Greatest Game Shows

Polls and voting are all very well, but how do people vote with their feet? No, not by holding pencils between their toes, but by visiting the various nooks and crannies that make up the conurbation of UKGameshowsopolis.

Our backroom boys and girls have been re-programming CECIL to come up with the most popular pages on this site. And, after poring through yards of ticker tape, this is what we've come up with - a list of the top 100 shows based on what you lot are actually reading.

The Top 100

The Top 100 is an alphabetical list of the Greatest Gameshows, as measured by visits to the UKGameshows website between July 2006 and January 2012. It reflects searches on our website, visits from dedicated search engines, and links from other web pages. The new entry during 2011 is marked.

The Adventure Game	Dragons and an aspidistra set taxing puzzles.
Are You Smarter Than a 10 Year Old?	Primary-school children help adults win money
Ask the Family	Perennial smarty-pants quiz. Dah!
Banzai	Off-the-wall betting show. Bet now!
Bargain Hunt	Antiques arbitrage with David Dickinson and Tim Wonnacott.
Best of Friends	Treats and challenges for a group of chums.
Big Break	Snooker-based quiz with Jim Davidson.
Big Brother	Early 21st century isolation reality show.
The Biggest Loser UK	Competitive dieting.
Blankety Blank	How did Spike Milligan fill in the blank?
Blind Date	Cilla Black goes in search of true love, or not.
Blockbusters	"I'll have a P please, Bob."
Brainstorm	Bonkers science quiz with Kenny Everett.
Britain's Got Talent	Simon, Amanda, and The Hoff find the new Jai.
Bullseye	Darts-based quiz with Jim Bowen.
Call My Bluff	Definitions of words we've never heard of.
Catchphrase	Roy Walker says what he sees.
Celebrity Squares	Noughts-and-crosses with celebrities saying "I agree!"
Challenge Anneka	Anneka Rice does a lot of work for charity.
Cluedo	Small-screen adaptation of the murderous board game.
Come Dine with Me	If the cookery doesn't appeal, there's always the commentary.
Countdown	Letters and numbers parlour game with ~~Richard and Carol~~ Nick and Rachel.
Crackerjack	Friday at 4.55pm entertainment for youngsters.
The Crystal Maze	Physical and mental challenges with Riff-Raff.
Dancing on Ice	ITV celebrities dance and fall over with Torvill and Dean.
Deal or No Deal	Noel Edmonds' big-money guessing game.
Dishes	Late-night cookery show with the neophyte Kate Thornton.
Double Your Money	1950s general-knowledge quiz with Hughie Green.
Eggheads	Are these people the best general knowledge quizzers in Britain?
Eurovision Song Contest	Annual song-and-dance spectacular.
Family Fortunes	Name a show where people are surveyed...
Fifteen-to-One	The Rolls-Royce of quiz shows.
Fort Boyard	Physical and mental challenges off the coast of France.
Fun House	Pat Sharp has some children round to his house.
Game for a Laugh	Hidden-camera and offbeat stunt pioneer.
Gameshow Marathon	Recycling some of the best shows for a modern audience.
The Generation Game	Bruce Forsyth gives people silly things to do.
Get Your Own Back	Children take revenge on a parent or teacher.
Give Us a Clue	Charades with Una Stubbs and Lionel Blair.
Gladiators	All-action physical challenges with Ulrika and Wolf.
Going for Gold	Henry Kelly asks questions to puzzled Europeans.
Golden Balls	Big-money bluff and bluster with Jasper Carrot.
The Golden Shot	Live crossbows in a television studio.
The Great Egg Race	Contraptions and inventions with Heinz Woolf.
Have I Got News for You	Topical quiz with Paul Merton, Ian Hislop, and a guest presenter.
I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!	Ant and Dec ask celebs to eat witchety grubs.
Ice Warriors	Speed-skating challenges, remembered only as a flop.
In It to Win It	Dale Winton: in the right place at the right time for a decade now.
Incredible Games	A lift, some laundry baskets, a Dark Knight.
Interceptor	Man in black fires remote control at yuppies with cash on their backs.
It's a Knockout	Stuart Hall laughs as the Belgians fall over.
Jungle Run	Children's challenges set in a jungle.
