Shafted (lost unaired episodes of ITV game show; 2001)

Logo for the show.

Status: Lost

Shafted was a short-lived ITV game show. Produced by Initial, it was hosted by former Labour MP Robert Kilroy-Silk and tasked contestants to gamble money in an attempt to answer vague general knowledge questions, while also challenging their morality in their bid to win. The programme is infamous for being cancelled after only four episodes due to unacceptably low ratings. Consequently, between eight to sixteen other episodes have remained unaired.

Background

The earliest news reports on Shafted originated in August 2001. During this period, Initial's parent company Endemol UK were busy filming multiple UK and international pilots of the programme in the Netherlands. Among the candidates considered was Richard Madeley, who recorded a pilot that harnessed a different format to the final show. Alas, Madeley shortly afterwards left ITV's This Morning to launch Channel 4's Richard & Judy with Judy Finnigan. Instead, after being impressed with his pilot, ITV commissioned at least twelve episodes of Shafted under host Richard Kilroy-Silk. Before embarking on a television career, Kilroy-Silk had been a Labour MP for Ormskirk from 1974 to 1983, and for Knowsley North from 1983 to 1986. Upon leaving politics, Kilroy-Silk hosted the chat show Kilroy on BBC One from 1986 to 2004. In a press release announcing the show's commissioning, Kilroy-Silk explained he accepted hosting duties because Shafted was "challenging, enjoyable and pays a lot of money".

Shafted was scheduled for a Monday night primetime slot on ITV1. An Independent article remarked Shafted's commissioning arose in a period where ITV and other broadcasters were capitalising on the success of other general knowledge game shows like The Weakest Link. The episodes were recorded at Pinewood Studios from 13th-15th October and from 2nd-5th November 2001. Additionally, Endemol UK subsidiary Gem worked with Two Way TV to produce a premium interactive television adaptation of the show. It was reportedly launched in mid-November 2001 for Sky Digital, NTL and Telewest, around the same time ITV1 was added to Sky. A browser and mobile version was also available on ITV's website. Both games have since fallen into obscurity.

Gameplay

Shafted begins with six contestants. Their first objective is to make a bid of up to £25,000. Their bid is crucial for two reasons; by making the second-highest wage, the player would earn an advantage heading into Round 2. However, the highest bidder is deemed too greedy and is immediately removed from the game. In Round 2, the five players wager their earned money based on their confidence in answering a general knowledge question. The catch is that they can only see part of the question before they make their bids. The second part is then revealed to the highest bidder. Sometimes, the question can be easier than expected (e.g., "Which well known British play... ground game traditionally involves a grid of numbered squares and a stone?" (Hopscotch)). Others might be more surprising (e.g., "What is the name of the River... Phoenix film based on a Stephen King story?" (Stand By Me)). A correct answer means the player wins their bet, while an incorrect one causes the total to be docked from their account.

Whoever leads at the end decides who to vote off. Beforehand, players at risk get to plead their case. In Episode 1 for instance, Michelle successfully convinced Jane to spare her at Mike's expense. In promoting the show, Initial's managing director Tim Hincks claimed this gameplay made Shafted compelling, as the audience can simultaneously support a high-performing player and instances where effective teamwork emerges. Rounds 3 and 4 continue with two notable alterations; all remaining players begin with the leader's total and they can also "shift" otherwise difficult questions to their opponents. One must be careful when opting to shift; the wagered sum is transferred from their account to their opponent's should they answer correctly, but vice-versa on an incorrect answer. Play continues until there are two contestants left.

In the final round, the players must make a difficult decision: "To Share or to Shaft?". Neither player will know the other's intentions, but a personal discussion and a video package revealing more of their opponent's personality can help sway their pick. If both contestants decide to share, the total prize money accumulated (up to £500,000) is split evenly between them. However, if one opts to shaft, they steal the full amount. But if both opponents pick the shaft option, they each go away with nothing. This format was later incorporated into ITV's Golden Balls, to significantly more success. In Episode 1, Claire and Michelle shared £113,000. The second witnessed Frankie shaft Jessica out of £73,000. Episodes 3 and 4 ended with double shafts, costing Jack and Lara £66,000, and Elaine and Ralph £217,000 respectively.

