could pool the collective opinions of magazines like Mean Machines
Mean Machines

Mean Machines was a market-leading multi-format gaming magazine released between 1990 and 1992 in the United Kingdom. Its style was popular with gamers of the time for its irreverent humor, anarchic editorial tone and style, and it's sometimes outrageously outspoken reviews....
, C&VG and ACE
ACE (games magazine)

ACE was a multi-format computer and video game magazine first published in the United Kingdom by Future Publishing and later acquired by EMAP....
.

However, by series 5 it was decided that the reviews would be better presented by two of the show's co-commentators, namely Rik Henderson and Dave Perry
Dave Perry

Dave Perry was a creator of and co-commentator on the United Kingdom computer and video games television shows GamesMaster and Games World....
. It brought a much-needed stability to the format and some interesting banter between the reviewers. Series 6 featured the same two reviewers, while series 7, due to time constraints and Dave Perry having resigned from the show's cast, employed two of its own research staff to present the slot, including Richard Pitt.

One of the earliest know uses of the term "Pants!" was Dominik Diamond's frequent use in relation to degrading something, due to its appalling quality.

Relationship with the games industry

Prior to GamesMaster appearing, games companies had very few TV shows on which to have their titles featured. UK broadcasters had shown sporadic interest in the scene, normally confining coverage to segments within Saturday morning children's programming. From time to time, news programmes would report on one of the very successful British games studios, but in contrast to programming involving films and music videos, there was no regular showcase for videogames.

GamesMaster was first broadcast in 1992, during the fourth (16-bit) console generation
History of video game consoles (fourth generation)

In the history of computer and video games, the fourth generation began on October 30, 1987 with the Japanese release of Nippon Electric Company PC Engine ....
 - after the launch of the Mega Drive, but before the SNES. 16-bit consoles were regarded as responsible for bringing gaming into UK culture, though it would take the ability of consoles with 3D graphics such as those found on the PlayStation
PlayStation

The PlayStation is a 32-bit history of video game consoles video game console released by Sony Computer Entertainment in December .The PlayStation was the first of the ubiquitous PlayStation ....
 for consoles to become largely popular. Youth culture was probably more focused on the gaming scene than ever before, and even arcades were still a big business, unlike today. That GamesMaster regularly drew in audiences in the millions proved that there was a huge and so far untapped audience.

Despite competition with specialist gaming magazines, the show managed to secure several exclusives over the series, showing games that were months or even years away from being finished. Because GamesMaster was largely a challenge-based show, games studios could, for example, present a single level to be used for these competitive segments. Blast Corps
Blast Corps

Blast Corps is a video game for the Nintendo 64 developed by Rare that was released in 1997 in video gaming, in which the player must destroy a series of buildings using a variety of unique demolition vehicles, in order to clear a path for a truck carrying a pair of defective nuclear missiles....
 is one example of a game that was demonstrated long before it, or even the Nintendo 64
Nintendo 64

The , often abbreviated as N64, is Nintendo's third home video game console for the international market. Named for its 64-bit CPU, it was released on June 23, 1996 in Japan, September 29, 1996 in North America, March 1, 1997 in Europe and Australia, September 1, 1997 in France and December 10, 1997 in Brazil....
 that it played on, were released.

Occasionally, games studios made levels specifically for use on one of the challenges. Shiny Entertainment
Shiny Entertainment

Shiny Entertainment was an United States video game developer based in Laguna Beach, Southern California, and is the creator of several hits such as Earthworm Jim, MDK , Sacrifice and The Matrix: Path of Neo....
 were one such studio when they put together a special level of Earthworm Jim
Earthworm Jim

Earthworm Jim is a Shoot 'em up#Run and gun platform game video game starring an earthworm named Jim in a robotic suit who battles evil. The game was developed by Shiny Entertainment, released for the Sega Mega Drive in 1994, and subsequently porting to the SNES, Game Boy, Game Gear, Sega Master System, and years later, the Game Boy Advan...
. Though this worked out well for both game studio and the show, the experience was somewhat soured when this code ended up being leaked on the internet. It is believed that the only way for this to have happened is that one of the staff on the show must have had links with online ROM
ROM image

A ROM image, or simply ROM, is a computer file which contains a copy of the data from a read-only memory chip, often from a ROM cartridge, a computer's firmware, or from an arcade game's arcade system board....
 crackers. It led to a great deal of embarrassment and likely upset the trust that existed between the production, Shiny Entertainment
Shiny Entertainment

Shiny Entertainment was an United States video game developer based in Laguna Beach, Southern California, and is the creator of several hits such as Earthworm Jim, MDK , Sacrifice and The Matrix: Path of Neo....
 and their publisher, Virgin Interactive
Virgin Interactive

Virgin Interactive was a successful and influential United Kingdom video game publisher. It was formed as Virgin Games Ltd. in 1981. The company became much larger after purchasing the budget label, Mastertronic in 1987....
.

