Friends Like These

Last updated

Friends Like These
Friends Like These.jpeg
Genre Game show
Presented by
Voices ofMitch Johnson
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series6
No. of episodes50
(inc. pilot and 3 specials)
Production
Production location BBC Television Centre [1]
Running time45 minutes (Pilot)
50 minutes (Series 1)
55 minutes (Series 2–6)
Original release
Network BBC One
Release6 November 1999 (1999-11-06) –
20 September 2003 (2003-09-20)

Friends Like These is a British game show that was broadcast on BBC One first as a pilot on 6 November 1999 and then as a full series from 12 February 2000 until 20 September 2003. It was presented by Ant & Dec from 1999 to 2001 and later by Ian Wright until 2003. [2] [3]

Contents

Format

Two five-member teams, one composed of males and the other of females, competed on each episode. They played five head-to-head challenges, with both teams nominating a different member for each of the first four based on clues given by Ant & Dec. The winner of each challenge scored one point for their team. The last remaining member of each team played the fifth challenge, "The Decider", in which each team could score up to five points.

The higher-scoring team at the end of the decider advanced to the question round, in which each member could win a holiday. All five sat in a row, with their chairs initially lit up white. One member at a time chose a teammate, who randomly drew one of 10 questions that the member had answered on a questionnaire before the show. The teammate then tried to guess the answer given by the member. If they were correct, the member's chair remained white; if not, it turned red.

After all five members had a chance to play, the ones in the white chairs were offered a choice. They could end the game immediately, each winning the holiday while the others won nothing, or gamble their prize in the hope of winning it for everyone. If they chose to gamble, the members in the red chairs chose one "white" and drew a question to answer about them. A correct response awarded the holiday to all five team members, while a miss sent them all home empty-handed. (If all five members of the team were still sitting in white chairs, they automatically won the holiday.)

Transmissions

Series

SeriesStart dateEnd dateEpisodesHosts
Pilot6 November 1999 [4] 1Ant & Dec
112 February 2000 [5] 1 April 2000 [6] 8
228 October 2000 [7] 6 January 2001 [8] 9
39 June 2001 [9] 4 August 2001 [10] 9Ian Wright
427 October 2001 [11] 19 January 2002 [12] 9
527 April 2002 [13] 29 June 2002 [14] 7
611 January 2003 [15] 20 September 2003 [16] 8

Specials

DateEntitle
28 December 2000 [17] Celebrity Special: Holby City vs. EastEnders
22 December 2001 [18] Celebrity Special: Steps vs. Damage
21 December 2002 [19] Family Special

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References

  1. ↑ "BBC TV Centre" . Retrieved 1 August 2021.
  2. ↑ "9 TV Shows You'd Totally Forgotten Ant And Dec Used To Present". HuffPost UK. 19 March 2022. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  3. ↑ Waheed, Jabeen (14 March 2022). "Maisie Smith 'lands TV gig hosting Friends Like These reboot'". OK! Magazine. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  4. ↑ "Friends Like These – BBC One London – 6 November 1999". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 4 December 2014.
  5. ↑ "Friends Like These – BBC One London – 12 February 2000". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 4 December 2014.
  6. ↑ "Friends Like These – BBC One London – 1 April 2000". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 4 December 2014.
  7. ↑ "Friends Like These – BBC One London – 28 October 2000". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 4 December 2014.
  8. ↑ "Friends Like These – BBC One London – 6 January 2001". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 4 December 2014.
  9. ↑ "Friends Like These – BBC One London – 9 June 2001". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 4 December 2014.
  10. ↑ "Friends Like These – BBC One London – 4 August 2001". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 4 December 2014.
  11. ↑ "Friends Like These – BBC One London – 27 October 2001". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 4 December 2014.
  12. ↑ "Friends Like These – BBC One London – 19 January 2002". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 4 December 2014.
  13. ↑ "Friends Like These – BBC One London – 27 April 2002". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 4 December 2014.
  14. ↑ "Friends Like These – BBC One London – 29 June 2002". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 4 December 2014.
  15. ↑ "Friends Like These – BBC One London – 11 January 2003". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 4 December 2014.
  16. ↑ "Friends Like These – BBC One London – 20 September 2003". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 4 December 2014.
  17. ↑ "Friends Like These – BBC One London – 28 December 2000". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 4 December 2014.
  18. ↑ "Friends Like These – BBC One London – 22 December 2001". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 4 December 2014.
  19. ↑ "Families Like These – BBC One London – 21 December 2002". BBC Genome Project . Retrieved 4 December 2014.
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