Will George be a ‘National Geo Genius’?

Posted on 14/04/2026 by Stephen

Hello and welcome to the final instalment in our epic series of guest posts from game show pro George Long. And today he’s wrapping it all up with a discussion of a show that I must confess I’d never heard of before. Have you?

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GL: The year was 2001, and National Geo-Genius was a new show on the National Geographic Channel. They clearly picked me for my expertise in olfactory fossils! It was filmed right around the corner from my home in Southampton, at the TVS Studios – walking distance.

I look back on this one with mixed feelings; it wasn’t my finest moment. That said, it deserves its place among my quiz successes. Just like on Mastermind, I was eliminated on a score countback after tying with the episode winner, Rob… who then went on to win the entire series!

Rob, who won George’s episode of ‘National Geo-Genius’… and, later, the entire series!

I’m convinced I was chosen as a potential series champion, and the producers thought that pitting two heavyweights against each other in the first episode would be a great way to kick things off.

The format started with four contestants in one country, answering multiple-choice questions (many relying on good guesses). We’d move through that country, then race around the world. After each round, the lowest scorer was eliminated (in the show’s vernacular, “cast asunder”) in some remote spot on the globe. This continued until just two remained, racing head-to-head against the clock from the final “pitstop”. The one who travelled furthest won. Ties were broken by who had the most correct answers overall.

The host was Juliet Morris, a well-known British TV presenter.

‘National Geo-Genius’ host Juliet Morris, a well-known British TV presenter.

It was filmed in 2002, during my final stages of emigrating to Australia. When asked where I’d go if I won, I mentioned Australia – but I didn’t say I was moving there imminently!

The green shirt I wore appeared bright yellow on the broadcast for some reason. And my hair turned blondish under the lights—probably from three months in Spain beforehand.

George in his green (or is it yellow?) shirt, on the set of ‘National Geo-Genius’.

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And there, with his green (or is it yellow?) shirt and his Spanish-bleached hair, we bid a fond farewell to George Long. I’d like to sincerely thank George once again for taking us through all his game show adventures – from Sale of the Century (both in front of and behind the camera!) to Going For Gold; from Press Your Luck to Mastermind, and from Jeopardy! to National Geo-Genius, with some detours to Dave Lee Travis and Burns & Porter along the way. I’d also like to thank George for all of the fantastic photos he provided; from all the screenshots from the various shows, to images of ephemera such as autographed photos, newspaper clippings… and even his Mastermind Club Membership card! I’m sure you’ll agree all those photos really helped bring the stories to life. Once again, thank you George… and all of us here at HowToWinGameShows.com* wish you every success in future endeavours, whether they be game show-related or not!

And just a final reminder – if YOU would like to share YOUR game show adventures with the HowToWinGameShows.com audience just like George has, don’t be shy! Just email me at Stephen@HowToWinGameShows.com, and let’s get a conversation going.

And that’s it for this epic series of guest posts. Join me back here next time…

* Actually, there’s just me.

George’s ‘Mastermind’ Adventure – Part 2 (of 2)

Posted on 07/04/2026 by Stephen

Hello, and welcome to Part Two of fame show veteran George Long’s Mastermind adventure. When we left off, George had only JUST missed out on winning his first episode of Mastermind – it had come down to a tie (with Gavin finishing on 29 and George also finishing on 29)…

It’s a tie!

… But during his rounds, George had made just one more “pass” than his opponent Gavin and, as such, Gavin was deemed the winner of the game. However, there WAS still a chance for George to earn a place in the semi-final…

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GL: I was very disappointed. but still hoped to qualify for the repechage semi-final as one of the highest-scoring losers. Unfortunately, though, three contestants from the same heat in Bath made it through, along with one other – leaving me as the fifth-highest loser. I had to stay on standby in case one of them fell ill… But sadly, they were all healthy!

I later realised that being picked for the first show of the Mastermind Comes of Age series meant the producers thought I could win. In fact, it was clear they saw it as a showdown between Gavin and me; a real winner-takes-all knockout. Gavin went on to win the final convincingly…

‘Mastermind’ host Magnus Magnusson posing with Gavin Fuller and his ‘Mastermind’ trophy.

… And later finished third in a ‘Champion of Champions’ contest. He held the record as Mastermind’s youngest-ever winner at 24, until a new champion beat him by just 90 days in 2024.

I took plenty of positives from my narrow defeat. I had beat Gavin by three clear points on General Knowledge, and was the only one to do so. Here are two key tips for doing well on Mastermind:

Never say “I don’t know” or “pass” after the bell; either of these count as a “Pass” and could cost you the win.
Don’t change your answer once one pops into your head. I switched from “Chippendale” to “Hepplewhite” and paid the price! In that split second, I thought, “The answer ‘Chippendale’ is too obvious,” so I went for the second-best-known 18th-century furniture maker. Wrong!

In Magnus Magnusson’s definitive book on the show, I got a whole page to myself. It covered my quiz background and noted how awful he felt not being able to prompt me, knowing it would be such a tight contest.

GL: Magnus’s dedication to me in his book ‘I’ve Started, So I’ll Finish: The Story Of Mastermind’. I get a whole page to myself because of what happened at the end of the specialist round.

The episode sparked major controversy and media buzz for weeks. Critics argued that Gavin’s specialist subject Doctor Who wasn’t cerebral enough, and that the show was being “dumbed down”. I even featured on Steve Wright’s popular Radio 1 Breakfast show the next morning, where listeners criticised the choice of Doctor Who as a specialist subject and insisted that “that nice George should have won”. Nice to fuel a national debate!

While being Champion of Champions on Sale of the Century was an incredible thrill, doing well on Mastermind was an even bigger buzz. A score of 29 is huge, and there’s no shame in it. And beating Gavin Fuller on General Knowledge – by three points – earns a gold star in itself.

