You Bet!

This article is about the British game show. For the American mining town, see You Bet, California.

You Bet!
Genre	Game Show
Created by	Frank Elstner
Presented by	Bruce Forsyth (1988–1990) Matthew Kelly (1991–1995) Darren Day (1996–1997) Holly Willoughby (2024–) Stephen Mulhern (2024–)
Starring	Ellis Ward (1988–1991) Diane Youdale (1996) Sarah Matravers (1997)
Voices of	Bobby Bragg (1996–1997)
Composers	Alan Lisk (1988) Jonathan Sorrell (1989–1996) Simon Webb (1997)
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of series	10
No. of episodes	101 (inc. 4 specials) (list of episodes)
Production
Production locations	Shepperton Studios (1988, 1990–1995) Limehouse Studios (1989) Pinewood Studios (1996) London Arena (1997)
Running time	60 minutes (inc. adverts)
Production companies	LWT (1988-1997) Rollercoaster Television (2024-)
Original release
Network	ITV
Release	20 February 1988 (1988-02-20) – present
Related
Wetten, dass..? Wanna Bet?

You Bet! is a British game show, based on the German series Wetten, dass..?, that aired on ITV between 20 February 1988 and 12 April 1997, initially hosted by Bruce Forsyth from 1988 to 1990, then by Matthew Kelly from 1991 to 1995 and finally by Darren Day from 1996 to 1997.

In August 2024, ITV announced that the show would be returning for two special episodes later that year with Stephen Mulhern and Holly Willoughby as hosts.

Format

A panel of celebrities would bet on the ability of members of the public to achieve unlikely challenges and stunts, which they had usually planned and rehearsed many times, within a limited amount of time. The studio audience would also place a bet on the outcomes. The panellists would receive points for each outcome they predicted correctly, based on the percentage of the studio audience that also placed a correct bet. The celebrity sponsoring the challenge always had to bet that their challenger would be successful. The accumulated total of points achieved by the celebrities would be added to the points totalled by the studio audience, increased several times over, converted into pounds and donated to a charity chosen by the celebrity panellist who had achieved the highest score.

Timeline

1988

Each week there would be four challenges, some in the studio and some on location presented by Ellis Ward. The panellists would each "sponsor" a challenge, and Bruce Forsyth would also sponsor one. If the challenge sponsored by the panellist or Bruce Forsyth was not achieved, that sponsor would have to do a forfeit. (e.g., being a golf caddie or air steward for the day). (In the case of Forsyth's challenge, the majority vote determined Forsyth's prediction; an incorrect prediction forced Forsyth to do his forfeit. His explanation for this part was usually, "You're now betting for the fate of Forsyth in the form of a forfeit. If you're right, I'm alright; but if you're wrong, I'm right in it!") It was either broadcast in the studio on the same show or broadcast on location on the following week's show. The show dropped the talk show aspects of Wetten, dass...? and concentrated on the challenges, thus reducing the running time from 2 to 3 hours to 1 hour. The original theme tune was composed by Alan Lisk, better known for penning the theme tune to Men Behaving Badly. The show's airing slot was originally on Saturday nights.

The show closed with Forsyth doing a rap, along with the audience shouting back every "You Bet!" line: "Do you wanna bet on it? You bet! Well you'd betta get on it? You bet! So don't fret, get set are you ready? You Bet! Goodnight, God bless, I'll see you next week, bye!"

1989–1990

A new theme tune composed by Jonathan Sorrell was introduced in the show's second series.

Spring 1991

Series 4 saw some massive changes following the departure of Forsyth at the end of series 3. A new logo was introduced and Matthew Kelly took over as host. Also, the challenges increased from four to five, which meant that Ward got involved, with her sponsoring challenges as well. Another change from the Forsyth era was that the celebrity guests could no longer specify the nature of their forfeit should their challenge fail – instead, they had to choose from a list of pre-defined forfeits hidden under cryptic statements – for instance "Dinner Coming Up" meant that the forfeit was to try and eat whilst riding a roller-coaster. Kelly also got involved in doing the work on location challenges, as well as Ward. Finally, if Kelly's challenge ended in failure, he had to do his forfeit, regardless of the audience's prediction.