Knightmare	Fantasy quest for young adventurers.
The Krypton Factor	Seminal test to find the United Kingdom Superperson.
Love at First Sight	Surprisingly popular satellite dating show.
Masterchef Goes Large	Revival of the competitive cookery programme.
Mastermind	Two minutes in the black chair on a specialist subject.
The Million Pound Drop Live New!	Money makes the drops go down...
Mr and Mrs	How well do you know your wife?
Naked Jungle	Keith Chegwin and naturists play some games.
Name That Tune	Tom O'Connor invites people to name popular tunes.
Never Mind the Buzzcocks	Pop music comedy quiz.
New Faces	Britain's got a thing for talent shows.
Noel's House Party	Saturday night entertainment from Noel Edmonds.
Numberwang	No, that's not.
1 vs 100	Can one person know more than a hundred-strong mob?
Opportunity Knocks	Long-running talent-spotting show
Play Your Cards Right	Is the next card higher or lower, asks Brucie.
PokerFace	Million-pound bluffing game with Ant and Dec.
The Price is Right	Know the price of consumer durables.
A Question of Sport	Sportspeople answer questions about their sport.
Raven	Outdoor tests for young warriors.
Ready Steady Cook	Make a meal in 20 minutes, with Ainsley Harriott.
Robot Wars	Remote-controlled battle tanks beat each other up.
Runaround	Mike Reid gets kids to choose correct answers and shout a lot.
Sale of the Century	Nicholas Parsons flogs the entire country for twelve quid.
Saturday Night Takeaway	Win a commercial break with Ant and Dec.
Scrapheap Challenge	Construction challenges with Kryten.
See it, Saw it	Observation quiz for the very young.
Shooting Stars	Vic and Bob's bonkers quiz. Eranu indeed!
Stars in Their Eyes	"Tonight, Matthew, I'm going to be..."
Strictly Come Dancing	Celebrities strut their funky stuff.
Strike it Lucky	Touchscreen guesswork with Barrymore.
Supermarket Sweep	Dale Winton goes wild in the aisles.
Survivor	Island challenge for ITV where Mark Austin's career washed up.
Take Your Pick	Will they take the money or open the box?
Takeshi's Castle	Japanese people do crazy stunts, and Craig Charles laughs.
3-2-1	Dusty Bin presides over entertainers and incomprehensible riddles.
Through the Keyhole	"Who would live in a house like this?"
Time Commanders	Wargaming with Eddie Mair.
Treasure Hunt (2)	Anneka Rice terrorises the countryside.
University Challenge	Bamber and Jeremy ask some starters for ten.
Weakest Link	Anne Robinson is mean to her victims.
Wheel of Fortune (2)	Spin the wheel, guess some letters, win a watch.
Who Wants to be a Millionaire?	Chris Tarrant gives away oodles of cash.
Whose Line is it Anyway?	Improvised comedy show with Clive Anderson. 100 points to everyone there.
Win Beadle's Money	Jeremy Beadle puts his show fee up for grabs.
Wipeout	Addictive 'complete the category' game with Paul Daniels.
The X Factor	Shouting, crying and throwing of water. With some singing involved.
You Bet!	Challenges and stunts show, with Matthew Kelly in a sumo thong.

Top People

The top 30 people between June 2006 and January 2012 were, in alphabetical order:

2011's Leaders

Every year, we're confused by the way people suddenly pick up on very old shows and obscure people, perhaps because they're looking for something else. Here are the greatest gainers for 2011.

Anona Winn, the Twenty Questions panelist.
Better Homes, the ITV property improvement show.
The Bachelor, revived by Channel 5.
Public Enemy Number One, the best-forgotten Bobby Davro vehicle.
Something for the Weekend, a completely forgotten Channel 4 relationship show.
Lee Mack, the comedian.
Marc Wootton, another comedian.
That's Showbusiness, one of those light fillers from the mid-90s.
Would I Lie to You?, still popular on BBC1.
Margherita Taylor, radio presenter.
Sylvester McCoy, the Jigsaw regular and xylophonist.
Quiz Time, Gentlemen, Please!, a pub quiz and darts match.
Top Club, Scotland's biggest game show ever.
Russell Grant, perhaps fearing we'd show him in clips from Strictly Come Dancing.
Francis Wheen, the comedy writer and journalist.

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