George’s ‘Mastermind Club’ membership card! No word yet as to what benefits (or discounts?) it entitles the holder to…

I slipped back into my everyday life, with some pub quiz wins along the way, assuming my TV quiz adventures were over. That is, until National Geo-Genius came calling…

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And THAT experience (which you’ll be able to find right here next Tuesday afternoon) will bring us neatly to the end of George’s game show adventures. So I’ll catch you back here, seven days from now, for a fitting climax to this fantastic series of guest posts from George!

Until then, then!

George’s ‘Mastermind’ Adventure – Part 1 (of 2)

Posted on 31/03/2026 by Stephen

Hello and welcome to the latest guest post from game show veteran George Long, where this week, he discusses his time on Mastermind. Ah yes… Mastermind! It’s been going for decades, and in that time, thousands of people have braved the spotlight to be grilled in that Big Black Chair – I know I have! But what was George’s experience like? Let’s find out, shall we? Take it away, George!

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When Mastermind first appeared in 1972 on BBC2, it was very much a minority show. It later moved to BBC1 and became a classic of its genre, parodied on The Two Ronnies and many other programmes. In the UK, it was seen as the ultimate test of knowledge and gave us catchphrases such as “I’ve started, so I’ll finish” and “Pass”. Its indomitable host, Magnus Magnusson, presented the show until his retirement in 1997.

Over the years, I applied a number of times to be a contestant, but was never called for an audition. In 1992, however, I was finally offered one, at The Dolphin Hotel in Southampton, a venue known for hosting several Jane Austen–era balls. I felt I had done well at the audition – and I had. I was invited to appear on the program’s 21st anniversary series, Mastermind Comes of Age.

For the series, I had to choose three specialist subjects: one for the heat, one for the semi-final and one for the final. Mine were: Clarice Cliff and English Art Deco ceramics (1928–1936), The Life of Anne Boleyn and the novels of Isabel Allende. The producers apparently liked the spread. I spent about four months researching all three topics, which I already knew a fair amount about. I wrote key points out by hand, then condensed them into two A4 pages, just as I had done for my German degree years before. I needed to be 100% ready on the first subject and largely prepared on the second, as I would have gone into the first semi-final if I won. I could also potentially get into the semi-final if I was the highest-scoring loser of the four contestants who didn’t make the grade, and I kept that possibility alive in the back of my mind.

I had already done my initial research on my third subject – Isabel Allende – but hadn’t yet started serious memorisation. I decided to leave that cramming until nearer the time, if necessary. I particularly didn’t want my head full of Isabel when it needed to be full of Clarice, and then Anne!

The show was to be recorded in Bangor, North Wales. The BBC paid me an appearance fee and covered my accommodation. As Southampton to Bangor is a long journey, I decided to drive. The final stretch through North Wales was very picturesque… if not especially fast. I arrived in Bangor just in time to grab a sandwich and head to Bangor University, where the recording would take place. I had brought a suit carrier with my outfit. Heaven knows why I’d chosen a green jacket for the recording… but I had.

The green jacket in question.

The contestants were:

Gavin Fuller, a part-time archivist on HMS Warrior in Portsmouth (the first of the 19th‑century ironclad warships). He had chosen Doctor Who as his specialist subject.
Peter Feint, a wine shop manager from Bristol,
David Penfold, a financial economist from Berwick St John in Dorset who chose Admiral Lord Jellicoe as his specialist subject, and
Me. (An International Medical Assistance Coordinator from Southampton).

We all barely made it to the recording in time, and I was a little flustered when I had to change into my outfit for the dress rehearsal. The huge Victorian hall in Bangor University was intimidating, as were the spotlights when it was my turn in the black chair. I did not do well at all in the rehearsal – I was extremely nervous, and finished fourth. It was more or less a dead heat between the other three. Not a great way to start.

We then had a break, and I managed to calm down a bit. (A great tip: if you’re wound up, you will underperform.) The audience took their seats, and we were ready to go. We sat in our places as Magnus introduced Bangor and the university, before introducing us, in order. And off we went.

George in the ‘Mastermind’ Big Black Chair, with host Magnus Magnusson.

Gavin, answering questions on his specialist subject Doctor Who, scored 16. I actually thought his questions were reasonably easy, as I got four of them right myself. Peter went next and scored 8 – ouch. Then it was my turn.

I found my questions reasonably straightforward, although I’d had to broaden my subject to “Art Deco Ceramics 1928 – 1936” rather than just Clarice Cliff. There were a couple of questions I think I should have challenged, but I didn’t. I finished on a very creditable 14, though I struggled with the last question, which was not on Clarice. David followed, was plainly nervous, and scored 5.

George on 14 points…

For the General Knowledge round, we returned to the black chair in order from lowest score to highest. David went first and scored 12, which took him to a final score of 17. Peter also scored 12, finishing on 20. I then managed 16, taking me to 29. That meant that Gavin needed to score 14 in the General Knowledge round to win the game. He scored 13, and he and I finished tied, on 29 points each.

It’s a tie!

In the case of a tie, the rules state that the winner is the contestant with the fewest passes. I came to regret the fact that I said “I don’t know” after the bell. That was counted as a pass, which meant that I has 5 passes to Gavin’s 4. It had never been explained to me that “I don’t know” counted as a pass, and I realised I should have challenged the two ambiguous questions in my specialist round.

As an aside, David Penfold – the contestant who chose Admiral Lord Jellicoe as his specialist subject – spooked me, though not intentionally. At the time, I lived in a street in Southampton called Rockstone Lane. The next street over was Cranbury Place, where Jellicoe once lived. As if that coincidence weren’t enough, my grandfather, George F. Long, had served under Jellicoe as a young seaman. Once I knew all this, I felt a bit “Jellicoed out” with all these Jellicoe connections – it all felt a bit Matrix‑like, and played on my mind at first. But by the time battle commenced in the Mastermind studio, I had managed to put it out of my head.

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So what did George learn from all of this? And how can those lessons help YOU? Find out next week, right here, at Howtowingameshows.com.