Autumn 1991

Series 5's airing slot was moved from Saturday nights to Friday nights and a reworked version of the theme tune was introduced.

1992–1993

The departure of Ward as co-host led to the number of celebrity guests being increased from three to four per show and Kelly doing all the work on location challenges.

1994

The show's airing slot was moved back to Saturday nights and the remaining episodes of the seventh series were sponsored by Daily Mirror.

1995

For You Bet's eighth series, it was decided there would be no more forfeits for both the celebrities and host Matthew Kelly when sponsoring their challenges until the forfeits were reinstated in for series 9 in 1996 after Darren Day had taken over from Matthew Kelly as host. Instead, they introduced the celebrity challenge, where the lowest celebrity scorer would do only one forfeit challenge, which would be broadcast in the following week's show. The public then got to vote in at home to donate £1,000 to a charity of their choice if the celebrity succeeded or failed the challenge. The set was replaced by a new "arena" that allowed much more floor space for the challenges. It was during series 8 when Matthew Kelly had announced his intention to leave the show after 4 years to concentrate on hosting Stars in Their Eyes. The viewers' phone vote for the Celebrity Challenge was dropped after Series 8 was shown.

1996

For series 9, actor Darren Day took over as host from Kelly who had left the show to concentrate hosting Stars in Their Eyes. The role of co-host that had been absent during series 6–8 following the departure of Ward at the end of series 5 was reinstated for all the work in the location challenges. For this penultimate series, Diane Youdale, who was better known as Jet from the UK series of Gladiators, would take over as the new co-host. The forfeits, having been absent from the earlier series also returned to the show, but they were not chosen by the celebrity guests. They were automatically chosen by the crew at the end of each show for the celebrity who had lowest score in the show.

1997

The show introduced a new item for the celebrities, they could play their YOU BET! BONUS CARD, which meant their points would be doubled if they successfully guessed the outcome of a challenge (which can only be played once in the entire show). The celebrity challenge returned to the show, and the audience got to choose which challenge they would choose for the lowest scoring celebrity at the end of the show from two choices with cryptic clue titles (e.g., "Ooh! That's better!" or "Dangling Down"). Sarah Matravers, well known as a gong girl from Take Your Pick, replaced Youdale as co-host for this final series. A new theme tune was introduced, composed by Simon Webb.

Episodes

The coloured backgrounds denote the result of each of the shows:

  – indicates the celebrity successfully backed their challenge and avoided their forfeit (Series 1–7).

  – indicates the celebrity failed to back their challenge and received their forfeit (Series 1–7).

BOLD - indicates the celebrity scored the most points and received money for their chosen charity.

ITALIC - indicates the celebrity scored the fewest points and received a celebrity challenge/forfeit (Series 8–10).

Series 1 (1988)

Episode	First broadcast	Celebrities
1x01	20 February 1988	Richard Digance	Kate Robbins	Dickie Davies
		?	?	?
1x02	27 February 1988	Kenny Sansom	Cheryl Baker	Spike Milligan
		?	?	?
1x03	5 March 1988	Derek Griffiths	Nerys Hughes	Kenny Lynch
		?	?	?
1x04	12 March 1988	Linford Christie	Anneka Rice	Windsor Davies
		?	?	?
1x05	19 March 1988	Ross Davidson	Lynsey De Paul	Jimmy Hill
		203	143	143
1x06	26 March 1988	Sandra Dickinson	John Fashanu	Gloria Hunniford
		?	?	?

Series 2 (1989)

Episode	First broadcast	Celebrities
2x01	28 January 1989	Adrian Moorhouse	Debbie Greenwood	Harvey Smith
		?	?	?
2x02	4 February 1989	Suzanne Dando	Brian Johnston	Eddie Kidd
		?	?	?
2x03	11 February 1989	Wendy Richard	Roy Castle	David Wilkie
		?	?	?
2x04	18 February 1989	Henry Cooper	Nino Firetto	Thora Hird
		149	122	71
2x05	25 February 1989	David Steel	Janice Long	Dave Beasant
		?	?	?
2x06	4 March 1989	Nicky Campbell	Jill Gascoine	Simon Williams
		?	?	?
2x07	11 March 1989	Claire Rayner	Melvyn Hayes	Paul Gascoigne
		96	110	154
2x08	18 March 1989	Bob Holness	Suzi Quatro	John McCririck
		158	266	63
2x09	25 March 1989	Mark Walker	Jayne Irving	Nicholas Parsons
		?	?	?
2x10	1 April 1989	Bruno Brookes	Helen Shapiro	Geoff Capes
		?	?	?