Series 2 cold opening

For Series 2, the show began originally as in Series 1, except for it was "plagued" by numerous apparent "technical faults" (a ruse on the producer's part, the "Please do not adjust your set" warning that appeared is a hint to this), with the first challenge being an as yet un-shown Marble Madness
Marble Madness

Marble Madness is an arcade game video game designed by Mark Cerny, and published by Atari Games in 1984. It is a platform game in which the player must guide an onscreen marble through six courses, populated with obstacles and enemies, within a time limit....
 challenge (the contestant's name and town are partly obscured over a technical fault, meaning this was also part of the joke). As the challenger was coming to the podium, the program "crashed", "rebooted" with the new series opener, and a Street Fighter II
Street Fighter II

is a fighting game produced by Capcom originally released as a arcade game. A sequel to Capcoms fighting game Street Fighter , Street Fighter II improved upon the many concepts introduced in the first game , while offering players a selection of multiple player characters, each with their own unique fighting style and special moves....
 challenge, the cast acting like the short segment proceeding the new challenge had not happened.

Every series following Series 2 had the original series' closing moments portrayed in the series itself as the previous "set" being deconstructed in some manner. In the final series, the set was literally dismantled and the studio closed down over Dominik's final words.

Demise

Prior to Gamesmaster leaving UK television, there had been a crisis of confidence in games television over at rival channel ITV. Their children's department had commissioned another videogames show T.I.G.S. to accompany Bad Influence. Then, one series later, they pulled the plug on both shows, deciding that there was no demand for games coverage on their channel.

Gamesmaster was not affected and continued with success. In 1998, towards the end of production for the 7th series, the show was looking set to be re-commissioned; viewing figures were still strong, and the show was finding a new audience, benefiting from the emerging PlayStation culture with the success of Sony's console bringing gaming into the mainstream. The production was also more oriented towards actual games players than the first few series, which had been decidedly light in feature content, and no longer poked fun at 'nerds' and 'geeks', as it was young adults and not children and teenagers who appeared on the show; indeed, they and the publicity-seeking celebrities were now the subject of jokes.

It is believed that Dominik Diamond, along with the show's producers, was wanting to make a more adult programme that would air in a late night, more mainstream time slot. There was also talk of a spin off show being made that would seek to emulate the US talk shows of the time. Whether this would have meant a programme that focused far less on games is unknown. No confirmation exists that any pilots of this concept were ever made; Channel 4 did not see the potential of a gaming show for an older, adult viewers.

However, changes in senior staff at Channel 4 were responsible for taking the show off the air. The new head of Channel 4 was Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson (TV)

Michael Richard Jackson is a United Kingdom television producer and executive. He is notable for being one of only three people to have been Controller of both BBC One and BBC Two, the main television channels of the British Broadcasting Corporation, and for being the first media studies graduate to reach a senior level in the British media....
 who had worked at LWT at the same time as Jane Hewland; the two never saw eye-to-eye. Alternatively, having been the head of BBC2, Jackson may have wanted less entertainment programming on Channel 4.

Also it has been rumoured that the GM production team were creatively burned out.

The first series of the show was repeated on Challenge
Challenge

Challenge is a United Kingdom digital TV channel owned by Virgin Media Television. It was originally called The Family Channel from 1 September, 1993 to 31 January, 1997 but it was later re-branded as Challenge TV from 1 February, 1997....
 in 2003, but no further episodes have been shown. Challenge thought the show was "too dated" and "the games being played wouldn't stand up today".

Broadcasting spin-offs

Several gaming shows were commissioned by Sky One
Sky One

Sky1 is a British Sky Broadcasting entertainment channel in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. The channel first launched in 1982 as "Satellite Television", and is the fourth-oldest TV channel in the UK, behind BBC One , ITV and BBC Two ....
 in 1993 from Hewland International (one of which was Games World
Games World

Games World was a British computer games-based television programme, made by Hewland International and broadcast on Sky One each weekday from 1993-1998....
). Due to this close relationship with BSkyB, Hewland International were even successful in convincing them to launch a whole new channel dedicated to gaming, computers, the internet and technology. The Computer Channel launched in 1996 for only BSkyB subscribers, appearing for just two hours every night. Originally, the only gaming show was Game Over
Game over

Game Over is a traditional message in video games which usually signals the game has ended with a negative outcome, and that the player has failed to complete the game....
, made by some of the same production team as Gamesmaster and Games World
Games World

Games World was a British computer games-based television programme, made by Hewland International and broadcast on Sky One each weekday from 1993-1998....
. When The Computer Channel was relaunched as .tv
.tv (television channel)

.tv was a United Kingdom television channel dedicated to technology. .tv was owned and operated by British Sky Broadcasting. The channel began broadcasting on 1 September 1996 as The Computer Channel and broadcasted between 6pm and 8pm....
 in 1998, others shows began to start covering the gaming scene. These included Gear
Gear

A gear is a component within a Transmission device that transmits rotational force to another gear or device. A gear is different from a pulley in that a gear is a round wheel that has linkages that mesh with other gear teeth, allowing force to be fully transferred without slippage....
, Roadtest, ExMachina and also Games Republic
Games Republic

Games Republic was a 30 minute TV game show which was broadcast on BSkyB .tv channel from 1999 to 2000. It had an Ancient Egypt theme and was hosted by Trevor and Simon....
.

The latter show was closest in style and tone to Gamesmaster, featured a themed studio set, studio challenges and the irreverent presenters Trevor and Simon
Trevor and Simon

Trevor Neal and Simon Hickson are a United Kingdom comedy duo, best known for their contributions to the BBC1 children's television series Going Live! and Live & Kicking during the late 1980s and throughout much of the 1990s....
. Though the show did not include any features or VT content, as it was a question based game show based on video games, it was produced by Gamesmaster and When Games Attack
When Games Attack

When Games Attack was a British television show, broadcast on Bravo . the show was created and presented by Dominik Diamond in conjunction with Jonny Finch with whom he had previously worked on Gamesmaster....
 Producer Johnny Ffinch. The series unfortunately came under fire from fans after several questions asked in the show had incorrect answers, infuriating several contestants over the series. (Incorrect questions about the Dreamcast's Online Capabilities and Characters from Tekken immediately come to mind).

