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50/50 (British game show)

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For other uses, see Fifty-Fifty.

50/50
The pill logo used from Series 2 onwards. The original logo consisted of two bubbles arranged diagonally in the manner of a "%" sign.
GenreChildren's game show
Presented by
Narrated by
  • Matthew Davies (1998–2000)
  • Gary Martin (2000–2001)
  • Dave Kelly (2001–05)
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series9
No. of episodes118 (inc. 4 Christmas specials)
Production
Running time25 minutes
Production companyBBC Scotland
Original release
NetworkBBC One
Release7 April 1997 (1997-04-07) –
12 July 2005 (2005-07-12)

50/50 is a British children's television game show for BBC television. Airing on BBC One's children's television block, it was first broadcast on 7 April 1997 and ended its run on 12 July 2005 after 9 series. Repeats aired on BBC One, BBC Two and the CBBC channel until 2009.

Sally Gray hosted the show from its inception until 2002, followed by Angellica Bell until 2004 and Sophie McDonnell in 2005. The voice of the show's computer, named 'Flynn', was provided by Matthew Davies between 1998 and 2000, then by Gary Martin in 2001 and finally by Dave Kelly from 2002 to 2005.

The show featured a competition contested by two teams, each represented by schools, of fifty 11– and 12–year–old pupils[1] who were randomly selected to take part in physical games and quiz rounds to score points. In addition, all players voted in 'true or false' questions to observational rounds. In most series, prizes were awarded to both schools, but a trophy was awarded to the winning team from series 5 onwards.

Format

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The contestants were also the studio audience and sat in raised seating on opposite sides of the studio. The two schools competing were originally represented by the T-shirt colours orange and green before they changed to blue and yellow for the rest of the show's run from the second series in 1998. The contestant numbers were randomly selected, each used once only, for both teams (occasionally one team only) and announced and displayed by a large-screened computer named 'Flynn'. The physical games usually consisted of inflatable obstacle courses, similar to those found in other children's game shows such as Get Your Own Back, Fun House, Run the Risk and Pump It Up. Quiz rounds also featured, as well as an observational round featuring a pop music video in which all contestants played by voting 'true' or 'false' on keypads.

The winning team won a prize for their school, and in later series a glass trophy.

Transmissions

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Series

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Series Start date End date Episodes
1 7 April 1997[2] 16 June 1997[3] 9
2 6 April 1998[4] 3 August 1998[5] 13
3 12 April 1999[6] 26 July 1999[7] 13
4 3 April 2000[8] 17 July 2000[9] 13
5 2 April 2001[10] 16 July 2001[11] 13
6 15 April 2002[12] 22 July 2002[13] 13
7 8 April 2003[14] 8 July 2003[15] 14
8 6 April 2004[16] 13 July 2004[17] 15
9 5 April 2005[18] 12 July 2005[19] 15

Christmas Specials

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Date
28 December 1998[20]
26 December 1999[21]
25 December 2000[22]
26 December 2001[23]

References

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  1. ^ "CBBC - 50/50". BBC. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
  2. ^ "50/50 - BBC One London - 7 April 1997". BBC Genome Project. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
  3. ^ "50/50 - BBC One London - 16 June 1997". BBC Genome Project. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
  4. ^ "50/50 - BBC One London - 6 April 1998". BBC Genome Project. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
  5. ^ "50/50 - BBC One London - 3 August 1998". BBC Genome Project. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
  6. ^ "50/50 - BBC One London - 12 April 1999". BBC Genome Project. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
  7. ^ "50/50 - BBC One London - 26 July 1999". BBC Genome Project. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
  8. ^ "50/50 - BBC One London - 3 April 2000". BBC Genome Project. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
  9. ^ "50/50 - BBC One London - 17 July 2000". BBC Genome Project. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
  10. ^ "50/50 - BBC One London - 2 April 2001". BBC Genome Project. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
  11. ^ "50/50 - BBC One London - 16 July 2001". BBC Genome Project. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
  12. ^ "50/50 - BBC One London - 15 April 2002". BBC Genome Project. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
  13. ^ "50/50 - BBC One London - 22 July 2002". BBC Genome Project. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
  14. ^ "50/50 - BBC One London - 8 April 2003". BBC Genome Project. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
  15. ^ "50/50 - BBC One London - 8 July 2003". BBC Genome Project. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
  16. ^ "50/50 - BBC One London - 6 April 2004". BBC Genome Project. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
  17. ^ "50/50 - BBC One London - 13 July 2004". BBC Genome Project. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
  18. ^ "50/50 - BBC One London - 5 April 2005". BBC Genome Project. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
  19. ^ "50/50 - BBC One London - 12 July 2005". BBC Genome Project. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
  20. ^ "50/50 - BBC One London - 28 December 1998". BBC Genome Project. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
  21. ^ "50/50 - BBC One London - 26 December 1999". BBC Genome Project. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
  22. ^ "50/50 - BBC One London - 25 December 2000". BBC Genome Project. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
  23. ^ "50/50 - BBC One London - 26 December 2001". BBC Genome Project. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
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