Until then, then!

George Presses his Luck, lands in ‘Jeopardy!’… and more!

Posted on 24/03/2026 by Stephen

A ‘Press Your Luck’ Whammy, yesterday.

Hello and welcome back to our series of guest posts by game show veteran (on both sides of the camera!) George Long. When we left off last week, George had been serving as contestant co-ordinator and production assistant on Sale of the Century…

HOWEVER…

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GL: While all this was going on, I was also the question writer for a show that was new to the UK – Press Your Luck (featuring the Whammies!) It was to be broadcast on HTV (covering the South Wales and Bristol area, so I had to include questions about the local area), on a Thursday evening, directly against Eastenders – the Number One show in the UK at the time! The host was Paul Coia, who’d been the first voice heard on Channel Four when it was launched ten years earlier.

This job was going to be hard. The Executive in Charge of Production said we had a limited budget, that my question writing salary was expensive, and that they couldn’t afford for me to devote the same amount of time to writing and compiling as I did for Going for Gold...

And then, when I got the questions for the show, I was shocked at how Australian they were! I met with him to say I couldn’t have these in my name, or even on the show; we’d be a laughing stock – so many were about Australian history, politics, sport, television and Pop Music! (The Australian version of Press Your Luck, also produced by Grundy’s, had run prior to this, from 1987 to 1988 – SH.) I wanted to keep my job of course, so I said I’d be happy to write new questions in my own time to ensure the quality of my work wasn’t compromised. It was a deal.

The other problem was that Press Your Luck required THREE answers prepared for each question; the correct one, a close one (which could readily have been chosen), and a funny one! If a contestant gave an alternative answer, one of my two alternatives had to be dropped and replaced by theirs. I had to think quickly in the production box to select which one to drop. Keeping an obviously wrong ‘funny’ answer in the mix would mean it may have been obvious which answer was right. The girl operating the Aston machine (used to input text that’s displayed onscreen for the home viewers) had to be very fast at this point.

My favourite question I wrote was “Which famous ballerina gave her name to a famous dessert?”; the three answers being Alicia Markova, Anna Pavlova or Raisa Pudding. This was in 1992 when Mr Gorbachev was leader of the Soviet Union; his wife’s name was Raisa. The question got a huge laugh and Wally Mardell (mentioned in my earlier Going for Gold post) took me aside and told me my funny answers were fantastic and he couldn’t have done better himself. Thanks, Wally!

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My last role at Grundy’s was as question writer for Jeopardy! It was in its second series and was filmed at TVS Studios in Southampton, where I lived. The host was Steve Jones, a veteran presenter – very well known in the business – but there could have been another host… me! Because of my success hosting the Going for Gold rehearsals, I was asked to audition against many very well-known British TV names. I actually had to borrow a jacket for the audition (as it was going to be shown to ITV’s management team)! I was selected to go forward as Grundy’s choice but was not accepted as I was not a ‘name’, although they apparently thought I was really good. Steve was their choice as he had the chops, and he did a great job. I did the morning run-throughs again, and, as adjudicator, did get the odd onscreen mention of my name when I was asked whether we could accept an answer.

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A spinoff book produced by the Burns & Porter team.

After Jeopardy! finished, there were no further shows in production, so all the production teams were laid off. I immediately got a job with Burns & Porter, a pub quiz operator – the largest in the UK. It wasn’t my cup of tea but I did make appearances at many Grand Finals as the question master, in addition to setting up the venues. I also appeared with one of the directors on a Live London area show about pub quizzes. Hosted by the late Magenta Devine and Paul Ross, who was the brother of (TV presenter) Jonathan Ross, and was married to ….. (Sale of the Century producer) Kerry Bunce!

Towards the end of my time at Burns & Porter, we got a contract with the BBC to write questions for a Sunday lunchtime segment on The Dave Lee Travis Show on BBC Radio One.

Radio One DJ Dave Lee Travis. FUN FACT: His nickname was “The Hairy Cornflake”. Hmm, can’t begin to imagine why…

The segment was called Give me a Break and was based on a snooker theme, with teams from all over the country answering questions. The questions varied in degrees of difficulty, with designations – like the snooker balls themselves – from red to black. It was a very popular show at the time and had a famous punchline when a wrong answer was given; “Quack Quack oops!” in an electronic sound. It became a bit of a national catchphrase in the UK.

My job was to check the proposed questions in a final edit before they were couriered to the BBC studios. Sometimes I had to quickly rewrite or re-assign them if I felt they were too easy or hard for the ball colour they’d been given. There were different questions for each round, dependent on the contestant’s choice of colour. It was often a very close shave to get them all ready for the courier, who on more than one occasion sat waiting in reception, whilst we printed them off yet again!!

As 1992 rolled around, I thought I had once again returned to my regular career – this time as an International Medical Assistance Coordinator for an insurance company, offering assistance to British and Irish travellers overseas. It was stressful but life-affirming work.

But before too long, the next quizzing opportunity came along… The old warhorse Mastermind, hosted by the venerable Magnus Magnusson.

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And to discover how that all turned out, join us back here at HowToWinGameShows.com next Tuesday afternoon!

See you then!

