Deal or No Deal (partially lost episodes of Channel 4 game show; 2005-2016)

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Deal or No Deal logo.

Status: Partially Lost

Deal or No Deal was a British game show that was broadcast on Channel 4 from October 2005 to December 2016. It became a surprise success in its late-afternoon television slot, contributing towards the revitalisation of presenter Noel Edmonds' television career. By its conclusion, the show went over the 3,000-episode mark. Most programmes have been recorded and uploaded to video-sharing platforms by dedicated Deal or No Deal fans. However, a small proportion of episodes are either fully or partially lost.

Background

Following a set of pilots featuring different hosts, Deal or No Deal was greenlit by Channel 4 in October 2005, with episodes set to air on weekdays directly after fellow game show Countdown.[1][2][3] It also marked presenter Noel Edmonds' return to British television following a five-year hiatus.[4][5][1] With its debut episode televised on 31st October 2005,[1] Deal or no Deal was able to attract around three million viewers per episode by December of that year, securing its long-term future.[6][7][5][2] Produced by Endemol UK Productions, it took inspiration from the final round of the Dutch game show Postcode Loterij Miljoenenjacht, as well as elements from its French counterpart À prendre ou à laisser.[8][9][3][5] Executive producer Glenn Hugill and series producer Richard Hague centred the show around the difficult journey contestants will face, including the highs and lows that generally occurred once each box was opened, as well as being tempted by offers made by the Banker (portrayed by Hugill).[10][3][2] Edmonds likewise was given total freedom to improvise depending on how the game was faring.[5]

A typical game would see 22 identical red boxes available, with each participant being assigned one.[11][12][13][2] When a contestant is selected, their opening round will see them pick five boxes to be opened.[2][13] They have no idea what monetary values each box contains; their performance is entirely luck-based.[2][12] The objective is to pick out boxes that contain values coated in blue, which range from 1p to £750.[12][2] They must also hope to avoid selecting high red values, particularly the "Power 5", which range between £35,000 to £250,000.[12][2] One contestant, Jean, was majorly unlucky in her opening round, as she picked every box that contained a Power 5.[14][15] Once the round ends, the Banker will phone Edmonds to announce his offer to "buy" the contestant's box.[2][11][3][13] Said offer will usually be compelling enough to make a player finish their prematurely, but still considerably lower than the top values remaining in play.[13][2][3]

If a player decides to say "No Deal", play continues with three boxes often being opened per round.[2] If at any point they say "Deal", gameplay is reversed.[2][13] Now, the contestant will try to get rid of boxes containing higher values than what they agreed to, so they do not regret their decision.[2][13] Regardless, once there are two boxes left, the player can choose to swap theirs for the other.[11][2] Irrespective of how much they win overall, the player will have "beaten" the Banker if the money they earned exceeded all of his offers or what was ultimately left on the board.[13][2][3] During its run, Channel 4's Deal or No Deal saw nine people win £250,000.[2][15] Laura became the first to do so, with her episode broadcast on 7th January 2007.[7][2][15][3] In contrast, on 3rd January 2006, Nick became the inaugural member of the infamous "1p Club", later joined by 52 others.[2][7][15]

Like with other British game shows, Deal or No Deal also had themed specials, some of which would award additional prizes like holidays.[16][15] One of the more notable gameplay changes was Box 23's inclusion from Series 9.[17][15] Post-game, players are offered the opportunity to open the box.[17] This box would contain one of the following: Double the winnings; Halve the winnings; +£10,000 irrespective of what the player won; simply have their Money Back; or go away with Nothing.[17] This rescued numerous low-winning games, but others were among 32 players who came away with no winnings whatsoever.[15] The show also featured memorable and at times controversial moments. For example, Massimo's game broadcast on 29th April 2006 was impacted by "Boxgate", when a player accidentally knocked their box onto the ground and revealed a high monetary value, forcing a reshuffle of the remaining boxes.[18][15] Massimo won £7,400 in the end, though some viewers speculated he could have won considerably more had Boxgate never happened.[18][15]

After eleven series, Channel 4 announced Deal or No Deal was coming to an end, after it dipped from an average 4 million+ audience to around 300,000 per episode.[19] In total, contestants won £44 million between them.[3] The final ten episodes saw games occur in prestigious locations like Alexandra Palace and even a Boeing 737.[20][15] Though it was not the final show to be filmed, Vikki's £250,000 win marked the Channel 4 show's final televised programme, on 23rd December 2016.[21][15] However, following a few successful pilots, ITV announced that the show would return with Stephen Mulhern as host.[22][23][2] New episodes began airing in November 2023.[15][2]

Availability

The show itself officially claims that 2,985 episodes were produced over eleven years.[16] However, the actual number is 3,001; analysis from Deal or No Deal Fansite user h2005 found that certain episodes, including many featuring celebrities and a special for 8 Out of 10 Cats, were not included in the official count.[16][15] The majority of episodes would typically air in late-afternoon slots on Channel 4, with some being lucky enough to receive More4 repeats.[16] However, many others, especially from the show's first few years, fell into obscurity in an era just before online video archiving became prevalent.[24] In November 2011, Challenge began re-airing episodes from the show's inaugural earlier series.[24] This allowed dedicated Deal or No Deal fans another chance to record otherwise lost episodes of Deal or No Deal.[24][16] This, surprisingly enough, included the previously unaired Episode 312 on 24th November 2013.[25][15]