Series 3 (1990)

Episode	First broadcast	Celebrities
3x01	17 February 1990	Duncan Goodhew	Sally James	Kriss Akabusi
		?	?	?
3x02	24 February 1990	Keith Chegwin	Lawrie McMenemy	Annabel Croft
		?	?	?
3x03	3 March 1990	Gary Stretch	Fern Britton	Sylvester McCoy
		?	?	?
3x04	10 March 1990	Sharron Davies	Jon Iles	Bob Carolgees
		?	?	?
3x05	17 March 1990	Bill Tidy	Graeme Garden	Floella Benjamin
		?	?	?
3x06	24 March 1990	Letitia Dean	Barry McGuigan	Bobby Davro
		?	?	?
3x07	31 March 1990	Alan Freeman	Jan Leeming	Bob Champion
		165	200	146
3x08	7 April 1990	Leslie Crowther	Tessa Sanderson	Chris Serle
		?	?	?
3x09	14 April 1990	Peter Alliss	Linda Lusardi	James Marcus
		?	?	?
3x10	21 April 1990	Carmen Silvera	Sean Kerly	Trevor Brooking
		?	?	?

Series 4 (Spring 1991)

Episode	First broadcast	Celebrities
4x01	16 February 1991	Nick Skelton	Vicki Michelle	Brian Glover
		224	191	224
4x02	23 February 1991	Eric Bristow	Gemma Craven	David Jensen
		166	163	235
4x03	2 March 1991	Annabel Giles	Andrew O'Connor	Johnny Briggs
		176	136	136
4x04	9 March 1991	Dame Hilda Bracket	Cliff Thorburn	Michaela Strachan
		210	159	168
4x05	16 March 1991	Virginia Leng	Roy Walker	Frank Bruno
		125	149	81
4x06	23 March 1991	Liz Hobbs	Roger Black	Paul Shane
		102	203	122
4x07	30 March 1991	Brian Conley	Kim Goody	Graham Cole
		161	177	183
4x08	6 April 1991	Lynda Baron	Tracy Edwards	Gareth Jones
		144	140	145
4x09	13 April 1991	Geoffrey Durham	Trudie Goodwin	Ian McCaskill
		219	270	290
4x10	20 April 1991	John Blashford-Snell	Spike Milligan	Sheila Ferguson
		226	45	153

Series 5 (Autumn 1991)

Episode	First broadcast	Celebrities
5x01	6 September 1991	Keith Chegwin	Judi Spiers	Barry McGuigan
		109	219	263
5x02	13 September 1991	Tessa Sanderson	John Virgo	Bob Carolgees
		208	150	190
5x03	20 September 1991	Ruth Madoc	Bruno Brookes	Evadne Hinge
		220	225	97
5x04	27 September 1991	Willie Thorne	Diane Keen	Timmy Mallett
		244	132	159
5x05	11 October 1991	Fred Trueman	Bobby Davro	Geoff Capes
		241	44	197
5x06	18 October 1991	Bella Emberg	Trevor Brooking	Lesley Joseph
		242	355	169
5x07	25 October 1991	Richard Noble	Anne Charleston	Pat Sharp
		62	148	159
5x08	1 November 1991	Roy Hudd	Michael Melia	Nerys Hughes
		164	167	204
5x09	8 November 1991	Rosie Barnes	Dora Bryan	John Sachs
		109	179	182
5x10	15 November 1991	Craig Charles	Mark Wingett	Kriss Akabusi
		193	225	0

Series 6 (1992)

