Press Your Luck (lost British adaptation of American game show; 1991-1992)
A newspaper ad for the American version.
Status: Lost
Press Your Luck is an American game show that originally aired on CBS from 1983 to 1986. Hosted by Peter Tomarken, the show featured contestants earning spins by answering questions, and using said spins on an 18-space board to win cash and prizes while avoiding the "Whammy", a cartoon creature that would take away a contestant's winnings when hit. A revival of the show started airing on ABC in 2019 with actress Elizabeth Banks hosting and is still airing new episodes as of 2022.
The popularity of the series led to several international adaptations, including one in the United Kingdom. However, this version was short-lived and no episodes have resurfaced online.
History
The British version of Press Your Luck premiered on June 6th, 1991 on HTV West, an ITV region in the West of England.[1] The show was hosted by Scottish television presenter Paul Coia and was produced with a low budget. The gameplay remained the same as the American version, albeit a point system was used and the episode's winner received £200.
Declining viewership for the first series quickly resulted in a timeslot change from Thursday nights to Saturday afternoons. Despite this, a second series was commissioned and aired on Sunday afternoons. The show would later be cancelled, with the final episode airing on September 20th, 1992.
Availability
It is unknown how many episodes were produced, and whether or not ITV, or current rights-holder Fremantle, still have them. As of the writing of this article, no footage, screenshots or audio from the series have been found.
See Also
Pilots
- Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour (lost unaired pilot of NBC game show; 1983)
- Showoffs (partially lost unaired pilots of ABC game show; 1975)
- The Price Is Right (partially found unaired pilot for syndicated game show; 1993)
- The New Price Is Right (lost unaired pilot of Goodson-Todman game show; 1972)
- Family Feud (partially found unaired pilot of Pearson game show; 1998-1999)
- Rock Feud (lost unaired pilot of cancelled spin-off of Pearson game show; 2001)
- To Tell The Truth (lost unreleased pilot of Pearson remake of Goodson-Todman panel show; 1999)
- Card Sharks (partially lost pilots of syndicated revival of Goodson-Todman game show; 1996-2000)
Television
- The Price Is Right (partially lost Dennis James episodes of game show; 1972-1977)
- Tattletales (partially found syndicated version of CBS game show; 1977-1978)
- To Tell The Truth (partially found first season of syndicated panel show; 1969-1970)
- The Price Is Right (partially found Australian adaptation of Mark Goodson game show; 1973-1974)
- Snap Judgement (partially found NBC game show; 1967-1969)
- Call My Bluff (partially found NBC game show; 1965)
- Match Game (partially lost Mark Goodson Bill Todman game show; 1973-1982)
- Family Feud - Popular Vs Freaks & Geeks (found episodes of Pearson game show; 2000)
- Family Fortunes (partially lost British version of Goodson-Todman game show; 1980-2002)
- The Price Is Right (partially found Doug Davidson version of Goodson-Todman game show; 1994-1995)
- Match Game (found ABC revival of Goodson-Todman game show; 1990-1991)
- Champion Blockbusters (partially found spin-off of British game show, 1987-1990)
- Släktslaget (lost Swedish adaptation of "Family Feud" game show; 2000)
- Password Plus (found unaired George Peppard episode of Goodson-Todman game show; 1979)
- The Price Is Right (partially lost episodes of CBS game show; 1972-2007)
- Distraction (partially found American adaptation of British game show; 2005-2006)
- I've Got A Secret (partially lost syndicated revival of Goodson-Todman panel show; 1972-1973)
- Match Game (partially found revival of Goodson-Todman game show; 1998-1999)
- Showoffs (partially found Goodson-Todman game show; 1975)
- Password (partially found ABC revival of Goodson-Todman game show; 1971-1975)
- Mindreaders (partially found Goodson-Todman game show; 1979-1980)
- Sale Of The Century (partially found Reg Grundy revival of Al Howard game show; 1983-1989)
Miscellaneous
- Super Password (lost builds of unreleased NES port of word game; 1980s)
- To Tell the Truth (lost unreleased DVD game based on panel show; 2005)