Reception and Abrupt Cancellation

Shafted made its ITV1 debut on 5th November 2001, attracting around 6.6 million viewers. While seen as a respectable rating, Shafted was unable to retain this early momentum. It generally received negative reviews, with Kilroy-Silk being unfavourably compared to Anne Robinson of The Weakest Link and Chris Tarrant from Who Wants to be a Millionaire?. In their review published in the 6th November 2001 issue of Shropshire Star, Deanna Delamotta noted Kilroy-Silk had attempted to combine Robinson's cold approach with Tarrant's ability to add suspense, but criticised him for merely being irritating as a result. Both UKGameshows and Game Show Garbage criticised Kilroy-Silk's wooden presentation and mannerisms. Particularly, Game Show Garbage felt Kilroy-Silk attempted to bring his daytime show charisma to the programme but it came across as "farcical" and "forced" in a game show setting. Kilroy-Silk's constant utterances of "shaft" and "shafted" led the Daily Mirror to ponder where Shafted was designed with the intention of embarrassing its presenter.

The gameplay itself was also panned. Fingers on Buzzers, Keeping Up and Richard Osman in an article for The Guardian noted Shafted was part of the "cruel quiz" sub-genre of early 2000s' game shows, but was also among the bottom of the barrel. Stuart Heritage of The Guardian lambasted the programme as being "simultaneously cruel and incomprehensible" while BuzzerBlog's Alex Davis felt the show was both unfair and dull. The show's focus on moral dilemmas also led to it receiving criticism for encouraging greed and dishonesty. Its most notable critics were surprisingly the Salvation Army. In the 22nd November 2001 issue of its publication The War Cry, the Salvation Army lambasted Shafted for encouraging people to lie, mislead and steal instead of preaching generosity and mercy. It cited a St John quote from the Good News Bible to illustrate its point, stating "Whoever has two shirts should give one to the man who has none. And whoever has food must share it". In response to this criticism, Kilroy-Silk compared Shafted and other game shows to football, insisting they have no appeal if winners and losers cannot be made. He also noted the contestants were under no obligation to be dishonest during gameplay. Similarly, an ITV spokeswoman insisted Elaine and Ralph were entirely responsible for them losing £217,000.

By Episode 3, Shafted had lost around a million viewers, which was already considered unacceptable for a primetime ITV show. However, the real problem concerned how Shafted's poor ratings also damaged the run-in for the drama Cold Feet. Because of this, it was initially reported that Shafted would be temporarily shelved in favour of additional Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? broadcasts, after only three episodes were aired. A fourth episode was then unexpectedly televised, though it ranked outside the top 30 highest-rated programmes for that week. After this, it was announced the show would return sometime in New Year 2002. An ITV spokeswoman defended the show's track record, insisting it actually "performed very well" but that it would "thrive in a more appropriate slot". As January 2002 came and went, speculation on forums like TV Forum suggested the show was being postponed once more to early Spring.

Alas, no more episodes of Shafted would be broadcast. It has since been considered among the worst British game shows and ITV programmes by the likes of Osman, Heritage and the 2006 Penguin TV Companion. Heritage remarked that the programme's failure signalled the beginning of the end of Kilroy-Silk's television career. Three years later, Kilroy came to an end following controversy over Kilroy-Silk's comments regarding Arabic people. He returned to politics, which included a brief tenure at the UK Independence Party (UKIP). He has since been cited by The New Statesman's Patrick Maguire as being an influential figure towards the eventual public backing of Brexit. His catchphrase "To Share or to Shaft?" was repeatedly broadcast on episodes of Have I Got News for You, particularly during his time at UKIP.

Availability

Prior to being indefinitely shelved, Shafted was reportedly scheduled for a twelve-week run. Because of this, at least eight episodes were left unaired. However, research from UKGameshows and from TV Forum suggest that the real total of non-broadcast episodes could be as high as sixteen. Interestingly, the aired episodes were also partially lost for many years, with only parts of Episode 4 resurfacing on YouTube. That was until April 2023 when [bluefrog] uploaded all four episodes in their entirety. In contrast, the unaired episodes are unlikely to be publicly released by ITV when considering the show's poor reputation. Some rare behind-the-scenes photographs can be viewed on the Andy Walmsley Entertainment website.

Gallery

Videos

Episode 1.

Episode 2.

Episode 3.

Episode 4.

External Links

• YouTube playlist containing UK and international Shafted episodes and clips.
• IMDB page for Shafted.