Test the Nation is a television programme, first broadcast in 2001 by BNN in the Netherlands. The concept is owned by Eyeworks Holding who license it to TV production companies around the world.
Test the Nation is a television programme, first broadcast in 2001 by BNN in the Netherlands. The concept is owned by Eyeworks Holding who license it to TV production companies around the world.
The format is designed to allow viewers to answer a number of questions in order to measure their IQ or their ability in some other 'intellectual' area. For instance, in the UK (where the show ran between 2002 and 2007) there have been editions of the show devoted to general knowledge, knowledge of the UK itself, and the English language. There is also an annual test of the year's events just before Christmas.
Typically there is a studio audience who answer the questions along with the viewer. The studio demography is broken down into categories often designed to challenge or affirm stereotypes. For example, in the United Kingdom, white-van men and fashion models are commonly thought to be less intelligent, whilst doctors and scientists are expected to score highly. The fun is in comparing your score against your compatriots. There is also a group of celebrities pitting their wits against the audience, and one or more 'experts', who comment on aspects of the particular show's topic.
The format has now been made around the world in countries including Australia, Germany, Belgium, Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States, Indonesia, Spain (Antena 3TV), New Zealand, Denmark, Japan, Ireland and in the Middle East on the Arabic language MBC1.
The British version, made by Talent Television for the BBC, was originally presented by Anne Robinson and Phillip Schofield. It ran for 17 editions between 2002 and 2007. The BBC tests were devised and standardised by the academic Colin Cooper, of Queen's University Belfast, who was sometimes referred to on the programme as 'Sooperman Cooperman'.
Viewers could play along using interactive television, log onto the BBC website, or just use a pen and paper to keep score.
The first show, in May 2002, was an IQ test and the six groups of 50 studio participants included blondes, builders, publicans, teachers and students. They were pitted against a group of 10 celebrities including EastEnders star Adam Woodyatt, pop music presenter Jayne Middlemiss, Olympic athlete Jonathan Edwards and former Sunday Times editor and broadcaster Andrew Neil. The teachers came out on top. The last IQ test in the UK was shown on 27 August 2007, when the studio groups were reality show contestants, clairvoyants, surgeons, removal men, Robinsons, Wallaces and celebrities. In this episode Danny Wallace, a successful writer, made his first appearance as co-host. He replaced Phillip Schofield, who had joined ITV at the time. Experts who joined Dr Colin Cooper on the IQ test panel have included Sylvia Herbert, a director of British Mensa (2002 and 2003) and Baroness Susan Greenfield, scientist and polymath (2004).
Although there was usually an end-of-year test in the UK each year around Christmas, there wasn't one at the end of 2006. But at the start of 2007 there was a similar programme broadcast on BBC One called Your Country Needs You, presented by Patrick Kielty, with the same general format.
The American version aired as a two-hour special on Fox TV on 9 June 2003 and on 5 March 2004 as Test the Nation 2. Hosted by Mark L. Walberg and Leeza Gibbons.
Test the Nation is an RTÉ Television programme, based on the successful BBC concept, Test the Nation.
First airing on RTÉ One on 5 June 2006, the show follows the UK format almost identically. In studio, two presenters oversee proceedings, which feature 6 teams of 40 contestants from various sectors of society. Members of the public participate by SMS or via the internet. The Macromedia Flash applications used are identical to those used by the BBC. A trial version of the application appeared prior to the first quiz night, featuring 12 questions on a number of topics, including the Birmingham Six, the former occupants of the Grafton Street site now occupied by Brown Thomas, and which Irish alcohol company Toto Schillaci advertised for.
This version of Test the Nation covers the whole island of Ireland as opposed to just the Republic; thus there is overlap between the content of the RTÉ and BBC versions of the show. As opposed to the BBC system of division by nearest city (which let people in Ireland enter if they chose Belfast), RTÉ divide results by historical Irish county.
The first show
The show first aired on RTÉ One on 5 June 2006, with Miriam O'Callaghan and Ray D'Arcy overseeing proceedings. As well as historical Irish counties, other questions asked for demographic division included the participants preference for tea or cappuccino, and their support for Roy Keane or Mick McCarthy during The Saipan Incident.
Their in-studio teams were Hairdressers, Football fans, an extended family from County Clare, employees of Revenue, Estate Agents, a collection of people who had done their Leaving Certificate in 1986, and the "RTÉ Allstars", a collection of RTÉ presenters including Eddie Hobbs and Charlie Bird.
The show was nominally part of, and the last show in, an RTÉ series The Time of Our Lives, covering the 20 years from 1986 to 2006, during which the Irish economy changed the country unrecognisably.
The second show
This aired on 1 January 2007 and was presented by Miriam again but this time Craig Doyle was her co-host. It was a test of the nation's IQ. It was revealed that the county with the highest IQ was Monaghan. Panelists included Neil Delamere, Cathy Kelly and Aoibhinn Ní Shúilleabháin.