George sees the ‘Sale’ from the other side…

Posted on 17/03/2026 by Stephen

George Long

Hello! And welcome back to our series of guest posts by game show veteran George Long. When we last heard from George (three weeks ago), he was taking us through his behind-the-scenes work on Going For Gold. But as you’ll see, that gig was far from the last time he’d find himself on the production team of a game show…

(Oh, and if YOU’d like to share YOUR game show adventures with the HowToWinGameShows.com audience, just email me at stephen@howtowingameshows.com, and let’s discuss it!) But right now, heeeere’s George…

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GL: Immediately after the first series of Going for Gold finished, word came through that Sale of the Century‘s contestant coordinator was leaving to visit her family in Zimbabwe for three months, and it was agreed that I’d be the best person to take over from her. I’d been manning the Sale game computer just before this, and it was plain that I picked things up quickly. As the replacement contestant coordinator, I was now not only in charge of the “Sacrificial Lambs”; I was responsible for choosing them, booking them, meeting and greeting them on the day, and generally being their counsellor and Mother Duck! The first batch had already been organised, so they were all unknown to me. Quite a few, though, were VERY excited to meet “George Smiley”, as they were long-time Sale viewers…

George “Smiley” Long, during his run on ‘Sale of The Century’

When I was let loose on the cabinets containing the profiles of people who had auditioned, I decided we needed to ‘sex the show up’ a bit – to get rid of the large number of Nigels and Maureens and have a few more younger, attractive people. The cabinets were filled with the audition forms, each of which featured a photo and qualifying quiz score at the top. The contestants here were possible choices for all current Grundy game shows including Keynotes, which I had declined earlier. That particular show didn’t want the high scorers, but did want characters with interesting tales to tell. I had taken part in that year’s Grundy’s audition in another huge hall, and was given the job of being the question master. This would stand me in good stead later. I remembered some of my interviewees who didn’t get picked – quite frankly, they would have scared the viewers off! But I had also interviewed some people with great stories and personality, and they did get chosen.

When it came to contestant numbers for Sale of the Century, the calculation was easy. In a worst-case scenario, if the carryover champion got beaten each night, we needed at least 11 contestants. If we had a car winner on the Friday, we needed 12. We generally had three spares, including at least one from the local area. Spares were essential, in case people may have fallen ill (or had a pressure cooker fall on their head!) or indeed chickened out. Any spare contestants not used in one show would be used on the next. We generally therefore had 15 contestants standing by. They all sat in the ‘Sacrificial Lamb’ audience seats.

I turned up to the studio every Saturday and Sunday to do coordinate the contestants, with all of their bios ready for Kerry the producer, after booking them ten days earlier and sending them all their instructions.

Between shows, Kerry and I would look at the remaining waiting contestants, and I’d report on how they’d performed in rehearsal and how confident they were. Here is a tip for readers – if you’re shy as a mouse, you may not be used that readily, and could be simply used as ‘cannon-fodder’! I spent a lot of time encouraging the contestants at rehearsal and then briefing them behind the set during recordings and technical breaks; encouraging, reassuring, congratulating and commiserating. Just as had happened in the shows I competed in, I accompanied the winner back to their dressing room after they had ‘been shopping’, where they selected their next outfit, then I went down to choose the other two contestants with Kerry for the next show.

It was exciting and stressful at the same time. The rapport I built with many contestants meant they were often invited back to do pilots or in-house rehearsals for Grundy’s, with a view to possibly making appearances on other shows. One of the people who appeared at this time was a little-known person called Simon Cowell. He plainly did better out of it than I did!

Simon Cowell’s on 80 points!

After winning his game, here’s Simon Cowell with ‘Sale of the Century’ host Peter Marshall and hostess Maria Rice Mundy

During this time, I also served as a production assistant on the show. One of my duties in the studio was holding the cue cards describing the ‘Gift Shop’ prizes for hostess Maria Rice Mundy to read. The prizes rotated on a revolving stage and I stood in the aisle, so she could read them. I spent the Thursday and Friday preparing the cue cards with the prize department, for the weekend recordings. When it came to the writing, I was very good at sometimes “polishing a turd”, as the old phrase goes! I did this most weekends when I was not doing the contestant coordination.

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And that’s where we’ll leave George’s story for this week. But it’s far from the end of his behind-the-scenes game show journey, as you’ll see next Tuesday, when he scores gigs on other successful productions, in addition to Sale of the Century!

Until then, then!

George Long is ‘Going For Gold’! Part 2 of 2

Posted on 24/02/2026 by Stephen

Hello and welcome to the latest lot of behind-the-scenes adventures from our Guest Blogger George Long! Last week, you’ll recall that George had been employed as a writer and adjudicator on Going For Gold, a BBC lunchtime game show which ran from 1989 – 1996. We join George now as he begins his second series on staff…

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The crew of ‘Going For Gold’; George is in the front row on the extreme left.

For the next series of Going for Gold I worked on, my reputation for question-writing and adjudication was clear – we had great questions, great contestants and the BBC were very happy. They did, however, decide to cut one set of four shows for each half of the contest… Which meant we had to rework the way the contestants qualified. We now allowed a ‘highest-scoring loser’ from each side of the draw to go through to the final round. From my point of view, I was now in another very fortunate situation; they needed someone to do the morning camera rehearsal on every record day, as the previous associate producer had recently left. Our host Henry Kelly liked to rest his voice for the gruelling five episodes we would record after lunch. I was selected to do this run-through, while still fulfilling my roles of adjudicator and question writer.

My first few camera rehearsals were, from a director’s point of view, a complete disaster… Although the contestants responded well to me, there were no mispronunciations of the questions, I was good at putting them at their ease, making them laugh, exploring their bios and generally making it a pleasant experience… The professional description of all this was “going off script”! But after the first few, the Director and crew got what was happening, stuck with it and enjoyed it greatly. The warm-up guy Wally Mardell loved these rehearsals too, as they made the contestants laugh and put them at their ease.

The show didn’t change in the way we ran it, and we continued to get great ratings for the BBC. The only real change was that for the final we had arranged for Barbara Castle – the former Labour cabinet minister and, by then, the leader of the Socialist Group of the European Parliament – to give the prizes. Remember the timing requirements mentioned earlier (where we had to finish right on time, in order for Neighbours to begin on time after us)? That came into play on the final, in a very unfortunate way. I had to remove all the ‘hard’ questions from the final itself and put in fairly easy “Who am I?” questions. The finalists were a chap from the Netherlands and another from Denmark who had twice come through the ‘highest-scoring loser’ repechage unexpectedly. I had calculated that we would finish with a four-question round and come in on time, allowing Barbara time to give her speech and award the trophy. Whoever played first would likely score 4 and then the other contestant would then score 4, then the original would do the same and then be on 8. The first contestant would then likely score 4 and win… But it was all over very quickly and the Danish contestant had an easy win. I never thought this was the best way to end the series, but it was fair; they both had an equal chance of victory.