Dominik Diamond returned to games television first as an interviewee in the 1999 documentary Games Wars, in which he commented that boys getting turned on by Lara Croft
Lara Croft

Lara Croft is a fictional character and the protagonist of Eidos Interactive's Tomb Raider series video game series. Designed by Toby Gard, she has also been featured in movies , comic books, novels, and a series of animated short films....
 was tragic and "desperately sad". He then returned to presenting in 2004 with a show on Bravo
Bravo (television channel)

Bravo is a United Kingdom television channel, owned by Virgin Media Television. Its target audience is currently men in their late twenties to early forties and shows a variety of both archive programming and original productions....
, called When Games Attack
When Games Attack

When Games Attack was a British television show, broadcast on Bravo . the show was created and presented by Dominik Diamond in conjunction with Jonny Finch with whom he had previously worked on Gamesmaster....
. This programme was largely feature-based and contained plenty of Dominik's trademark humour. Prior to its broadcast, Dominik featured in a sizeable Edge interview, with his long time producer Johnny Finch. Both of them were quite vocal in stating their contempt for other shows about videogames that were doing a bad job.

When speaking about Gamezville
Gamezville

Gamezville was a computer games show broadcast on Sky One that ran for two series during the years 2003-2004. It was presented by Model - Darren Malcolm and Jamie Atiko....
, he expressed that: "I have more respect for suicide bombers than I do for the people who are involved with Gamezville... it's all fucking 'Yo mate...' I mean these guys can't even speak fucking English"

Though it did also feature minor celebrity challenges (mainly football players and glamour models), there were never any head-to-head competitions. To date, Bravo
Bravo (television channel)

Bravo is a United Kingdom television channel, owned by Virgin Media Television. Its target audience is currently men in their late twenties to early forties and shows a variety of both archive programming and original productions....
 has yet to show a second series. However, in November 2007 a repeat of the only series to date was aired.

Gamesmaster was also the first UK show to feature the sport of robot fighting in a news item, which at the time was on Local Public Access Television in the US. Hewland International worked for several years to translate the sport into something for UK viewers. Though they never succeeded, another production company, Initial
Initial

In a written work, an initial is a letter at the beginning of a work, a chapter or a paragraph that is larger than the rest of the text. The word comes from the Latin initialis, which means standing at the beginning....
, were able to get their show concept Robot Wars picked up by BBC2.

Publishing spin-offs

In 1993, Future Publishing
Future Publishing

Future plc is an international special-interest media company. Future Publishing is its UK business, jointly based in Bath and London. The brand produces magazines, websites and events in a range of specialist sectors including games, technology, automotive, cycling, films and photography....
 began a tie-in magazine, also called GamesMaster, which as of 2008 is still published, headed up by editor-in-chief Robin Alway.

In the Philippines, GamesMaster ceased its publication after three years of publishing. Its final issue was released September 2006. The magazine has a huge following of Filipino gamers and its demise has caused shockwaves in the local gaming community. An online commentary of the magazine's demise, and its effects, has been published recently.

Celebrity Guests


Series 1 - 1992

Episodes: 10
Air Time: Tuesdays at 6:30pm
Location: Church (St Paul's Church, Dock Street, London)
Recorded: 11 - 16 November 1991
Servant: Monk
Monk

A Monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, the unconditioning of mind and body in favor of the realization of one's true nature, and does so living either alone or with any number of like-minded people, whilst always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose....
  • Episode 1 – John Fashanu
    John Fashanu

    John "Fash" Fashanu is a United Kingdom television presenter and ex-football of Nigerian & Guyana descent. In his former career, he was a striker ....
  • Episode 2 – Gary Mason
    Gary Mason

    Gary Mason , is a retired United Kingdom boxing who fought out of Chatham, Kent. He fought at heavyweight and became British heavyweight champion in 1989....
  • Episode 3 – Annabel Croft
    Annabel Croft

    Annabel Croft is a former tennis player and current television presenter. Her tennis career never really took off after she won Junior Wimbledon in 1984....
  • Episode 4 – Eric Bristow
    Eric Bristow

    Eric Bristow Order of the British Empire is a United Kingdom darts player, whose skill at the game in the 1980s helped turn it into a worldwide spectator sport....
  • Episode 5 – Jimmy White
    Jimmy White

    James Warren White, Order of the British Empire is an English people professional snooker player, best known as Jimmy White. Nicknamed the "Whirlwind" , White is a multiple World Championship finalist....
    , Archer MacLean
    Archer MacLean

    Archer MacLean is a United Kingdom computer games game programmer.He is the author of such titles as Dropzone, International Karate and its sequel, IKplus, which he developed for the Commodore 64 but were porting to other systems....
     and Ashley Paske
    Ashley Paske

    Ashley Paske and educated at Figtree High School is an actor, best known for his role in the television series Neighbours. He played Matt Robinson in the series from 1989 to 1991....
  • Episode 6 – Pat and Mick
    Pat and Mick

    Pat and Mick were a United Kingdom vocal duo consisting of popular radio personalities Pat Sharp and Mick Brown. The royalties from their record sales were donated to Capital FM's Help A London Child charity....
  • Episode 7 – Wrestling - Featuring Kendo Nagasaki
    Peter Thornley

