Call My Bluff

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Call My Bluff
Genre Panel game show
Created by Mark Goodson
Bill Todman
Presented by Robin Ray (1965–66)
Joe Melia (1966–67)
Peter Wheeler (1967)
Robert Robinson (1967–88, 1994)
Bob Holness (1996–2002)
Fiona Bruce (2003–04)
Angus Deayton (2011)
Theme music composer Norrie Paramor
Opening theme"Ciccolino"
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series25 (BBC2)
12 (BBC1)
No. of episodes542 (BBC2)
469 (BBC1)
Production
Production location Pebble Mill Studios (1996–2004) [1]
Running time30 minutes
Production companyBBC Pebble Mill (1996–2004)
Original release
Network BBC Two (1965–94)
BBC One (1996–2004)
Release17 October 1965 (1965-10-17) –
18 June 2004 (2004-06-18)

Call My Bluff is a British panel game show based on the short-lived US version of the same name. It was originally hosted by Robin Ray and later, most notably, by Robert Robinson. Its most prominent panellist was Frank Muir. The theme music for the show was "Ciccolino" by Norrie Paramor. [2]

Contents

Format

The game comprised two teams of three (a captain and two guests) who would compete to earn points by identifying the correct definitions of obscure words. The teams took turns to give three definitions, one true and two bluffs, while the other team attempted to determine which was correct. If the correct choice was made the team earned one point, if not, the bluffing team earned one point. Both teams took turns bluffing and determining definitions.

Examples of words used in the show, taken from a 1972 book published in connection with it, include queach, strongle, ablewhacket, hickboo, jargoon, zurf, morepork, and jirble. The word queach was defined by the contestants as "a malicious caricature", "a cross between a quince and a peach" and "a mini-jungle of mixed vegetation" (with the last definition being the true one).

Broadcast history

Call My Bluff originally aired on BBC2 from 17 October 1965 to 22 December 1988.

Robert Morley and Frank Muir captained the teams. Morley was later succeeded by Patrick Campbell, and Arthur Marshall took over in 1981 following Campbell's death. Various celebrities also stood in as team captains, including Kenneth Horne, Kenneth Williams and Alan Melville. The original series finished after Marshall's death, although a general change in the tone and atmosphere of broadcasting at the time may also have affected its temporary demise. For the majority of this run (from 1967 onwards) the host was Robert Robinson.

The show was resurrected in 1996 after an eight-year rest (apart from one special edition on 16 April 1994 for BBC Two's thirtieth birthday, which still featured Robert Robinson, but this time with Joanna Lumley as a team captain opposite Frank Muir), now as a daytime series on BBC1. It began airing on 13 May 1996 with Alan Coren and Sandi Toksvig as the team captains and Bob Holness replacing Robinson as chairman.

In 2003, Toksvig was replaced by the journalist Rod Liddle, and newsreader Fiona Bruce took the chair. The series finished again on 18 June 2004.

Call My Bluff returned for a special during the BBC's 24 Hour Panel People in aid of Comic Relief 2011 , with Alex Horne, Roisin Conaty, Russell Tovey, Tim Key, Sarah Cawood and David Walliams participating. The host was Angus Deayton.

Transmissions

BBC2

SeriesStart dateEnd dateEpisodes
117 October 1965 [3] 29 June 1966 [4] 37
22 October 1966 [5] 14 April 1967 [6] 26
31 October 1967 [7] 7 July 1968 [8] 39
424 April 1969 [9] 28 May 1970 [10] 59
514 September 1970 [11] 25 January 1971 [12] 20
614 June 1971 [13] 7 February 1972 [14] 34
713 November 1972 [15] 7 May 1973 [16] 26
83 September 1973 [17] 28 January 1974 [18] 22
930 September 1974 [19] 24 March 1975 [20] 26
1029 April 1976 [21] 12 August 1976 [22] 16
1129 April 1977 [23] 12 August 1977 [24] 16
1222 March 1978 [25] 2 August 1978 [26] 18
132 January 1979 [27] 15 May 1979 [28] 20
1413 January 1980 [29] 30 March 1980 [30] 12
153 July 1980 [31] 4 September 1980 [32] 10
1613 February 1981 [33] 26 July 1981 [34] 20
1728 January 1982 [35] 17 June 1982 [36] 20
1811 April 1983 [37] 4 September 1983 [38] 20
1923 January 1984 [39] 20 August 1984 [40] 29
2019 October 1984 [41] 21 December 1984 [42] 10
2129 October 1985 [43] 31 December 1985 [44] 10
228 January 1987 [45] 28 May 1987 [46] 20
2310 September 1987 [47] 10 December 1987 [48] 14
2414 April 1988 [49] 16 June 1988 [50] 9
2526 October 1988 [51] 22 December 1988 [52] 8
One-off16 April 1994 [53] 1

BBC1

SeriesStart dateEnd dateEpisodes
113 May 1996 [54] 31 May 1996 [55] 14
22 September 1996 [56] 10 January 1997 [57] 80
31 April 1997 [58] 17 July 1997 [59] 58
41 September 1997 [60] 3 April 1998 [61] 143
54 January 1999 [62] 1 April 1999 [63] 64
66 September 1999 [64] 17 December 1999 [65] 75
722 May 2000 [66] 12 July 2000 [67] 20
84 September 2000 [68] 14 September 2000 [69] 9
93 January 2001 [70] 19 January 2001 [71] 13
104 February 2002 [72] 31 May 2002 [73] 40
1119 May 2003 [74] 1 July 2003 [75] 30
121 June 2004 [76] 18 June 2004 [77] 9

Book

References in other works

Smith: "Skankarific's not a word!"
Casey: "It means terrifically skankified, it was on Call My Bluff!"

