Catch phrase coined first on UK version
Dear Editor:
Re: “TV legend Regis Philbin dies,” (Herald, Page B3, July 28).
The article correctly states that Regis made the phrase “Is that your final answer?, ”a national catch phrase, at least in North America.
Unfortunately the cutline to his picture states that “He coined” this catch phrase.
Problem is that Regis didn’t coin it.
The phrase was coined by the hugely popular British presenter Chris Tarrant who acted as quizmaster on the original version of the show which aired on ITV in the UK from September 1998 until 2014.
He used it in the very first show and it became a staple.
Tarrant was renowned for his ability to tease out from contestants what they were thinking without giving any hint in his facial expression as to what the correct answer might be.
Viewers of either version will recall that the first five questions were simple general knowledge questions. If the contestant answered all five questions correctly, they were guaranteed to take home 500 pounds ($500 in the U.S. version). Three of the four possible answers to each question were usually so ridiculous that, even if the contestant didn’t know the answer he would pick the right one.
The worst ever contestant in the UK version used up all his ‘lifelines’ to get to the 500 pound question and then gave the wrong answer to that question, meaning that he went home with nothing.
The most worrying thing was that the contestant was the headmaster of a junior school.
I dread to think what the parents of his pupils thought of his performance.
Brian Butler
Penticton
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