    Peter Thornley is a legendary United Kingdom professional wrestler known as Kendo Nagasaki. Kendo Nagasaki was one of the biggest draws of all time in Professional wrestling in the United Kingdom, especially in the mid-1970s to mid-80s period....
  • Episode 8 – Pat Cash
    Pat Cash

    Patrick Hart "Pat" Cash is a retired Australian professional tennis player who won the men's singles title at Wimbledon championships in 1987....
     and Emily Cash
  • Episode 9 – Gary Wilson
    Gary Wilson (cricketer)

    Gary Craig Wilson is an Ireland cricketer who attended Methodist College Belfast. He is a right-handed batsman and a wicket-keeper. He has played for the Irish cricket team since 2004, when he participated in the Under 19s World Cup....
  • Episode 10 – Emlyn Hughes
    Emlyn Hughes

    Emlyn Walter Hughes, Order of the British Empire was an English Football who captain both the English national side and the much-decorated Liverpool F.C....


Series 2 - 1992/1993

Episodes: 26
Air Time: Thursdays at 6:30pm
Location: Oil Rig (Sunbury Pumphouse, London) This was the same set as used in the Red Dwarf
Red Dwarf

Red Dwarf is a United Kingdom science fiction television situation comedy Media franchise, primarily comprising eight series of a television sitcom that ran on BBC Two between 1988 and 1999 and gained a cult following....
 episode 'Justice
Justice (Red Dwarf episode)

"Justice" is the third episode of science fiction sitcom Red Dwarf Series IV and the twenty first episode in the series run. It was first broadcast on the United Kingdom television channel BBC2 on 28 February 1991, although it was planned to be broadcast as the second episode, it was moved back in the schedule by the BBC....
', and the final episode of the 1992 television series remake of The Tomorrow People
The Tomorrow People

The Tomorrow People is a children's science fiction on television, devised by Roger Price which first ran between 1973 and 1979. The show was re-imagined between 1992 and 1995, this time with Roger Price as executive producer....
, in which the main star Kristian Schmid
Kristian Schmid

Kristian Schmid is an Australian actor who first appeared as Todd Landers in the popular Australian soap opera Neighbours. Later he starred as Adam Newman in the 1990s remake of The Tomorrow People....
 was also a challenger on this series of GamesMaster.
Servant: Diver
Diver

Diver can mean:*Someone who practices scuba diving or surface supplied diving*An athlete who practices diving in the sense of jumping or falling deliberately into water....

(Unaccounted celebrity shows – Todd Carty, Ian Wright and more)
  • Episode 1 – Tony Slattery
    Tony Slattery

    Anthony Declan James Slattery is an England actor and comedian....
  • Episode 2 – Frank Bruno
    Frank Bruno

    Franklin Roy Bruno is an English former Boxing whose career highlight was winning the World Boxing Council Heavyweight championship in 1995. Altogether, he won 40 of his 45 contests....
  • Episode 3 – Vinnie Jones
    Vinnie Jones

    Vincent Peter "Vinnie" Jones is an England-born film actor and ex-Association football, having represented Wales national football team. He has capitalised on his tough man image as a footballer and is now known as an actor for his aggressive style and intimidating demeanour....
  • Episode 4 – Rory Underwood
    Rory Underwood

    Rory Underwood Member of the Order of the British Empire is a former England rugby union footballer who played Rugby union positions#14. and 11....
  • Episode 5 – Take That
    Take That

    Take That are an England pop music musical group consisting of members Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, Jason Orange, Mark Owen, and, formerly, Robbie Williams....
  • Episode 6 – "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan
  • Episode 7 – Gladiators
  • Episode 8 – ?
  • Episode 9 – John Parrott
    John Parrott

    John Parrott Order of the British Empire is an England professional snooker player.He won the World Snooker Championship in World Snooker Championship 1991, defeating Jimmy White in the final....
  • Episode 10 – Richard Norton
    Richard Norton

    Richard Norton is a martial artist, action movie actor, and stunt double. Norton worked as a bodyguard in the entertainment industry before pursuing an acting career....
  • Episode 11 – ?
  • Episode 12 – Kristian Schmid
    Kristian Schmid

    Kristian Schmid is an Australian actor who first appeared as Todd Landers in the popular Australian soap opera Neighbours. Later he starred as Adam Newman in the 1990s remake of The Tomorrow People....
  • Episode 13 – Bob Holness
    Bob Holness

    Robert Wentworth John Holness is an English actor and presenter.Shortly after his birth in South Africa, he moved to Ashford, Kent, Kent, in the UK with his parents....
  • Episode 14 – Linford Christie
    Linford Christie

    Linford Christie Order of the British Empire is a former Athletics who specialised in the 100 metres. He is the only British man to win a gold medal in the 100 m at all four major competitions: the Olympic Games and the World, Commonwealth, and European championships....
     and Colin Jackson
    Colin Jackson

    Colin Ray Jackson Order of the British Empire is a Welsh people former Sprint and hurdling Athletics of Jamaican, Jamaican Maroons, Taino, and Scottish people ancestry, who now works as a Sportscaster for athletics and television presenter predominantly for the BBC....
  • Episode 15 – Johnny Herbert
    Johnny Herbert

