Room 101 (TV Series)

Room 101 (TV series)

Room 101 is a BBC comedy television series based on the radio series of the same name, in which celebrities are invited to discuss their pet hates and persuade the host to consign them to a fate worse than death in Room 101, named after the torture room in the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, which is itself named after a meeting room in the BBC Broadcasting House where Orwell would sit through tedious meetings. It is produced independently for the BBC by Hat Trick Productions.

Nick Hancock originally hosted the show from 1994 till 1997, and was succeeded by Paul Merton who was host from 1999 till the show's original run came to an end in 2007. Frank Skinner hosted the revamped incarnation that started on 20 January 2012.

The 1994–2007 incarnation of the show was that of a one-on-one interview between the host and guest. Consignment of the nominated items, persons or concepts to Room 101 (theoretically banishing it from the world forever) was the decision of the host, sometimes after soliciting the opinion of the studio audience. The 2012 revamp introduced a panel format with three guests competing to have their pet hates consigned to Room 101, a decision made by the host.

Memorable guests have included Bruce Forsyth, Peter Cook, Will Self, Stephen Fry, Boris Johnson, Anne Robinson, and Ian Hislop (the only person to appear twice on the show in its original format). Stephen Fry went as far as to put Room 101 itself into Room 101.

A Dutch version of Room 101 started on 24 February 2008.