Test the Nation debuted in Canada 18 March 2007 on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation with the episode Test the Nation: IQ. A second episode called Test the Nation: Watch Your Language was broadcast on 9 September 2007, a third episode aired on 20 January 2008, called Test the Nation: Trivia, and a fourth episode Test the Nation: Sports aired on Sunday 25 May at 8 pm (8:30 NT) on CBC Television. A fifth episode Test the Nation: Canada Eh? aired on Sunday 7 September at 8 pm (8:30 NT) on CBC Television.
The sixth episode called "Test the Nation IQ" was broadcast on 24 January 2010 and was the second version of the IQ edition. People were tested on their IQ through a test that was designed by Professor James Parker from Trent University and Professor Don Saklofske. Celebrities that had their IQ's tested included Justin Trudeau, Dragon's Den's W. Brett Wilson and Our Lady Peace's Jeremy Taggart. In an interesting twist, Test the Nation had professional hypnotherapist Donald Currie hypnotize members of each team to see if hypnosis could help them achieve better IQ test scores. 1/3 of the hypnotized group did experience a jump in IQ score of up to 10 points.
The Canadian show was hosted by Wendy Mesley and Brent Bambury for the first five editions, except Test the Nation: Sports, which was hosted by Ron MacLean and Wendy Mesley. The sixth edition was hosted by George Stroumboulopoulos and Carole MacNeil.
In the Canadian version, celebrity guests are selected to represent one of six in-studio teams. The celebrity guests also take the test and the top celebrity's score is revealed on air. Test the Nation: Trivia featured celebrities: Farley Flex, Debbie Travis, Lorne Cardinal, Carlo Rota, Samantha Bee and Tricia Helfer. Test the Nation: Sports celebrity guests are Paul Coffey, Debra DiGiovanni, Alan Thicke, Brian Bailey, Victoria Pratt and Chris Murphy. All of the episodes were written by Kristeen von Hagen & George Westerholm and Edward Kay.
The Australian version, titled Test Australia: The National IQ Test, was the most viewed television show in Australia in 2002. [1] Versions of the program aired in 2003 and again in 2010.
The Italian version, titled Fratelli di Test, was aired in Italy in 2007.
Eamonn Andrews, was an Irish radio and television presenter, employed primarily in the United Kingdom from the 1950s to the 1980s. From 1960 to 1964 he chaired the Radio Éireann Authority, which oversaw the introduction of a state television service in the Republic of Ireland. He is perhaps best remembered as the UK host of This Is Your Life from its inception in 1955 until his death in 1987.
The Late Late Show, with its title often shortened to The Late Late, is an Irish chat show. It is the world's second longest-running late-night talk show, after the American The Tonight Show, and is the longest-running live talk show. Perceived as the official flagship television programme of RTÉ, it is regarded as an Irish television institution, and is broadcast live across normally two hours in front of a studio audience on Friday nights at 9:30 pm between September and May. Certain segments are sometimes pre-recorded and aired within the live parts of the show.
University Challenge is a British television quiz programme which first aired in 1962. University Challenge aired for 913 episodes on ITV from 21 September 1962 to 31 December 1987, presented by quizmaster Bamber Gascoigne. The BBC revived the programme on 21 September 1994, the programme's 32nd anniversary, with Jeremy Paxman as the quizmaster. Paxman relinquished his role as host following the conclusion of the 52nd series in 2023, after which he was succeeded by Amol Rajan. In October 2022, an ITV documentary, Paxman: Putting Up With Parkinson's, explored how Parkinson's disease has impacted him and revealed that Paxman recorded his very last episode of University Challenge on 15 October 2022, which aired on 29 May 2023.
Total Request Live is an American television program broadcast on MTV that premiered on September 14, 1998. The early version of TRL featured popular music videos played during its countdown and was also used as a promotion tool by musicians, actors, and other celebrities to promote their newest works to target the show's teen demographic.
Stars in Their Eyes is a British television talent series, based on Joop van den Ende's Dutch format Soundmixshow. It featured a singing contest in which members of the public impersonate showbiz stars.
Sir Michael Terence Wogan was an Irish-British radio and television broadcaster who worked for the BBC in the UK for most of his career. Between 1993 and his semi-retirement in December 2009, his BBC Radio 2 weekday breakfast programme Wake Up to Wogan regularly drew an estimated eight million listeners. He was believed to be the most listened-to radio broadcaster in Europe.
Wendy Mesley is a Canadian television journalist, podcaster, and blogger. She worked for CBC News from 1981 to 2021 in roles including national correspondent at the Quebec Legislature and the Ottawa Parliamentary Bureau. She was the anchor of The National, host of Undercurrents, Disclosure, and Marketplace, and from 2018 to 2020, she hosted the Sunday morning talk show The Weekly with Wendy Mesley.