    John Paul Herbert is a United Kingdom racing driver from England. He competed in Formula One, winning three races, and also in sports cars winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1991 driving a Mazda 787B....
  • Episode 16 – ?
  • Episode 17 – Cathy Dennis
    Cathy Dennis

    Cathy Dennis is a Grammy Awards award-winning dance-pop singer-songwriter, record producer and actor. After a moderately successful international solo career, Dennis has latterly achieved great success as a writer of pop songs, scoring seven UK number 1s and winning five Ivor Novello Awards....
  • Episode 18 – Ulrika Jonsson
    Ulrika Jonsson

    Eva Ulrika Jonsson is a Swedish-born British television presenter and occasional actress....
  • Episode 19 – Vic Reeves
    Vic Reeves

    Vic Reeves is an England comedian, best known for his double act with Bob Mortimer . He is known for his surrealism and non sequitur sense of humour....
  • Episode 20 – Gordon Burns
  • Episode 21 – East 17
    East 17

    For the postcode, see E postal area.East 17 are an England pop music boy band founded in 1992.The group name came from the UK postcodes for Walthamstow, an area of London between the old East End and the Essex commuter belt....
  • Episode 22 – Josie Lawrence
    Josie Lawrence

    Josie Lawrence is a United Kingdom comedienne and Actor best known for her work with The Comedy Store Players improvisational troupe and the television series Whose Line Is It Anyway?....
  • Episode 23 – Tony Daley
    Tony Daley

    Anthony Mark Daley is an England former football , who made the vast majority of his appearances for Aston Villa F.C., playing mainly as an out-and-out winger , known for his pace....
  • Episode 24 – Steve Backley
    Steve Backley

    Stephen James Backley Order of the British Empire is a former Athletics from United Kingdom specialising in the javelin throw. Although he is ranked among the great javelin throwers of the modern era, Backley never won a gold medal in a major World athletics event....
  • Episode 25 – Arm Wrestlers
  • Episode 26 – Ice Hockey stars


Series 3 - 1993/1994

Episodes: 26
Air Time: Thursdays then Tuesdays at 6:30pm
Location: Prison (Oxford Prison, New Road, Oxford, Oxfordshire) (until they lost the rights to film there)
Servant: Caretaker
  • Episode 1 – Mortal Kombat
  • Episode 2 – Sean Maguire
    Sean Maguire

    This article is about the English actor and singer. For the Irish fiddler, see Sean McGuire .Sean Martin Michael Maguire is an England actor and singer, who rose to fame in 1988 when at the age of 11 he took on the role of "Tegs" Ratcliffe on the BBC children's drama Grange Hill , in which he remained until 1992....
  • Episode 3 – Gabrielle
    Gabrielle

    Gabrielle is a woman's name, originally the French feminine form of Gabriel, which meant "man of god" in Hebrew.Persons named Gabrielle:* Real...
  • Episode 4 – Gladiators 1
  • Episode 5 – Gladiators 2
  • Episode 6 – Gladiators Final
  • Episode 7 – The Mary Whitehouse Experience
    The Mary Whitehouse Experience

    The Mary Whitehouse Experience was a United Kingdom topical sketch comedy show produced by the BBC in association with Spitting Image Productions....
  • Episode 8 – Utah Saints
    Utah Saints

    Utah Saints are a Dance music band based in Leeds, England. The music is record producer by Jez Willis and Tim Garbutt, who are joined on-stage by other musicians whenever the band plays live....
  • Episode 9 – Paul Whitehouse
    Paul Whitehouse

    Paul Whitehouse is an Welsh actor, writer and comedian. He became known for his work with Harry Enfield and as one of the stars of the popular British Broadcasting Corporation sketch show, The Fast Show....
  • Episode 10 – GamesMaster Live
  • Episode 11 – Ian Botham
    Ian Botham

    Sir Ian Terence Botham, Order of the British Empire is a former English cricket team Test Match cricketer and Test team captain, and current cricket commentator....
     vs Graham Gooch
    Graham Gooch

    Graham Alan Gooch, Order of the British Empire is a former cricketer who Captain Essex County Cricket Club and England. He was one of the most successful international batsman of his generation....
  • Episode 12 – Dani Behr
    Dani Behr

    Dani Behr is an England singer, actress and singer....
  • Episode 13 – Feature on GM Team Championships
  • Episode 14 – Start of GM TC. Footy 1 Vinnie Jones
    Vinnie Jones

    Vincent Peter "Vinnie" Jones is an England-born film actor and ex-Association football, having represented Wales national football team. He has capitalised on his tough man image as a footballer and is now known as an actor for his aggressive style and intimidating demeanour....
     Vs. John Barnes
    John Barnes

    John Barnes may refer to:Sportsmen* John Barnes , Australian Rules football player* John Barnes , former Major League Baseball player...
  • Episode 15 – Footy 2
  • Episode 16 – Christmas Special
  • Episode 17 – Games Mistress
  • Episode 18 – Kris Akabusi
  • Episode 19 – Neighbours star
  • Episode 20 – The Bill
    The Bill

    The Bill is a long-running United Kingdom television police procedural, named after a List of slang terms for police officers. It was first broadcast on 16 August, 1983 as a pilot episode, and as a regular series from 16 October, 1984 and transmitted on ITV, at 20:00 on Thursdays and most Wednesdays....
  • Episode 21 – Ronnie O'Sullivan
    Ronnie O'Sullivan