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And that’s where we leave George’s Going For Gold journey, but there’s still loads more to come as he takes us deep behind the scenes on the UK versions of Jeopardy!, Press Your Luck, Sale of the Century… and more!

See you next time.

George Long is ‘Going For Gold’! Part 1 of 2

Posted on 17/02/2026 by Stephen

Hello and welcome to the next game show adventure in the life of our Guest Blogger George Long! When we concluded last week’s instalment, George had just become a Sale of the Century Grand Champion, and after basking in the afterglow of his win, and newfound celebrity, he’d returned to his former life. But the game show gods weren’t quite finished with George just yet…

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After my 420 minutes of fame, I settled back into my old life. At their annual conference, my employer included a quiz in honour of me, I was promoted to Regional Manager, and life looked good. Then Grundy’s came knocking again to say they’d love to have me as a question writer for Going for Gold – so off I went to meet Kerry Bunce at their offices just down from the London Studios. Naturally, I chose to drive on the afternoon of the second biggest storm of the twentieth century – trees uprooting before my very eyes, tiles blowing off roofs… When I finally made it to London, they said they’d been worried I wouldn’t make it; glass panels at Waterloo station round the corner were falling onto the platforms, forcing the station’s closure. Fate was with me when I chose not to get the train that day!

The Grundy’s offer was great, and I would be starting in early January 1990. I resigned from my job, and turned up as agreed. I was shocked by how casual it all was; Kerry had asked another person, Mark Nodes, to join the team and we were assigned to a little attic space laden with reference books and laptops.

The cheerful ‘Going For Gold’ behind-the-scenes gang: Question writer George Long, contestant co-ordinator Bill Burdis, contestant co-ordinator Steve Purvis and question writer Mark Noades

I had a VERY specific task. The show was very important to the BBC as it aired at 1:30 PM, after the lunchtime news and before Neighbours at 1:55 PM. The timing had to be exact! Quite hard for a show where the formula was ‘flexible’ as some rounds dragged on longer than others. It had already been on air for four seasons before I arrived and I was fully aware that the semi-finals and finals were rather overladen with middle-aged male contestants from the four British home nations and the Irish Republic. That in itself was not the issue; the issue was they all wore grey suits and red ties. Many were called Nigel or Keith! (Apologies to any Nigels and Keiths reading this). We had added some new countries to the standard mix; France, Spain, Italy, Hungary and Czechoslovakia (as it was then known). The contestant coordinators visited about eight countries and interviewed and photographed the contestants there, giving them the same Grundy’s quiz that I had done in London, just over a year before.

My brief was clear – we needed to ensure that we had more female contestants in the semis and finals. We plainly had to be scrupulously fair at all times as the client was the BBC. In the past, there had been lots of questions on sports and I’d worked out that this often favoured the men. Kerry and I discussed my strategy and we went to the contestant coordinators with our plans – they would look for ladies with confidence and exciting stories but leave the rest to chance. In the meantime, I introduced more “Who am I?” questions and – in the round where subjects could be chosen – questions on food and drink, on fashion, and on movies with a female slant, such as romcoms. Our female European question advisor thought it a little sexist, but she got my drift. It was her job to go through all the episodes and find questions which the Europeans would have no hope with. One example was The Sound of Music; in German-speaking countries (where it was not a great hit) it was called Die von Trapp Familie, and in Italy it was called Tutti Insieme Appassionatamente (All Together, Passionately)! Questions such as this had to be rewritten or dropped.

We had to collate 74 episodes to be recorded in June – quite a task for two new writers. Our database contained various downloads from other laptops so we had major dramas with repeat questions. I devised a way of ensuring that duplicates were identified when the ‘Enter’ key was pressed – and every question was then tagged with year and episode. This became very important after the recordings because if we had not used them they could be untagged!

My plan worked like a dream. As soon as the recordings started, we started to get very equal Europe/British Isles and Male/Female splits. It was FUN. I was the adjudicator upstairs in the control box, operating the ‘traffic light system’ after each answer, for host Henry Kelly in the studio.

‘Going For Gold’ host Henry Kelly

Red light = “wrong”, green light = “correct”, yellow light = “more information, please.”

I was also responsible for handing the set of questions for the next round to the relevant console for the host. For the last ‘Head-To-Head’ round, where two contestants played off until one got to nine points, my job became the most important of all. I had to make sure the show came in on time. I would often have to add harder questions, or remove easy ones (which would have meant the show ended too early). It was very hard to be scrupulously fair. Generally, the questions stayed in their original positions and chance had to play its part. The show carried on through the heats, the semis and the final itself. And at the end of that year we had a final of four women (from Spain, France, Northern Ireland and France) and four men (two from Scotland, one from Italy and one from Belgium). We couldn’t have asked for a better mix! The final was between Belgium (male) and Northern Ireland (female) so everyone was happy. The viewers could root for the Brits and the impartial viewers would be happy too. There were two attractive French girls in the last eight as well, so I’m sure there were lots of young male students getting very excited – the show was compulsory viewing at British Universities.

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Join us back here next Tuesday when George starts work on his second season of Going For Gold in an expanded role, and shares more of his exclusive behind-the-scenes anecdotes and reminiscences. Until then, then!

