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The Generation Game
Format	Game show
Starring	Bruce Forsyth (1971-1977, 1990-1994, 2007) Larry Grayson (1978-1982) Jim Davidson (1995-2002)
Country of origin	United Kingdom
No. of episodes	413 (plus 5 'Now and Then' shows)
Production
Running time	60 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	BBC One UKTV Gold
Original run	1971 – 2007

The Generation Game was a British game show produced by the BBC in which four teams of two (people from the same family, but different generations, hence the title of the show) compete to win prizes.

Based on the Dutch TV show Een van de acht ("One of the Eight", the format devised by Ms.Mies Bouwman a hugely popular and successful Dutch talkshowhost) it was first broadcast in 1971 under the title Bruce Forsyth and the Generation Game and ran until 1982 and again from 1990 until 2002.

The Generation Game returned in 2007 under the title Brucie's Generation Game: Now and Then.^[1], broadcast on UKTV Gold.

Contents 1 Hosts 2 The game 3 Catchphrases 4 Cancellation 5 Trivia 6 References 7 External links

The show has been hosted by Bruce Forsyth (1971–1977, 1990–1994, 2007), Larry Grayson (1978–1982) and Jim Davidson (1995–2002). Anthea Redfern, Forsyth's then wife, was his assistant in his 1970s series, while dancer Rosemarie Ford took on the role in the 1990s revival. Isla St Clair was Larry Grayson's assistant and Sally Meen, Melanie Stace and Lea Kristensen helped Jim Davidson.

During the 1970s, the gameshow began to become more popular, and started to replace the expensive variety shows. New studio based shows were cheaper to make, compared to hiring the theatre, paying for long rehearsals and a large orchestra, and could also achieve just as many viewers. For the smaller ITV companies (not ATV, Thames, London Weekend Television, Granada or Yorkshire) it made economic sense as they would pay most of their money to the 'Big Five' to produce the bulk of the ITV programming. With less money for their own productions, a gameshow seemed the obvious idea. As a result many variety performers were recruited for gameshows. The BBC suffering from poor ratings decided to make their own gameshow. Bill Cotton genuinely believed that Bruce Forsyth was the best man for the job. For years, the Generation Game was one of the strong shows in the BBC's Saturday Line Up. However, things were about to change. LWT, desperate to end the BBC's long running ratings success on a Saturday night, offered Bruce an offer he couldn't refuse to change channel to host 'The Big Night'

Alan Boyd, the producer of the Gen Game at the time remembers that there were many proposals as to who should take over. However, he felt that he did not want the new programme to be comparable to Bruce's Gen Game, and so he cast Larry Grayson to take over, with a brand new theme tune and scenery. It worked. 'The Big Night' failed to beat the Gen Game and was off the air within 3 months.

The show reached its popular peak under the stewardship of Grayson, with audiences of up to over 18 million tuning in on Saturday nights. (It should be pointed out, in fairness, that its highest viewing figures in 1979 were due to a protracted strike that blacked out the ITV network at the time, effectively meaning the two BBC channels were the only ones the public could watch). The combination of Grayson's camp, characteristically limp-wristed behaviour and Isla St Clair's fresh-faced innocence proved irresistible and became the central plank of the BBC1 Saturday evening schedule. Grayson was loved by the audience for his apparent incompetence and inability to remember what was going on — all of which was carefully contrived by the host.

There were always eight competitors; hence the catchphrase "Let's meet the eight who are going to generate", used in earlier series by Bruce Forsyth. In the first two rounds, two couples would compete against each other in two games. One of the games usually involved first seeing a skilled professional construct or perform something, such as a potter or a dancer. The contestants would then attempt to do the same thing, and a score would be given by the professional afterwards. The other game usually involved more of a quiz element, such as identifying mystery guests or pieces of music. At the end of each of the first two rounds, the lowest-scoring couple was eliminated.

The two highest-scoring couples then competed against each other in the final (or 'End Game' as Larry Grayson called it). This was often a big set-piece performance of some kind; in the series presented by Bruce Forsyth it was usually a drama or farce, in later programmes usually a musical or dance performance. The couple that scored the highest went through to the final 'conveyor belt'.

At the end of the show, one member (or in later series both members) of the victorious team watched prizes pass by on a conveyor belt, and then won as many of them as could be recalled in a set time. A trademark of the show was that a cuddly toy was always included among the prizes. This led to an affectionate British joke: "Dinner service...fondue set...Cuddly toy! Cuddly toy!", which is often quoted whenever the show is mentioned.

The show also introduced a number of catchphrases into British culture, famously Bruce Forsyth's "Didn't he/she do well?", "Let's have a look at the jolly old scoreboard" (later, when the show was revived, Forsyth's assistant was Rosemarie Ford, so the catchphrase was amended to "What's on the board, Miss Ford?") and, most famously, "Nice to see you, to see you ...", to which the audience would respond with a shout of "Nice!", a catchphrase that Forsyth retains to this day. Grayson supplied his own catchphrases from his act, notably "Shut that Door!", "What a gay day!" and "Seems like a nice boy!". Scores were preceded by "What are the scores on the doors?" to which St Clair would reply "The names on the frames say..." before announcing them. Grayson and St Clair apparently had a strong bond; Grayson always referred to her, when introducing her at the start of the show, as "my lovely Isla". Whenever St Clair speaks of the late Grayson — he died in 1995 — it is always with great love and affection. She once referred to them both as being "like a couple of naughty sisters".

By the early 1980s The Generation Game was being beaten in the ratings by ITV's Game for a Laugh, which had the same producer (who had defected). The decision was taken in 1981 not to let the show return in the autumn 1982 schedule. The producer in question once commented that he had killed his own baby.^{[citation needed]} In his autobiography, Bruce, Bruce Forsyth claims that his friend Jimmy Tarbuck was offered the role of host but turned it down as he had already been approached by LWT to host Live From Her Majesty's.

It returned in 1990 with original host, Bruce Forsyth, who after moving to ITV was replaced by Jim Davidson. This incarnation was axed in 2002 after again being beaten by ITV in the ratings, this time by Pop Idol.

• Roy Castle once stood in for Forsyth in 1975 when he hosted one show while its regular presenter was ill. The same thing happened in 1994 when Jim Davidson stood in for Forsyth, the year before he became permanent host.

• Paul O'Grady made a pilot edition in 2004/05 which was never broadcast. O'Grady has said on his show that he did not like the strenuous tasks it involved, and was "covered in bruises". He told the producers that he did not want to make a series.

• A special version called Generation Fame, hosted by Graham Norton and played by celebrity guests, was shown on 31 December 2005. Guests included Davina McCall and Rupert Grint. This was presumably a forerunner of a new series although so far Graham Norton and Paul O'Grady have turned down the show after unsuccessful pilots.

• Before personal problems, Michael Barrymore was rumoured to be taking over the show. According to the "Off the Telly" website, Jim Davidson competed with Matthew Kelly for the show, with Kelly responding to him, "Congratulations, you've got the f***ing Generation Game," the next time they met.

• The Generation Game at UKGameshows.com
• The Glory Game - The Rise and Rise of Saturday Night Telly