    Ronald Antonio "Ronnie" O'Sullivan , nicknamed "The Rocket" due to his rapid playing style, is an English people professional snooker player....
  • Episode 22 – Randy Savage
    Randy Savage

    Randall Mario Poffo , better known by his ring name "Macho Man" Randy Savage, is a former United States Professional wrestling and actor who is best known for his time with the World Wrestling Entertainment and World Championship Wrestling ....
  • Episode 23 – 2 Unlimited
    2 Unlimited

    2 Unlimited was a Eurodance act formed in 1991. The project was the brainchild of Belgium producers Jean-Paul DeCoster and Phil Wilde, and was fronted by a Netherlands duo, Hip hop music Ray Slijngaard and singer Anita Doth....
  • Episode 24 – ?
  • Episode 25 – Bad Boys Inc
    Bad Boys Inc

    FormationBad Boys Inc were a boy band formed in the Spring of 1993 by record producer Ian Levine. Signed to A&M Records London UK, the members were David Ross , Matthew Pateman , Tony Dowding and Ally Begg....
  • Episode 26 – GM TC Final


Series 4 - 1994/1995

Episodes: 18
Air Time: Tuesdays at 6:30pm
Location: Hell
Servants: Goblins
(Unaccounted celebrity shows - Frank Skinner, Prince Naseem, CJ Lewis, Stars and Stripes, Emmerdale stars, Let Loose and more)
  • Episode 1 – ?
  • Episode 2 – Dan Falzon
    Dan Falzon

    Dan Falzon is an Australian actor of Maltese descent, best-known for his role as "Rick Alessi" on the television soap opera Neighbours. He also appeared in the Nine Network drama The Alice, as a park ranger....
     and Sarah Vandenbergh
    Sarah Vandenbergh

    Sarah Vandenbergh is an Australian actress. She played the role of Lauren Carpenter in Neighbours from 1993-1994 and Kerry in Hollyoaks from 1999-2000....
  • Episode 3 – ?
  • Episode 4 – Ant & Dec
    Ant & Dec

    Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly, known as 'Ant & Dec', are a Newcastle upon Tyne duo of light entertainment television presenters. They are regular presenters on many high-profile ITV1 shows, including I'm a Celebrity......
  • Episode 5 – ?
  • Episode 6 – ?
  • Episode 7 – ?
  • Episode 8 – ?
  • Episode 9 – ?
  • Episode 10 – ?
  • Episode 11 – ?
  • Episode 12 – ?
  • Episode 13 – ?
  • Episode 14 – ?
  • Episode 15 – Christmas 'Stars' Special
  • Episode 16 – ?
  • Episode 17 – Natalie Imbruglia
    Natalie Imbruglia

    Natalie Jane Imbruglia is an Australian singer-songwriter, model and actress.In the early 1990s, Imbruglia was known to audiences as Beth Willis in the popular Australian Soap opera Neighbours....
  • Episode 18 – *Shown 00:35am* Gore Special


Series 5 - 1995/1996

Episodes: 18
Air Time: Thursdays at 6:30pm
Location: Heaven
Servants: Angels - Helena Tepper and Tanya Kecskes
  • Episode 1 – The Shamen
    The Shamen

    The Shamen were an experimental electronic music band, initially formed in Aberdeen, Scotland by Colin Angus , Derek McKenzie , Keith McKenzie and Peter Stephenson in the 1980s as a psychedelic music-influenced indie rock act....
  • Episode 2 – Jadine Doran
  • Episode 3 – Stephen Hendry
    Stephen Hendry

    Stephen Gordon Hendry, Order of the British Empire is a Scottish people professional snooker player. In 1990, he was the youngest-ever snooker World Champion, at 21....
  • Episode 4 – Donna Air
    Donna Air

    Donna Air is an England television presenter, singer and actress....
     and Vicky Taylor from Byker Grove
    Byker Grove

    Byker Grove was a United Kingdom television series which aired between 1989 and 2006 and was created by Adele Rose. The show was broadcast at 5.10pm after Newsround on CBBC on BBC One....
  • Episode 5 – Stuart Wade
    Stuart Wade

    Stuart Wade is an English actor known for playing the role of Biff Fowler on ITV's Emmerdale from 1994 to 1999. He made a brief return in October 2005 for Seth Armstrong's funeral....
     and Tonicha Jeronimo
    Tonicha Jeronimo

    Tonicha Jeronimo is a British soap opera actress of partial Portuguese extraction.She starred on the show Emmerdale from 1994 to 1997 until her character was killed off, playing the part of Linda Glover....
     from Emmerdale
    Emmerdale

    Emmerdale, known as Emmerdale Farm until 1989, is a United Kingdom soap opera that has aired on ITV since 1972. It is set in the fictional village of Emmerdale in West Yorkshire, England, and was created by Kevin Laffan, with Keith Richardson serving as Executive Producer since 1986 and Anita Turner as Series Producer from Janu...
  • Episode 6 – Dean Holdsworth
    Dean Holdsworth

    Dean Holdsworth is an England former professional Association football player, now football manager at Welsh club Newport County A.F.C., who play in English Conference South....
     and David Kerslake
    David Kerslake

    David Kerslake , London is an English former professional footballer and coach.David made his debut for Queens Park Rangers against Newcastle United F.C....
  • Episode 7 – Phil Babb
    Phil Babb

    Philip Andrew Babb is a former England born Republic of Ireland international professional football player who played as a Defender ....
     and Graeme Le Saux
    Graeme Le Saux

