''Password'' is a British

panel game A panel show or panel game is a radio or television game show in which a panel of celebrities participate. Celebrity panelists may compete with each other, such as on '' The News Quiz''; facilitate play by non-celebrity contestants, such as on ' ...

show based on the U.S. version of the same name. It originally aired on ITV from 12 March to 10 September 1963, hosted by

Shaw Taylor Eric Stanley Taylor (26 October 1924 – 17 March 2015), known professionally as Shaw Taylor, was a British actor and television presenter, best known for presenting the long-running five-minute crime programme '' Police 5''. Early life and ...

, then was revived by

BBC2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matter, incorporating genres such as comedy, drama and ...

from 24 March to 28 April 1973, hosted by

Brian Redhead Brian Leonard Redhead (28 December 1929 – 23 January 1994) was a British author, journalist and broadcaster. He was a co-presenter of the ''Today'' programme on BBC Radio 4 from 1975 until 1993, shortly before his death. He was a great love ...

BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and Flagship (broadcasting), flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includ ...

from 7 January 1974 to 3 January 1976, first hosted by

Eleanor Summerfield Eleanor Audrey Summerfield (7 March 1921 – 13 July 2001) was an English actress who appeared in many plays, films and television series. She is known for her roles in ''Laughter in Paradise'' (1951), '' Final Appointment'' (1954), '' Odongo'' ...

in 1974 and then hosted by

Esther Rantzen Dame Esther Louise Rantzen (born 22 June 1940) is an English journalist and television presenter who presented the BBC television series ''That's Life!'' for 21 years, from 1973 until 1994. She works with various charitable causes and founded t ...

from 1975 to 1976,

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

from 6 November 1982 to 14 May 1983, hosted by Tom O'Connor,

Ulster Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...

from 2 September 1985 to 13 March 1987, first hosted by Brian Munn in 1985, and then hosted by

Gordon Burns Gordon Henry Burns (born 10 June 1942) is a Northern Irish retired journalist and broadcaster. He was the host of '' The Krypton Factor'' for its original 18-year run (1977–1995) and was the chief anchorman for the BBC regional news program ...

from 1986 to 1987 and then finally on ITV from 20 June to 29 July 1988, also hosted by Burns. In 2023, it was announced that ITV would be reviving the show with

Stephen Mangan Stephen James Mangan (born 16 May 1968) is a British actor, comedian, presenter and writer. He has played Guy Secretan in '' Green Wing'', Dan Moody in '' I'm Alan Partridge'', Seán Lincoln in ''Episodes'', Bigwig in ''Watership Down'', Postma ...

as host.

Gameplay

The gameplay is identical to the US version. Two celebrity-civilian teams compete, and after being given the password, the team in control has to decide whether to pass or play. Naming the password was worth 10 points minus one point for each additional clue. By the 1980s, teams only got three guesses each so that each password scored a minimum of five points. The first side to earn 25 points won the game, and celebrities switched partners after each game. On Channel 4, the first player to win two games continued as champion. In later series, teams played best-of-five matches. On the Ulster series, after a team accumulated 25 points or more, the points were turned into cash, at £1 per point. The winning team then played the lightning round, where teams had to guess 5 passwords in 60 seconds. Each word earned the contestant an extra £5 per word or £50 if the team guessed all 5. On the Channel 4 series, each player earned £2 per point and the first contestant to play two lightning rounds continued as champion. Winners of £500 retired until the semi-finals. On the 2024 series, the first game would be played to 25 points. The second round featured a Super Password puzzle. The tiebreaker featured a puzzle on the buzzer. The first team to win two rounds played Alphabeticals for up to £10,000 won by identifying ten alphabetically arranged passwords within one minute. Otherwise, each password earned £500 which doubled if the player could guess one more password after only one clue word.

Transmissions

ATV era

BBC era

Channel 4 era

UTV era

ITV era

References

External links

* * *{{UKGameshow, Password 1963 British television series debuts 1960s British game shows 1970s British game shows 1980s British game shows 2020s British game shows BBC panel games British panel games Channel 4 panel games British English-language television shows ITV panel games British television series based on American television series Television series by Fremantle (company) Television series by Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Productions Television series by ITV Studios Television shows produced by Thames Television British television series revived after cancellation