Gameplay
The show involved a crossbow attached to a television camera guided by a member of the public shooting a bolt at an exploding target embedded in an apple positioned on a topical backdrop (usually an enlargement of Bob's own cartoons). In the first round, the crossbow was operated by blindfolded cameraman Derek Chason receiving instructions from a contestant, either playing at home by phone, or in studio from an isolation booth ("Up, up, up, STOP, left a bit, STOP, down a bit, STOP, left a bit, STOP . . . FIRE!"). In later rounds, the contestants operated the crossbow themselves. Contestants who successfully negotiated seven (later four) rounds of targets won a reasonable prize; those who missed got a negligible prize.
In his autobiography, host Bob Monkhouse recounted the story of a person who competed on the show from a telephone kiosk while watching a television in a rental shop over the road. While the contestant was directing the bolt around, however, an assistant came in and switched the televisions off or changed the channel.
Another story Bob used to tell was about a priest (who was in the studio audience) audibly praying during the programme that he wouldn't get injured by the bolt, only for the bolt to ricochet off the target and land beside the priest.
Read more about this topic: The Golden Shot