Episode	First broadcast	Celebrities
6x01	4 September 1992	Henry Cooper	Kim Hartman	David Lawrence	Geoffrey Durham
		139	206	120	249
6x02	11 September 1992	Derek Redmond	Sarah Kennedy	Brian Johnston	Sharron Davies
		102	104	188	182
6x03	18 September 1992	Jessica Martin	Steve Ovett	Jack Tinker	Annabel Giles
		77	250	69	179
6x04	25 September 1992	Jilly Curry	Melvyn Hayes	Garry Herbert	Sally James
		60	91	172	140
6x05	2 October 1992	John Regis	John Inman	Linda Lusardi	Gary Mason
		197	120	180	149
6x06	10 October 1992	John Conteh	Lizzie Webb	Kevin Lloyd	Floella Benjamin
		311	200	227	241
6x07	16 October 1992	Dame Hilda Bracket	Ulrika Jonsson	Peter Scudamore	Ken Morley
		263	169	153	233
6x08	23 October 1992	Sandi Toksvig	Andrew O'Connor	"Meryl Streep"*	Gareth Marriott
		240	141	209	233
6x09	30 October 1992	Brian Moore	Cheryl Baker	Tom O'Connor	Liz Kershaw
		237	291	174	150
6x10	6 November 1992	Andi Peters	Graham Cole	Sheila Ferguson	Dennis Taylor
		231	272	252	272

• Audience member Susan Elvy was asked to play the part of Meryl Streep throughout the show

Christmas Special (1992)

First broadcast	Celebrities
26 December 1992	Kriss Akabusi	Judi Spiers	Annabel Giles	Andrew O'Connor
	226	304	332	78

Series 7 (1993–1994)

Episode	First broadcast	Celebrities
7x01	10 September 1993	Keith Barron	Michael Carruth	Ross King	Les Hill
		154	205	192	258
7x02	17 September 1993	Wendy Richard	Ben Clarke	Vinnie Jones	DJ Normski
		150	150	273	190
7x03	24 September 1993	Suzanne Dando	Eamonn Holmes	Geoff Capes	Nicola Stapleton
		269	135	179	212
7x04	1 October 1993	Paul Ross	Bryan Murray	Andrew Sachs	Ted Robbins
		254	180	255	322
7x05	8 October 1993	Anne Charleston	Annabel Croft	Barry McGuigan	Sharon Duce
		148	235	290	203
7x06	15 October 1993	Gareth Hunt	Ruth Madoc	David Jensen	Fern Britton
		283	294	236	203
7x07	22 October 1993	Paula Hamilton	Alan Titchmarsh	Bobby Davro	James Whale
		246	289	279	112
7x08	12 March 1994	Adam Woodyatt	Michaela Strachan	David Yip	Sally Gunnell
		61	232	142	232
7x09	19 March 1994	Gary Mason	Carol Thatcher	Jayne Irving	David Hamilton
		220	180	232	164
7x10	26 March 1994	Lucinda Green	Jeremy Guscott	Danniella Westbrook	John Inman
		222	309	309	146
7x11	2 April 1994	Andrew Mackintosh	Gareth Chilcott	Liz McColgan	Gloria Hunniford
		171	179	324	153
7x12	9 April 1994	Victoria Wicks	Mark Blundell	Valerie Singleton	Pat Sharp
		268	214	282	282
7x13	16 April 1994	Bob Carolgees	Anna Walker	Melvyn Hayes	Louise Jameson
		181	274	220	173
7x14	23 April 1994	Tony Jarrett	Mike Gatting	Mo Moreland	Michael Fish
		174	240	195	230
7x15	30 April 1994	Annabel Giles	Chris Boardman	Nanette Newman	Gareth Hunt
		126	204	217	164

Celebrity Special (1994)

First broadcast	Celebrities
5 March 1994	John Regis	Bruno Brookes	Emma Forbes	Linda Lusardi
	198	294	289	150

Series 8 (1995)