On 30th May 2023, officialopit announced he had created a Google Spreadsheet which documented the availability of every episode.[26][27][15] He, alongside Ryan Hamilton, Brendan Whitehurst, CSEnterprises96, James Booker, Ronan H and others, have been steadily reducing the extent of missing programmes by uploading recordings onto YouTube, Internet Archive and other video-sharing websites.[27][15] Hamilton revealed that he also plans to create a Mega.nz upload containing every aired episode once all have been recovered.[27] As of December 2023, with the exception of the unaired Episode 2306, 15 episodes currently remain partially or fully missing.[15] The oldest episode with missing footage is Episode 130, broadcast on 1st April 2006 and featuring a contestant called Steve.[28][15] The newest was Mille's game, broadcast as the 1,458th episode on 14th November 2010.[29][15] All other episodes before and after those aforementioned dates have been fully preserved.[15]

List of Missing Episodes

Episode Number Contestant Original Airdate Status Deal or No Deal Fansite Summary
130 Steve 1st April 2006 Partially Lost (Part 1 is missing) Link
505 Usha 5th July 2007 Partially Found (Begins following the conclusion of round 4) Link
562 Phyllis 9th October 2007 Partially Found (Footage sourced from the conclusions of rounds 1 and 2) Link
568 Ed 16th October 2007 Partially Lost (Ends before the conclusion of the final round) Link
1077 Gladys 30th June 2006 Partially Lost (Ends just before the penultimate Deal or No Deal question is asked) Link
1078 Michael 1st July 2007 Lost Link
1079 Kerry 2nd July 2007 Partially Found (Low-quality recording, begins as the penultimate Deal or No Deal question is asked) Link
1080 Noel 3rd July 2007 Lost Link
1135 Russ 5th October 2009 Lost Link
1173 Dickie 18th November 2009 Lost Link
1240 Dave 4th February 2010 Lost Link
1455 Ann 10th November 2010 Partially Lost (Ends following the conclusion of Round 4) Link
1456 Savy 11th November 2010 Lost Link
1457 Hitch 12th November 2010 Lost Link
1458 Millie 14th November 2010 Lost Link

See Also

External Links

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 The Guardian reporting on the show's first episodes being set to air after Countdown. Retrieved 17th Dec '23
  2. ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 2.18 2.19 UK Game Shows page on Deal or No Deal. Retrieved 17th Dec '23
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 Vice detailing the story behind Deal or No Deal's conceptualisation. Retrieved 17th Dec '23
  4. ↑ BBC News reporting on Edmonds making his television comeback with Deal or No Deal. Retrieved 17th Dec '23
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Deal or No Deal where Edmonds detailed how he became the show's presenter and its early success. Retrieved 17th Dec '23
  6. ↑ The Guardian reporting on Deal or No Deal's early success and Channel 4 ordering another series. Retrieved 17th Dec '23
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Deal or No Deal Fansite summarising the first £250,000 winners and 1p club members. Retrieved 17th Dec '23
  8. ↑ Bother's Bar summarising Postcode Loterij Miljoenenjacht. Retrieved 17th Dec '23
  9. ↑ Bother's Bar summarising the French and Italian versions of the show. Retrieved 17th Dec '23
  10. ↑ Bother's Bar interview with Hugill, who detailed the story behind the UK format. Retrieved 17th Dec '23
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Independent summarising a typical game of Deal or No Deal. Retrieved 17th Dec '23
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 Digital Spy detailing the behind-the-scenes of Deal or No Deal. Retrieved 17th Dec '23
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 13.5 13.6 Bother's Bar summarising the deal aspect of Deal or No Deal. Retrieved 17th Dec '23
  14. ↑ Deal or No Deal Fansite discussing Jean's game where she choose all five boxes that contained a Power 5 in her opening round. Retrieved 17th Dec '23
  15. ↑ 15.00 15.01 15.02 15.03 15.04 15.05 15.06 15.07 15.08 15.09 15.10 15.11 15.12 15.13 15.14 15.15 15.16 15.17 15.18 15.19 Google Spreadsheet by officialopit, detailing the availability of every episode of Deal or No Deal and providing links where possible. Retrieved 17th Dec '23
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 16.4 Deal or No Deal Fansite stating that the show produced 3,001 episodes, though only 2,985 were recognised. Retrieved 17th Dec '23
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 Buzzerblog summarising Box 23. Retrieved 17th Dec '23
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Deal or No Deal Fansite discussing Boxgate. Retrieved 17th Dec '23
  19. ↑ The Guardian reporting on the cancellation of Deal or No Deal. Retrieved 17th Dec '23
  20. ↑ Radio Times reporting on Deal or No Deal's final ten episodes on tour. Retrieved 17th Dec '23
  21. ↑ Buzzerblog summarising Vikki's £250,000 win, the final episode to be televised. Retrieved 17th Dec '23
  22. ↑ TV Zone reporting on ITV commissioning pilots for a possible reboot of the show. Retrieved 17th Dec '23
  23. ↑ Deadline reporting on ITV's reboot of the show. Retrieved 17th Dec '23
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 24.2 Deal or No Deal Fansite discussing Challenge broadcasting re-runs of earlier episodes. Retrieved 17th Dec '23
  25. ↑ Deal or No Deal Fansite summarising and discussing the previously unaired Episode 312. Retrieved 17th Dec '23
  26. ↑ Deal or No Deal Fansite where officialopit unveiled his Google Spreadsheet detailing the availability of every episode. Retrieved 17th Dec '23
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 27.2 Deal or No Deal Fansite where Ryan Hamilton discussed his Mega.nz plan once all episodes have been recovered. Retrieved 17th Dec '23
  28. ↑ Deal or No Deal Fansite summarising and discussing Episode 130. Retrieved 17th Dec '23
  29. ↑ Deal or No Deal Fansite summarising and discussing Episode 1458. Retrieved 17th Dec '23
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