    Graeme Pierre Le Saux is a retired English Association football who played as a defender , although he sometimes played in midfield or on the left wing....
  • Episode 8 – Dean Holdsworth
    Dean Holdsworth

    Dean Holdsworth is an England former professional Association football player, now football manager at Welsh club Newport County A.F.C., who play in English Conference South....
     and Phil Babb
    Phil Babb

    Philip Andrew Babb is a former England born Republic of Ireland international professional football player who played as a Defender ....
  • Episode 9 – Johnny Herbert
    Johnny Herbert

    John Paul Herbert is a United Kingdom racing driver from England. He competed in Formula One, winning three races, and also in sports cars winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1991 driving a Mazda 787B....
     and Mark Blundell
    Mark Blundell

    Mark Blundell is a former Formula One, sports car, and CART racing driver. He was a Formula One commentator for the British broadcaster ITV until the end of the 2008 season....
  • Episode 10 – Cobra
    Michael Willson

    Michael Willson is a former professional sportsman best known for his role as Cobra on the British TV show Gladiators from 1992-2000....
     and Panther from Gladiators
  • Episode 11 – Ronnie O'Sullivan
    Ronnie O'Sullivan

    Ronald Antonio "Ronnie" O'Sullivan , nicknamed "The Rocket" due to his rapid playing style, is an English people professional snooker player....
  • Episode 12 – E.Y.C.
    E.Y.C.

    E.Y.C. was an United States pop music/Rhythm and blues musical ensemble. Its members were Damon Butler, Dave Loeffler and Trey Parker.They scored six Top 40 hit single in the UK Singles Chart before disbanding....
  • Episode 13 – Whigfield
    Whigfield

    Sannie Charlotte Carlson is best known as Whigfield and also Naan. She is a Denmark singer best known for the song "Saturday Night ", a hugely popular single of summer 1994....
  • Episode 14 – Patsy Palmer
    Patsy Palmer

    Patsy Palmer is an England actor and television personality. Palmer made an early television appearance on the children's drama show Grange Hill, but is best-known for playing Bianca Jackson in the popular British television soap opera EastEnders....
     and Dean Gaffney
    Dean Gaffney

    Dean Martin Gaffney is an England actor who is most notable for his role as Robbie Jackson on the BBC1 soap opera EastEnders from 1993 to 2003, when his character was axed....
     from EastEnders
    EastEnders

    EastEnders is a popular and award-winning television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985. It currently ranks within the top of the most watched shows in the United Kingdom....
  • Episode 15 – Christmas Special - highlights from previous series
  • Episode 16 – Mr Motivator
  • Episode 17 – Stewart Lee
    Stewart Lee

    Stewart Graham Lee is an England stand-up comedian, writer and director probably best known for being one half of the 1990s Double act Lee and Herring, and for co-writing and directing the critically-acclaimed and controversial stage show Jerry Springer - The Opera....
     and Richard Herring
    Richard Herring

    Richard Keith Herring is a United Kingdom comedian and writer. He has been described, by the British Theatre Guide, as "one of the leading hidden masters of modern British comedy" and by The Guardian as "a reliable Fringe pleasure"....
  • Episode 18 – Janick Gers
    Janick Gers

    Janick Robert Gers is one of three current guitarists in the English band Iron Maiden and a songwriter for the band. His father, Boleslaw, was an officer of the Polish Navy....


Series 6 - 1996/1997

Episodes: 18
Air Time: Thursdays at 6:00pm
Location: Atlantis
Servants: Mermaids - Theresa Tilley and Leigh-Ann Woodall
  • Episode 1 – Samantha Fox
    Samantha Fox

    Samantha Karen "Sam" Fox is an English former glamour model and dance-pop singer....
  • Episode 2 – Danny John-Jules
    Danny John-Jules

    Daniel "Danny" John-Jules is a British people actor and dancer....
  • Episode 3 – John Regis
    John Regis (athlete)

    John Lyndon Regis Order of the British Empire is a retired England Athletics . He mainly competed in the 200 metres and was the first British athlete to run under 20 seconds for the distance....
     and Tony Jarrett
    Tony Jarrett

    Anthony Alexander Jarrett was a Sprint and hurdling Athletics from England, who came 4th in the 110m hurdles at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, missing out on a bronze medal by 1000th of a second....
  • Episode 4 – Paul Leyshon
  • Episode 5 – Uri Geller
    Uri Geller

    'Uri Geller Freud', commonly 'Uri Geller' , born on 20 December 1946) is an Israeli-United Kingdom performing arts and self-proclaimed psychic who claims "to be able to spoon bending with the power of his mind" and to have psychic powers, although he currently prefers the designation of "mystifier" rather than "psychic."...
  • Episode 6 – Richard Rufus
    Richard Rufus

    Richard Raymond Rufus is a former England football player, who spent his entire career at Charlton Athletic F.C..Born in nearby Lewisham, Rufus progressed through the youth system at The Valley , making his debut for the club as a teenager in 1994 at the age of 19....
     and Michael Duberry
    Michael Duberry

    Michael Wayne Duberry is an England association football. He attended Enfield Grammar School in north London.Duberry started at Chelsea F.C....
  • Episode 7 – Chris Armstrong
    Chris Armstrong (footballer born 1971)

    Christopher Peter "Chris" Armstrong is an England former England B national football team international Association football player who has played as a striker for Wrexham A.F.C....
  • Episode 8 – Richard Rufus
    Richard Rufus