Guest post from game show winner George Long – Part 2

Posted on 10/02/2026 by Stephen

Hello, and welcome to the second instalment of our guest post from UK game show winner George Long! If you missed last week’s post, you can find it here. When we left off, it was 1989, and George was sitting in the (UK) Sale of the Century auditorium nervously awaiting his chance to shine as a contestant. The first of the five shows to be recorded that day was about to begin, and it featured a very intimidating carry-over champion…

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GL: But the carry-over champion was quickly dismissed and a new one elevated to his place. Then, on the day’s second episode, the same thing happened. I’d already noticed the conversations between Katie and Kerry, nodding towards the ‘sacrificial lambs’! The winner of show two was a former Mastermind contestant, who plainly thought he would walk the whole thing. I was horrified that I was selected to go up against him in show three, but I soon took my place on the studio floor… my nose heavily powdered! I was nervous. I was terrified. I was intimidated by ‘Mr Mastermind‘; he had psyched us all out. As he sat in the champ’s seat, the lady contestant and I waited behind the door with an escort each to await (host) Peter Marshall‘s banter and jokes with the hostess Maria Rice Mundy.

‘Sale of the Century’ host Peter Marshall.

‘Sale of the Century’ hostess Maria Mundy Rice

It all went fast – VERY fast – from there. My nose came in for some stick, of course. I bought every ‘Gift Shop’ prize going (which, I hadn’t realised, kept my score competitive) with Peter spotting my mercenary nature very quickly – ‘give him some cash and no matter how awful it is, George will buy it!’ I was in a good lead when we got to the final 60 seconds and I ended with a very healthy win. I was particularly good at anticipation and the ‘Fame Game’ questions. ‘Mr Mastermind‘ scowled and had a face like a slapped arse.

I was in my stride now and when my second episode came along (show 4 of the record day), I won by 100 points, with a score of 132! One of the two ladies I was up against had said her little boy would love the wooden aeroplane I had bought in one of the ‘Gift Shop’s. Hers it was at the end of the show, and, to be even-handed, I gifted a silver hairbrush dressing table set I had also bought to the other lady.

What I didn’t know at this stage was that (producer) Kerry and (contestant coordinator) Katie were impressed. Not only did I smile a lot, not only was I quick-witted and quick on the buzzer, but I also gave prizes away to my opponents. Nobody had ever done the latter. Peter was already calling me “George Smiley”. My third, fourth and fifth shows carried on in the same vein with lots of ‘Gift Shop’ purchases, ‘Fame Game’ wins and huge scores.

In George’s fourth show, he was up against Isabelle Heward (centre), who would later go on to win UK ‘Mastermind’!

My injured nose became an issue when I won my third show (show 5 of the record day). The director pointed out that the next recording would be two weeks from now, and my nose would likely have healed by then. Concerns that this might confuse the viewers dissipated when we realised that, from their perspective, I’d won my third show on a Friday and would return for my fourth show on the Monday. We simply said my nose had healed nicely over the weekend. Problem solved.

George’s injured nose is visible here.

The production team occasionally slipped a higher calibre contestant in to give me a run for my money (literally!). My fifth show was one such occasion, but again I ran up a huge score.

When my sixth and final show came about, I was going for the car, for which I needed to have accumulated a grand total of 585 pounds/points across my entire time on the show. I was nervous as there was a lot at stake, and I got a few answers wrong by jumping in too early. At the beginning of the final 60-second round, I was one point behind! In the end, I shouldn’t have worried, though; I stormed through to win by one point, and drove off into the sunset in a lovely Citroen AX.

My (old) car had been choc-a-bloc with prizes after each show, and I finally DID end up staying with my friend in London after the win, and gave her a lovely shopping bike I’d won… which she used for years!

After my big win, I appeared in the local newspaper with publicity photos…

From the pages of ‘The Southern Evening Echo’.

… and often got stopped in the street. Soon enough though, my five minutes of fame was over. I returned to my retail manager’s job in Bournemouth, was a bit of a company celebrity, and my normal life continued.

Or so I thought…

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And on that cliffhanger, we’ll leave George’s game show adventures there for the time being. I’d like to thank George so much again for sharing his memories, his stories and his photos with me… and of with you.

And if YOU happen to have a game show-related tale to tell, don’t be shy – my door is always open. Just drop me a line at Stephen@HowToWinGameShows.com, and let’s start a conversation!

Until next time, cheers!

Stephen,

Guest post from game show winner George Long – Part 1

Posted on 03/02/2026 by Stephen

George Long.

Hello, and welcome to our latest multi-part guest post!

And today it comes from English expat George Long, who wrote to me telling me of his game show-related adventures in the 1980s and beyond. George successfully parlayed his first appearance (and – spoiler alert – WIN) as a contestant into various roles on the other side of the camera, so his particular game show story is certainly a multifaceted one. But before we dive into all the details, I wanted George to tell us all a little bit about himself…

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GL: Born in Manchester in 1957, I’ve always been bookish and artistic. At school I had a Saturday job at my local library – methodical, erudite and such fun. I was put on the reference library desk at lunchtime. At Lancaster University, I studied German and French, before working in my first job as a bilingual commodity broker in London.

I then had a great career with a furniture and homewares store between 1981 and 1988 before beginning my association with (game show production company) Grundy’s.

After winning Sale of the Century, I became Grundy Productions’ chief question writer for Going for Gold, Jeopardy! and Press Your Luck, and later, I was a production assistant – and contestant coordinator – for Sale of the Century. I then worked for Burns & Porter: the UK’s biggest pub quiz operator.

In the meantime, my application for migration to Australia was going on. I had a friend in Brisbane who thought I would prefer it to Sydney… so to Brisbane I went, and never left! I’m creative, I enjoy interiors and collectables, and I have two dogs – Albert and Buddy.

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Some great qualifications there, I’m sure you’ll agree, for George to share with us. But it was while George was working at that furniture and homewares store back in the 80s that his game show journey began. So take it away, George!

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GL: After a friend challenged me to apply to appear on a new show called Going for Gold saying “You’d better apply! It might shut you up once and for all”… I did.