Virgin Media One, also called Virgin One, is an Irish free-to-air television channel owned by Virgin Media Ireland, operated through its subsidiary Virgin Media Television. The channel launched on 20 September 1998, as TV Three, becoming Ireland's fourth television channel and the first commercial channel. It was known as TV3 from 2006, and then as Virgin Media One from 30 August 2018. The channel broadcasts a mix of Irish programming and acquired programming from ITV and others.
Catherine Elizabeth Deeley is an English television presenter and actress. She began her career as a co-presenter of the ITV children's show SMTV Live (1998–2002), for which she won a BAFTA Children's Award, and its spin-off chart show CD:UK (1998–2005). In 2003, Deeley co-presented the talent competition show Fame Academy on BBC One and became the presenter of the ITV talent show Stars in Their Eyes.
The Den was a long-running children's television strand of Ireland's public broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann. First broadcast on 29 September 1986 on RTÉ1, it moved to Network 2 two years later. Initially a continuity strand for weekday afternoon programmes, The Den later expanded during the late 1990s and the 2000s until it became synonymous with RTÉ's children's output. At various times during its run, it was known as Dempsey's Den, Den TV and Den2.
Amanda Byram is an Irish television presenter and former model, best known for co-presenting BBC One game show Total Wipeout with Richard Hammond, the Irish version of Dancing with the Stars on RTÉ1 and for hosting American television shows, The Swan and Paradise Hotel.
Who Do You Think You Are? is a British genealogy documentary series that has aired on the BBC since 2004, in which celebrity participants trace their family history. It is made by the production company Wall to Wall. The programme has regularly attracted an audience of more than 6 million viewers. More than ten international adaptations of the programme have been produced.
Brent Bambury is a Canadian radio and television personality. He has hosted a number of radio and television programs for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation since the 1980s, and is currently heard as host of the weekly current affairs series Day 6 on CBC Radio One and Public Radio International.
What Not to Wear is a BAFTA Award-nominated makeover reality television show launched by the BBC in 2001. It was presented by Trinny Woodall and Susannah Constantine for five series, bringing the pair to national prominence. After they left, the BBC produced two more series presented by Lisa Butcher and Mica Paris.
RTÉ Television is a department of Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ), Ireland's public service broadcaster. Its first channel was Teilifís Éireann, which began broadcasting on 31 December 1961. Since the 1960s, RTÉ Television has added channels and digital television service.
Celebrity Mastermind is a celebrity version of Mastermind, a British television quiz show broadcast by BBC television. Celebrity Mastermind began in 2002 as a one-off special hosted by Magnus Magnusson, the original host of the main show, before expanding to the current arrangement of 10 episodes, broadcast during December and January. This broadcast was originally hosted by John Humphrys, who also hosted the main show from 2003 to 2021. The current host is Clive Myrie, who first presented an episode in 2022.
RTÉ One is an Irish free-to-air flagship television channel owned and operated by RTÉ. It is the most-popular and most-watched television channel in the country and was launched as Telefís Éireann on 31 December 1961, it was renamed RTÉ in 1966, and it was renamed as RTÉ 1 upon the launch of RTÉ 2 in 1978. It is funded partly by the government's licence fee; the remainder of the funding is provided by commercial advertising. Because RTÉ is funded partly by the licence fee it shows considerably fewer advertisements than most other channels available in Ireland and Northern Ireland.
The following is a list of events relating to television in Ireland from 2006.
Test Australia: The National IQ Test is an Australian television show that aired on the Nine Network on 6 August 2002. The program was hosted by Eddie McGuire and Catriona Rowntree and ranked as the most watched Australian television show for 2002. The program, which allowed viewers to obtain a score on an Intelligence quotient (IQ) test while the show aired, was the first of its kind in Australia. It was also the first time an IQ test was available to an entire continent in one night. McGuire returned to host versions of the show in 2003 and 2010.
Top Gear is a British motoring magazine and currently inactive entertainment television programme. It is a revival devised by Jeremy Clarkson and Andy Wilman of the 1977–2001 show of the same name for the BBC, and premiered on 20 October 2002. The programme focuses on the examination and reviewing of motor vehicles, primarily cars, though this was expanded upon after the broadcast of its earlier series to incorporate films featuring motoring-based challenges, special races, timed laps of notable cars, and celebrity timed laps on a course specially-designed for the relaunched programme. The programme drew acclaim for its visual and presentation style since its launch, which focused on being generally entertaining to viewers, as well as criticism over the controversial nature of its content. The show was also praised for its occasionally controversial humour and lore existing in not just the automotive community but in the form of internet memes and jokes. The programme was aired on BBC Two until it was moved to BBC One for its twenty-ninth series in 2020.