Strike IT Lucky

Strike it Lucky (Michael Barrymore's Strike it Rich! from 1996-9) was a popular British television game show from 29 October 1986 to 23 August 1999, originally produced by Thames Television for ITV, and presented by the British comedian Michael Barrymore. It was based on the American show of the same name that aired in 1986.

In its formative years, it became well known for the outlandish and often highly eccentric contestants it featured - Barrymore would often spend over 5 minutes talking to them. The introductory footage of the prizes on offer were also noteworthy, often filmed in black-and-white with a slapstick style. In 1987, it was the fifth most watched programme on UK television. The Thames Television version of the show was recorded at Teddington Studios, and later Pinewood Studios.

From 1996, the new version aired under the title Strike it Rich!; this being the title of the short-lived American game show Strike it Rich! on which it was based, and it moved (with a re-designed set) to The London Studios. The reason for the name change was that the show was now being co-produced by LWT (historically, Thames' bitter rival in the London area) with Fremantle (UK) (later Grundy), so despite now being owned by the same company as Fremantle (at the time, Pearson - the ultimate copyright holders), Thames were unwilling to allow LWT use of the original title. There is also the factor that when the show was first exported to the UK, the Independent Broadcasting Authority's prize limits were still in place, and "Rich" was probably dropped from the title because of the relatively low value of prizes on offer; by the time it returned as Strike it Rich! the limits had been lifted and it was giving away a substantially higher value of prizes.

The show is one of very few ITV programmes to have been produced by both Thames and LWT (weekday and weekend ITV franchise holders in London, respectively).

Read more about Strike It Lucky:  The Main Game, The Bonus Game, Merchandise, Transmissions

Famous quotes containing the words strike it, strike and/or lucky:

    If you strike a child, take care that you strike it in anger, even at the risk of maiming it for life. A blow in cold blood neither can nor should be forgiven.
    George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950)

    All visible objects, man, are but as pasteboard masks. But in each event—in the living act, the undoubted deed—there, some unknown but still reasoning thing puts forth the mouldings of its features from behind the unreasoning mask. If man will strike, strike through the mask!
    Herman Melville (1819–1891)

    A fool and his money are lucky enough to get together in the first place.
    Stanley Weiser, U.S. screenwriter, and Oliver Stone. Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas)