22 May 2006 (2006-5-22)– 15 September 2009 (2009-9-15)
Beat the Boss is a business game show broadcast in the United Kingdom as part of the BBC's children-oriented programming, CBBC. It was presented by Saira Khan and later by Cameron Johnson. The format features two teams, one team of children named "The Bright Sparks", and one team of adults named "The Big Shots", creating a product that will appeal to the children's market. At the end of each episode, a panel of children vote for their favourite product and the team with the most votes wins the Beat the Boss trophy and a limousine ride home, while the losing team has to take the bus.
A special version of Beat the Boss was shown before Red Nose Day 2007. It involved The Bright Sparks and a celebrity team of The Big Shots composed of Joe Pasquale, Duncan Bannatyne and Chantelle Preston. The teams had to design a suit for Lenny Henry to wear on the night. Viewers were asked to phone in and vote for their favourite. During Red Nose Day 2007, Saira Khan and the two teams were on the stage, and Saira Khan announced that the winners were "The Bright Sparks", Lenny Henry came from backstage wearing the designed suit.
Series 2
Swim
Aired:
Filmed:
Brief:
Bright Sparks: Robin, Oscar & Jess
Bright Sparks product:
Big Shots: Paul, Charlie & Jak
Big Shots product:
Winners: The Bright Sparks
Board Game
Aired:
Filmed:
Brief:
Bright Sparks: Harry, Charlotte & Daniel
Bright Sparks product: "Pyramid Plunder"
Big Shots: Shauna, Syd & Denise
Big Shots product: "Beat the Boss"
Winners: The Bright Sparks
Ice
Aired:
Filmed:
Brief:
Bright Sparks: Bethany, Luke & Dani
Bright Sparks product:
Big Shots: Jonathan, Lydia & Doug
Big Shots product: "Rap Freeze"
Winners: The Big Shots
Bike
Aired:
Filmed:
Brief:
Bright Sparks: Joe, Lisa & Jimmy
Bright Sparks product: "MountRock"
Big Shots: Yana, Andy & Charlotte
Big Shots product: "BodyPAC"
Winners: The Bright Sparks
Hair
Aired:
Filmed:
Brief:
Bright Sparks: Craig, Alice & Dale
Bright Sparks product:
Big Shots: Sarah, Jason & Sian
Big Shots product:
Winners: The Bright Sparks
Football
Aired:
Filmed:
Brief:
Bright Sparks: Harry, Chloe & Janojan
Bright Sparks product:
Big Shots: Tom, Georgie & Stafford
Big Shots product:
Winners: The Big Shots
Chair
Aired:
Filmed:
Brief:
Bright Sparks: Aminah, David & Maxine
Bright Sparks product:
Big Shots: Ian, Tamara & Atif
Big Shots product:
Winners: The Big Shots
Cereal
Aired:
Filmed:
Brief:
Bright Sparks: Charmaine, James & Hannah
Bright Sparks product: "Crunch Crew"
Big Shots: Theo, Mairi & Jimmy
Big Shots product: "Rocket Boost"
Winners: The Big Shots
Pets
Aired:
Filmed:
Brief:
Bright Sparks: Rhiann, Sam & Abbie
Bright Sparks product:
Big Shots: Erfan, Rachel & Adam
Big Shots product:
Winners: The Bright Sparks
Outdoor Games
Aired:
Filmed:
Brief:
Bright Sparks: Hinay, Sianhael & Jake
Bright Sparks product:
Big Shots: Sumerah, Vincent & Gerry
Big Shots product:
Winners: The Bright Sparks
Series 3
Tent
Aired:
Filmed:
Brief:
Bright Sparks: Anna, Samuel & Amy-Louise
Bright Sparks product:
Big Shots: Jordan, Tricia & Amin Saleem
Big Shots product:
Winners: The Bright Sparks
Rocket
Aired:
Filmed:
Brief:
Bright Sparks: Chae, Jack & Jessica
Bright Sparks product: "Sky High"
Big Shots: Wilfred, Collette & Imran
Big Shots product: "Lunar Lens"
Winners: The Bright Sparks
Bed
Aired:
Filmed:
Brief:
Bright Sparks: Charlotte, Charles & Niomi
Bright Sparks product:
Big Shots: Robin, Liz & Matt
Big Shots product:
Winners: The Big Shots
Hand Luggage
Aired:
Filmed:
Brief:
Bright Sparks: Zachary, Carolyn & Miron
Bright Sparks product:
Big Shots: Sue, Ranzie & Roisin
Big Shots product:
Winners: The Bright Sparks
Reptiles
Aired:
Filmed:
Brief:
Bright Sparks: Callum, Anna & Alex
Bright Sparks product:
Big Shots: Tracey, Alvin & Eddie
Big Shots product:
Winners: The Bright Sparks
Cake
Aired:
Filmed:
Brief:
Bright Sparks: Isabel, Richard & Leah
Bright Sparks product:
Big Shots: Alex, Laura & Will
Big Shots product:
Winners: The Big Shots
Series 4 & Beat the Boss USA
Series 4 was partly filmed in America, with an American presenter (Cameron Johnson from Oprah's Big Give), American Big Shots, and one of the three Bright Sparks was also American. It was filmed during the Summer of 2008 and aired beginning January 2009. The first five episodes are called "Beat the Boss USA".
Filmed: August 2008 in San Francisco, Santa Cruz Beach, and Emeryville, California.
Brief: "You'll need to whip the nation into a frenzy with this challenge. Your team has to create an outdoor craze to take America's backyards by storm. Your craze must have an element of skill and it must be easy to carry around."
In September 2008, an Irish version of the show in Irish language started on BBC Northern Ireland. Hosted by Céara Ní Choinn, it is titled Gaisce Gnó (Be the Business). In this version, the Big Shots appear to come more from the visual media world than from big business. The first challenge was to create a board game.
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