    Richard Raymond Rufus is a former England football player, who spent his entire career at Charlton Athletic F.C..Born in nearby Lewisham, Rufus progressed through the youth system at The Valley , making his debut for the club as a teenager in 1994 at the age of 19....
     and Chris Armstrong
    Chris Armstrong (footballer born 1971)

    Christopher Peter "Chris" Armstrong is an England former England B national football team international Association football player who has played as a striker for Wrexham A.F.C....
  • Episode 9 – Christmas Special - The Gamesmaster Christmas Quiz
  • Episode 10 – Zoë Ball
    Zoë Ball

    Zo? Louise Ball is an England television and radio personality, most famous for becoming the first female host of the BBC Radio 1 breakfast show and for her earlier work presenting 1990s kids show Live & Kicking....
  • Episode 11 – Deepak Verma
    Deepak Verma

    Deepak Verma, is a British Asian actor, writer and television producer/film producer....
  • Episode 12 – Bear Van Beers
  • Episode 13 – Tracy Shaw
    Tracy Shaw

    Tracy Shaw is a United Kingdom actress.She is best known for her role as Hairdressing Maxine Peacock in British soap opera Coronation Street during the 1990s and early 2000s....
  • Episode 14 – Phil Tufnell
    Phil Tufnell

    Philip Clive Roderick "Tuffers" Tufnell is an England television personality and former cricketer....
  • Episode 15 – Paul McKenna
    Paul McKenna

    Paul McKenna is an England Hypnosis and media personality. According to the Sunday Times he is Britain's best selling non-fiction author and is published in 23 languages....
  • Episode 16 – The Brotherhood (Band)
  • Episode 17 – Gene (Band)
  • Episode 18 – Michael Fish
    Michael Fish

    Michael Fish Order of the British Empire is a semi-retired weather forecasting, most known for his BBC Weather television presentations, although he was actually employed by the Met Office....


Series 7 - 1997/1998

Episodes: 10
Air Time: Wednesdays then Tuesdays at 6:00pm
Location: Desert Island
Servants: Castaways - Helena Tepper and Leigh-Ann Woodall
  • Episode 1 – Jo Guest
    Jo Guest

    Joanne "Jo" Guest is a well known England glamour model who has become a minor celebrity in her own right. She has appeared in a wide range of British "top shelf" magazines, including Mayfair and Men Only....
  • Episode 2 – Kaleef
  • Episode 3 – Ryan Rhodes
    Ryan Rhodes

    Ryan Rhodes is a England light middleweight Boxing from Sheffield, England.On 18 April 2008, Rhodes knocked out Gary Woolcombe 37 seconds into the 9th round to win the BBBofC British light middleweight title, 11 years after he first won it....
     and Khalid Shafiq - Boxers
  • Episode 4 – Sol Campbell
    Sol Campbell

    Sulzeer Jeremiah "Sol" Campbell is a professional football player currently playing for English Premier League club Portsmouth F.C..Campbell started his professional career at Tottenham Hotspur, where he spent nine years....
     and Christian Dailly
    Christian Dailly

    Christian Edward Dailly is a Scotland professional association footballer. He currently plays for Scottish Premier League side Rangers F.C.. He is a versatile player, often seen in defence or defensive midfield, but has played in most outfield positions during his career....
  • Episode 5 – Emma Harrison
    Emma Harrison

    Emma Harrison is an actress. She was born in Christchurch, New Zealand, and raised in Australia.Harrison started model at the age of 15, when she was spotted in the audience of a beauty contest and was signed by a local modelling agency....
     (Xmas special)
  • Episode 6 – All Saints
    All Saints (band)

    All Saints were a BRIT Awards-winning British-Canadian all-female vocal group. Founded in 1996, the group consisted of founding members Melanie Blatt and Shaznay Lewis, and sisters Nicole Appleton and Natalie Appleton....
  • Episode 7 – Sarah Vandenbergh
    Sarah Vandenbergh

    Sarah Vandenbergh is an Australian actress. She played the role of Lauren Carpenter in Neighbours from 1993-1994 and Kerry in Hollyoaks from 1999-2000....
  • Episode 8 – Catalina
    Catalina

    Catalina is a common given name in many Spanish language-speaking countries, equivalent to Catherine or Kathleen in English language, Ekaterina in Russian language, Caterina in Italian language, Catalan and Ukrainian, Catherine in French language, etc....
  • Episode 9 – Debbie Flett
  • Episode 10 – Compilation Look-back Show


Transmissions

Series Start date End date Episodes
1 7 January 1992 10 March 1992 10
2 1 October 1992 25 March 1993 26
3 9 September 1993 1 March 1994 26
4 20 September 1994 14 January 1995 18
5 21 September 1995 18 January 1996 18
6 24 October 1996 27 February 1997 18
7 19 November 1997 3 February 1998 10


See also

  • GamesMaster (magazine)
    GamesMaster (magazine)

    GamesMaster is a monthly multi-format computer and video game magazine published by Future Publishing in the United Kingdom. The magazine was launched in January 1993, priced at ?3.50, to complement the television show GamesMaster....


External links

  • Dedicated to channel 4's GamesMaster, Downloads, GamesMaster Magazine Archives, Series info & More
  • , Google Video
  • on a UK television in 2001, giving his thoughts on the Tekken/Virtua Fighter rivalry
  • Photos taken during filming of the last series by a member of the production team