A few months later, I joined hundreds of other people at the auditions in a huge theatre in London’s Regent Street. The audition comprised two tests, each of 50 questions. After the first 50, we all swapped papers with our neighbours and they were marked. Anybody who scored less than 20 was asked to skulk out quietly! A fair few did. Then the second set of questions was asked, and our previous scores were added to our new scores. Anyone with an average lower than 20 was asked to depart. My average was 42. Then, after a long process of interviews and Polaroid photographs being taken, we went upon our way. I returned to my retail management career, never expecting to hear back from Reg Grundy Productions.

However, some time later, the production team contacted me, inviting me to appear on the show Keynotes, where three contestants worked together to answer musical questions. I had seen it and didn’t like it; the prizes weren’t worth having! I politely declined, again thinking I’d never hear back from them.

A few months later, though, they rang me again and asked if I’d consider appearing on Sale of the Century, which was being launched on the new satellite channel Sky One. “We think you could win a car!”, they said. “Yeah right,” I thought sarcastically.

And yet…

I received the invitation with instructions to report to London Studios, (where most chat shows and specials are filmed in the UK) at 7:00 on a Sunday morning. Our travel expenses would be paid and meals would be provided.

I’d decided to stay with a friend in London the night before, and as I went to leave my house, I saw the handle of my pressure cooker askew on top of the kitchen cupboard. I straightened it, turned to leave… and was knocked to the floor as it fell off the top shelf and hit me square in the face! I wasn’t knocked out; just stunned, but there was a lot of blood and the little flap above the nostril was hanging slightly loose! ‘Oh dear,’ I thought. ‘My first TV appearance and I look like someone who’s just gone ten rounds with Mike Tyson.’

I checked with the local hospital and they said if I came in, they’d be obliged to stitch it and it would scar. They suggested I staunch the bleeding, push it back in and dress it, securing it with tape. After cancelling my evening stay in London, I did just that.

At the studios the next day, all we contestants were issued with tokens for the refreshment machines, given a dressing room for our five outfits (so home viewers didn’t realise one week’s episodes were filmed in one day) and shown the studio, before our on-camera rehearsal. After lunch, we sat in the audience’s front two rows in our outfits, ready for 2 PM.

By this stage, my nose was already a cause for concern, as under the heat of the studio lights, the makeup had started to evaporate! Despite this, they decided to allow me to compete.

As the day’s recording began, there was a carry-over champion who we were all in awe of. The contestant coordinator Katie Taylor (who would later become Head of Light Entertainment for the BBC) and producer Kerry Bunce selected the ‘sacrificial lambs’ for the first show…

‘Sale of the Century’ producer Kerry Bunce.

Katie Taylor. Then: ‘Sale of the Century’ contestant coordinator. Later: Head of BBC Light Entertainment!

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And that’s where we’ll leave it for next week. Join us back here next Tuesday, as George’s Sale of the Century run begins, and we discover exactly how “sacrificial” those lambs really were…

(ANSWER: Not very.)

See you then!

Guest post by game show champ Brendan Richards – 2 of 2

Posted on 20/05/2025 by Stephen

Brendan’s expert subject was Monty Python. Can you tell?

Hello! And welcome to the final instalment of our two-part guest post series from Hard Quiz champion Brendan Richards. Last week, Brendan gave us an overview of all of his game show appearances… but this week, we’re going deeper into the contestant experience, as we peruse highlights from the diary Brendan kept during his Hard Quiz experience. (With Brendan’s permission, of course.) And be sure to keep an eye out for his detailed description of recording day protocols near the end! Take it away, Brendan!

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FRIDAY, 13 SEPTEMBER 2024

EARLY MORNING, SYDNEY

Early start on the Metro, leaving around the time I’d normally leave for work.

At the airport, I left my phone on a toilet roll holder (matching the colour of the phone’s case)… Fortunately, the phone was still on the holder when I rechecked; hopefully the only unlucky thing to happen on Friday the 13th.

An uneventful flight (listened to some Monty Python to ease the mind and prepare myself.)

12:00 PM, ARRIVAL IN MELBOURNE

Transferred to Southbank… Hotel was practically across the road from the ABC. Some construction work on the other block, and that bloody jackhammer – turns out there is something more grating than Tom Gleeson’s deliveries!

Time for a walk and photo opportunity around the CBD. 2 hours or so… then time to freshen up, pack and walk to the ABC. A quick call from Hugh (one of my step-cousins) to wish me luck.

3:45 PM, HARD QUIZ PREP, ABC

Nervous but confident and ready (carrying a suit bag with 3 potential changes of clothes – very relieved the studios were just one block across from the hotel).

Introduced to three other contestants – Bec from Maroubra, Nathan from Newcastle, and Mel from Elsternwick.

We were assigned our dressing rooms (with our own personalised dressing room signs); we weren’t allowed to discuss our topics but could talk about anything else. Then we were given a brief rundown of the rules and a video demonstration of what to do and what not to do. (Don’t move from your podium too early when Tom says “Get over here” prior to the Head to Head, etc.).

Wardrobe department helped co-ordinate all our outfits; I had a multi-coloured collared shirt, which went well with the black pants.

Snack box – a “chicken katsu sando”, rice wrap and a slice or biscuit. Never again will I complain about a TV studio canteen’s offerings (!). Plenty of bottles of water (with my name on them – maybe I should’ve kept one as a souvenir).

Bit more time to relax and clear the mind, followed by a light make-up dusting on the face.

Soon enough we were led to Studio 31 (the largest studio), where Hard Quiz was being taped. The set and audience bleachers took up about half the studio space; the set looked larger than what I remember seeing on TV.

Once settled, we had an opportunity to practice answering questions, and our exits if eliminated.

We were told to stay on the raised platform for safety reasons; after my “rehearsal exit”, I’d unintentionally taken a shortcut when, walking back to the podium, I walked onto the studio floor instead of on the platform. (Make sure you follow every instruction, even down to where and how you walk.)

Audience then filed in; Hugh and his girlfriend were in the front row (along with the other contestants’ VIPs). The warm-up guy had a few jokes with the audience (as did Tom Gleeson).

6:00 PM, SHOW TIME!