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References

  1. ↑ "rest of britain" . Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  2. ↑ "Call My Bluff". UKGameshows. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
  3. ↑ "Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 17 October 1965". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  4. ↑ "Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 29 June 1966". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  5. ↑ "Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 2 October 1966". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  6. ↑ "Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 14 April 1967". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  7. ↑ "Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 1 October 1967". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  8. ↑ "Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 7 July 1968". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  9. ↑ "Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 24 April 1969". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  10. ↑ "Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 28 May 1970". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  11. ↑ "Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 14 September 1970". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  12. ↑ "Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 25 January 1971". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  13. ↑ "Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 14 June 1971". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  14. ↑ "Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 7 February 1972". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  15. ↑ "Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 13 November 1972". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  16. ↑ "Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 7 May 1973". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  17. ↑ "Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 3 September 1973". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  18. ↑ "Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 28 January 1974". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  19. ↑ "Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 30 September 1974". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  20. ↑ "Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 24 March 1975". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  21. ↑ "Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 29 April 1976". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  22. ↑ "Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 12 August 1976". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  23. ↑ "Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 29 April 1977". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  24. ↑ "Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 12 August 1977". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  25. ↑ "Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 22 March 1978". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  26. ↑ "Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 2 August 1978". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  27. ↑ "Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 2 January 1979". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  28. ↑ "Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 15 May 1979". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  29. ↑ "Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 13 January 1980". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  30. ↑ "Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 30 March 1980". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  31. ↑ "Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 3 July 1980". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  32. ↑ "Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 4 September 1980". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  33. ↑ "Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 13 February 1981". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  34. ↑ "Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 26 July 1981". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  35. ↑ "Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 28 January 1982". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  36. ↑ "Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 17 June 1982". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  37. ↑ "Evening Times" . Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  38. ↑ "Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 4 September 1983". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  39. ↑ "Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 23 January 1984". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  40. ↑ "Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 21 December 1984". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  41. ↑ "Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 19 October 1984". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  42. ↑ "Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 21 December 1984". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  43. ↑ "Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 29 October 1985". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  44. ↑ "Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 31 December 1985". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  45. ↑ "Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 8 January 1987". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  46. ↑ "Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 28 May 1987". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  47. ↑ "Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 10 September 1987". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  48. ↑ "Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 10 December 1987". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  49. ↑ "Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 14 April 1988". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  50. ↑ "Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 16 June 1988". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  51. ↑ "Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 26 October 1988". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  52. ↑ "Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 22 December 1988". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  53. ↑ "Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 16 April 1994". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  54. ↑ "Call My Bluff – BBC One London – 13 May 1996". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  55. ↑ "Call My Bluff – BBC One London – 31 May 1996". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  56. ↑ "Call My Bluff – BBC One London – 2 September 1996". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  57. ↑ "Call My Bluff – BBC One London – 10 January 1997". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  58. ↑ "Call My Bluff – BBC One London – 1 April 1997". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  59. ↑ "Call My Bluff – BBC One London – 17 July 1997". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  60. ↑ "Call My Bluff – BBC One London – 1 September 1997". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  61. ↑ "Call My Bluff – BBC One London – 3 April 1998". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  62. ↑ "Call My Bluff – BBC One London – 4 January 1999". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  63. ↑ "Call My Bluff – BBC One London – 1 April 1999". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  64. ↑ "Call My Bluff – BBC One London – 6 September 1999". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  65. ↑ "Call My Bluff – BBC One London – 17 December 1999". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  66. ↑ "Call My Bluff – BBC One London – 22 May 2000". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  67. ↑ "Call My Bluff – BBC One London – 12 July 2000". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  68. ↑ "Call My Bluff – BBC One London – 4 September 2000". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  69. ↑ "Call My Bluff – BBC One London – 14 September 2000". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  70. ↑ "Call My Bluff – BBC One London – 3 January 2001". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  71. ↑ "Call My Bluff – BBC One London – 19 January 2001". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  72. ↑ "Call My Bluff – BBC One London – 4 February 2002". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  73. ↑ "Call My Bluff – BBC One London – 31 May 2002". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  74. ↑ "Call My Bluff – BBC One London – 19 May 2003". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  75. ↑ "Call My Bluff – BBC One London – 1 July 2003". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  76. ↑ "Call My Bluff – BBC One London – 1 June 2004". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  77. ↑ "Call My Bluff – BBC One London – 18 June 2004". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  78. ↑ "Harry And Paul's Story of the 2s press clippings". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
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