First watched : Autumn 1975
This ITV children's quiz show, based on an American model which hadn't actually worked very well , was much more fun than the likes of Brainchild on the Beeb. The contestants had to run across the studio floor to answer a multiple choice general knowledge quiz by standing in one of three circles. If they got it right they went back to their starting places with a yellow ball ( worth 1 point ) unless they were the only one getting it correct in which case they had a red winner's ball worth 2 points. If they got it wrong they went into a dungeon until the red ball was collected. To thwart tailgaters, kids were allowed a couple of seconds to jump into an adjacent circle at the last moment. The kid with the most points got to pick a prize.
The show was gruffly compered by comedian Mike Reid after his profile had been raised earlier in the year by an unlikely hit single with The Ugly Duckling ( I remember him getting his verses the wrong way round on Top of the Pops ) . Because the show was recorded pretty much live, he needed to keep a tight rein on proceedings and treated kids who shouted out the answers as he would hecklers in the clubs where he performed. He briefly left the show in 1977, allowing short stints to Leslie Crowther and Stan Boardman , but was back in place a year later. The show ended in 1981 when its creators Southern Television lost their franchise. Reid kept himself busy with roles in things like Minder and appearing on panel shows before Eastenders came calling.
There was apparently a spin-off show called Poparound in the mid-eighties with Gary Crowley posing questions about pop music but I don't recall it so I'm wondering if Granada ever screened it.
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