When gameshow legend Brucie was leader of the pack
BRUCE FORSYTH was the joker in the pack when ITV launched its new game show Play Your Cards Right 40 years ago. He brought a heavy dose of humour to proceedings with his Brucie Bonus and catchphrases like “You don’t get anything for a pair... not in this game” and “What do points make? Prizes”.
“No-one – apart from my agent, perhaps – should leave one of my shows in tears,” he once joked.
Based on the format of American TV quiz Card Shark created by Chester Feldman, Play Your Cards Right saw couples compete in three rounds for a case of champagne, cash and big prize items like a car – all decided by the turn of a card.
Brucie memorably took two winning contestants over to see their new car in one episode, only to find the vehicle was still locked up and no-one had the key.
Brucie appeared on the quiz with his glamorous assistants the Dolly Dealers, and the
30-minute episodes gave him scope to do what he did best... rib members of the public.
“I’ve always been a family entertainer. Every show I have done has been suitable for any age,” he once explained. “Parents never need to worry
that if they pop out of the room I’ll say anything untoward.”
Play Your Cards Right started on ITV on February 1, 1980, and within a few months was being broadcast as Bruce Forsyth’s Play Your Cards Right.
The quiz show eventually ended up running for 16 series and notching up nearly 250 episodes.
The original run ended in 1987, but the game show made a return to the small screen in 1994. Comedy performer Brian Conley was slated to take over hosting duties, even recording a pilot episode, before TV bosses decided to bring Brucie back as the host.
He fronted the revived show until 1999, before returning again for one final series in 2002.
Didn’t he do well?