Episode	First broadcast	Celebrities
8x01	25 February 1995	Pat Sharp	Jean Boht	Allan Lamb	Sharon Duce
		303	148	81	222
8x02	4 March 1995	Bob Carolgees	Carol Smillie	Mark Blundell	Sarah Greene
		162	284	271	191
8x03	11 March 1995	Geoff Capes	Alan Titchmarsh	Willie Thorne	Bobby Davro
		191	84	84	8
8x04	18 March 1995	Jim Bowen	Gemma Craven	Gordon Burns	John Altman
		0	316	291	316
8x05	25 March 1995	James Whale	Michaela Strachan	Tony Jarrett	David Yip
		147	351	351	170
8x06	1 April 1995	Bernard Cribbins	Mr Motivator	Nick Gillingham	Ross King
		293	159	302	143
8x07	8 April 1995	Jilly Goolden	Gareth Chilcott	Dale Winton	Elizabeth Dawn
		303	357	269	129
8x08	15 April 1995	Bruno Brookes	Kate Copstick	Oliver Skeete	Robert Llewellyn
		199	114	54	69
8x09	22 April 1995	John Regis	Jessica Martin	Bobby George	Billy Pearce
		154	273	216	168
8x10	29 April 1995	Richard Vranch	Judi Spiers	Tony Hawks	Annabel Giles
		201	323	241	204

Series 9 (1996)

Episode	First broadcast	Celebrities
9x01	1 June 1996	Joe Pasquale	Sonia Evans	Sally Meen
		73	206	113
9x02	8 June 1996	Anthea Turner	Vinnie Jones	Caron Keating
		204	280	192
9x03	29 June 1996	Anthony McPartlin	Declan Donnelly	Michelle Collins
		168	169	289
9x04	6 July 1996	Ian St John	Carol Smillie	Kriss Akabusi
		135	189	79
9x05	13 July 1996	Terry Christian	Samantha Fox	Tim Vincent
		204	186	264
9x06	20 July 1996	Garry Bushell	Dale Winton	Wendy Richard
		338	96	305
9x07	27 July 1996	Lee Hurst	Louise Nurding	Paul Ross
		187	240	69
9x08	3 August 1996	Billy Pearce	Jenny Powell	Toby Anstis
		214	27	90
9x09	10 August 1996	Johnny Herbert	Vanessa Feltz	Pat Sharp
		290	34	284
9x10	17 August 1996	Carol Vorderman	Andrew O'Connor	Carolyn Marshall
		268	76	118

Series 10 (1997)

Episode	First broadcast	Celebrities
10x01	8 February 1997	Jonathan Coleman	Jenny Powell	Ian Wright
		186	347	348
10x02	15 February 1997	Teddy Sheringham	Wendy Richard	Paul Zerdin
		135	310	85
10x03	22 February 1997	Kevin Day	Gaynor Faye	Tim Vincent
		349	168	166
10x04	1 March 1997	Garry Bushell	Malandra Burrows	Paul Ross
		292	401	295
10x05	8 March 1997	Sonia Evans	John Regis	Michelle Collins
		318	314	163
10x06	15 March 1997	John Parrott	Carol Smillie	Duncan Norvelle
		133	157	0
10x07	22 March 1997	Anthony McPartlin	Declan Donnelly	Davina McCall
		288	227	207
10x08	29 March 1997	Ainsley Harriott	Kim Williams	Trevor Brooking
		256	380	266
10x09	5 April 1997	Rowland Rivron	Dale Winton	Clare Buckfield
		119	188	326
10x10	12 April 1997	James Crossley	Andrea Boardman	Ian Walker
		279	354	352

Transmissions

Series

Series	Start date	End date	Episodes
1	20 February 1988	26 March 1988	6
2	28 January 1989	1 April 1989	10
3	17 February 1990	21 April 1990	10
4	16 February 1991	20 April 1991	10
5	6 September 1991	15 November 1991	10
6	4 September 1992	6 November 1992	10
7	10 September 1993	22 October 1993	15
	12 March 1994	30 April 1994
8	25 February 1995	29 April 1995	10
9	1 June 1996	17 August 1996	10
10	8 February 1997	12 April 1997	10
11	7 December 2024	2024	2

Specials

Date	Entitle
30 August 1991	Series 4 Compilation
18 July 1992	ITV Telethon Special
26 December 1992	Christmas Special
5 March 1994	Celebrity Special
6 May 1995	5 Minute Recap

External links

• You Bet! at IMDb
• You Bet! at BFI
• You Bet! at UKGameshows.com