Introductions of contestants and our expert subjects:

• Bec: U.S. Presidential assassinations

• Nathan: Poker

• Mel: Contraception

• Brendan: Monty Python

Introductions almost went smoothly; I stumbled on trying to say “I’ve never had my face slapped by a fish” (which I think won the audience over).

Then a “stop tape” to prepare for the “Expert Round” followed by “Tom’s Round”.

EXPERT ROUND

I got in on the first question for Bec’s “Assassination” subject (the location of where Abraham Lincoln was shot). I answered “the Ford Theatre” (I wasn’t sure if that wording was correct). Tom motioned for a “stop tape” to verify my answer, but it was judged correct. It was only after the episode that I realised I should have said “Ford’s Theatre”. Still, ten points is ten points. Then to my round.

• One question was “What was used in place of horses in Monty Python and the Holy Grail”? I knew the answer was coconut halves. To my surprise (and the audience’s), Tom had some coconut halves handy, so I walked up to his podium and “rode” all the way back to mine.

• I managed to get the only “5 from 5” for the whole episode

In Nathan’s “Poker” subject, I managed to get in on two questions: the highest possible hand (The Royal Flush)… and where the founder of World Series Poker fled to, from Texas (Las Vegas).

In Mel’s “Contraception” subject, I also went in (!) on the material used for making condoms (“Latex” or rubber), much to Tom’s surprise and the audience’s amusement. I got an unexpected bigger laugh when I interjected, “No, I haven’t had any experience! Don’t ask!”

SCORE CHECK AT END OF EXPERT ROUND:

Bec: 30, Brendan: 65, Nathan: 20, Mel: 0

TOM’S ROUND

“This week, Tom has really been getting into boxes…” I knew I was well ahead of Mel, so I wasn’t too worried if I got a few wrong. I unfortunately was “boxed up” (!) on four of these questions, but I still held a good enough lead over Mel and Bec at the end of this round…

SCORE CHECK AT END OF TOM’S ROUND:

Bec: 15, Brendan: 50, Nathan: 25, Mel: -5

So it was goodbye to Mel; it’s always a tough playing field with four players trying to win the episode. Another “stop tape” (and drink of water) before “The People’s Round”.

Spare a thought for those eliminated who have to do their exit twice for the cameras!

THE PEOPLE’S ROUND

I only managed one correct answer during “The People’s Round”, but I think I’d guaranteed myself a ticket to the “Head to Head” round, after how I did in the “Expert Round”. A few close calls (and that round does seem to drag; Tom knows what he’s doing – I think), but Nathan and I made it to the knockout stage.

SCORE CHECK AT END OF THE PEOPLE’S ROUND:

Bec: 20, Brendan: 55, Nathan: 45, Mel: TOO SOFT

Another “stop tape”, this time for a camera reset, then on to the “Head to Head” round at the centre of stage. The Assistant Floor Manager gave us clear instructions on where to stand. I was close to the edge of the platform, but I was also given safety advice on how to exit if I was eliminated in the final round.

I had to keep my nerves intact as it was a best-out-of-5 knockout. I was tempted to keep up the comebacks (“Yes, Tommy baby?” first time around), but I think once was enough at the first question.

One question related to some gag credits from Flying Circus littered with certain words from an episode of that same name – “Spam”. And yes, I just had to scream, “I DON’T LIKE SPAM!”

One question I missed referred to Life of Brian: What did “Brian” (Graham Chapman) use for a certain part of his body when he appeared naked in front of the crowd? The answer was… a rubber band (Graham Chapman wasn’t Jewish). Maybe I should’ve paid more attention watching those excerpts in my high school religion exam. (Goddamn it – no, Briandamn it!)

Final question for my set, and Nathan was on 3/2 (3 right, 2 wrong), and I was on 3/1. I needed to answer the fifth question correctly to win outright.

TOM: The 16th century painting An Allegory with Venus and Cupid inspired what piece of Monty Python iconography?

BRENDAN: I don’t believe this…! It’s something that’s been seen in almost all 45 episodes of Monty Python’s Flying Circus. It has to be the foot.

Once Tom said “CORRECT!”, I realised I had won.

I thought Nathan would’ve had it as well; again, a tough playing field all around.

The brass mug was heavier than it looked, but at that moment I couldn’t care less – I was bloody thrilled!

In “Gumby” fashion, I shouted “THANK! YOU! FOR! PLAY! ING! HARD!” And then, in Eric Idle-fashion, “I like playing hard! Know what I mean? Nudge Nudge! Say no more!” (and a good laugh at that).

Walking back to the contestant podium, I forgot there was a riser for one of the shorter contestants and I tripped over it. I heard gasps from the audience, and the floor manager checked if I was okay… But honestly, I’d never felt better in my life!

After a group photo, some pickups (without making any hint of my win), and final congratulations from Tom, it hit me that I’d have to wait a few good months before I could publicly say I won – six months as it turned out!

(Well, I did let my family know, but they kept it a good secret all the way through.)

The waiting time was worth it in the end.

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Congratulations, Brendan! And once again, thanks very much for sharing your adventures with us. If you’d like to Be Like Brendan and share YOUR game-show related story with the HowToWinGameShows.com community, simply drop me an email at Stephen@HowToWinGameShows.com… and let’s talk!

Oh, and before I go, one last thing… For anyone in Melbourne who’s free this coming Saturday (May 24th), I’ll be taking part in ‘Very Appealing Showbiz Trivia’: a fundraising trivia night for the Victorian Actors Benevolent Trust. It’s a trivia night with a difference, as various roving celebrities (and me!) circulate amongst the teams, giving them a helping hand where possible. It promises to be a fun, irreverent night, and it’ll be raising funds for a good cause at the same time… all the details are HERE:

https://events.humanitix.com/very-appealing-showbiz-trivia

If you’re interested and available, I’d love to see you there! After that, I’ll see you back here next Tuesday…

Until then, then!