Give Us a Clue
| Give Us a Clue | |
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| Genre | Game show |
| Created by |
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| Presented by |
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| Starring |
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| Theme music composer |
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| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series |
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| Running time | 30 minutes |
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| Release | 2 January 1979 – 19 December 1997 |
Give Us a Clue is a British televised game show version of charades which was broadcast on ITV from 1979 to 1992. The original host was Michael Aspel from 1979 to 1984, followed by Michael Parkinson from 1984 to 1992. The show featured two teams, one captained by Lionel Blair and the other by Una Stubbs. Later versions of the programme had Liza Goddard as captain of the women's team. Norman Vaughan stood in for Blair for four episodes in the second series and Joyce Blair stood in for Stubbs for the 1981 Royal Wedding special. Originally, each team consisted of the captain, two celebrities and one non-celebrity. The non-celebrity participation was dropped and another celebrity was added in their place. On one infamous edition of the programme, the male non-celebrity was handed the title he had to mime on a card by host Michael Aspel, but, rather than read the title, he read the wrong side of the card, on which his name was printed. He thus mimed his name to his teammates. Lionel Blair later wrote this incident led to the dropping of non-celebrity participants.
A revived version was broadcast by BBC One in 1997 over 30 episodes, hosted by Tim Clark. Teams were captained by Christopher Blake and Julie Peasgood and the show introduced a lateral thinking puzzle (which the host could "give clues to"). Give Us a Clue returned for a special Comic Relief episode in March 2011 with Sara Cox, Christopher Biggins, Lionel Blair, Una Stubbs, Holly Walsh, Jenni Falconer and David Walliams.
Format
The game is based on charades, a party game where players used mime rather than speaking to demonstrate a name, phrase, book, play, film or TV programme. Each player was given roughly two minutes to act out their given subject in front of his/her team, and if the others were unsuccessful in guessing correctly, the opposing team would have a chance to answer for a bonus point.
Celebrity panelists
Series 1 (1979)
| Total no. |
Series no. |
Celebrity Guests | VTR | Air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Liz Fraser, Judy Geeson, Kenneth Williams, David Wilkie" | 19446 | 2 January 1979 |
| 2 | 2 | "Diana Dors, Liza Goddard, Ed Stewart, Colin Baker" | 19444 | 9 January 1979 |
| 3 | 3 | "Miriam Karlin, Wendy Richard, Norman Vaughan, Nicholas Parsons" | 19448 | 16 January 1979 |
| 4 | 4 | "Judy Carne, Tessa Wyatt, Richard O'Sullivan, Peter Jones" | 19449 | 23 January 1979 |
| 5 | 5 | "Joyce Blair, Karen Dotrice, Roy Dotrice, Norman Rossington" | 19453 | 30 January 1979 |
| 6 | 6 | "Libby Morris, Suzanne Danielle, Don Maclean, Tony Selby" | 19451 | 6 February 1979 |
| 7 | 7 | "Barbara Windsor, Jenny Hanley, Jimmy Young, George Layton" | 19445 | 13 February 1979 |
| 8 | 8 | "Gemma Craven, Linda Thorson, Max Wall, Brendan Price" | 19450 | 20 February 1979 |
| 9 | 9 | "Nina Baden-Semper, Françoise Pascal, Kenny Lynch, Bernie Winters" | 19454 | 27 February 1979 |
| 10 | 10 | "Janet Brown, Lynsey de Paul, Peter Butterworth, Derek Griffiths" | 19455 | 6 March 1979 |
| 11 | 11 | "Aimi Macdonald, Judith Chalmers, Alfie Bass, Robin Askwith" | 19452 | 13 March 1979 |
| 12 | 12 | "Julie Rogers, Cheryl Hall, Dickie Davies, Bill Oddie" | 19447 | 20 March 1979 |
| 13 | 13 | "Amanda Barrie, Maureen Lipman, Melvyn Hayes, David Nixon" | 19443 | 27 March 1979 |
Series 2 (1979-80)
| Total no. |
Series no. |
Celebrity Guests | VTR | Air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | 1 | "Julia McKenzie, Lorraine Chase, Roy Kinnear, George Layton" | 21880 | 29 October 1979 |
| 15 | 2 | "Liza Goddard, Jill Gascoine, Robin Nedwell, George Sewell" | 21882 | 5 November 1979 |
| 16 | 3 | "Lulu, Katie Boyle, Bernie Winters, Jim Davidson" | 21884 | 12 November 1979 |
| 17 | 4 | "Barbara Windsor, Anna Dawson, Alfred Marks, Gareth Hunt" | 21881 | 19 November 1979 |
| 18 | 5 | "Anthea Redfren, Patrica Brake, Graeme Garden, Barry Cryer" | 21883 | 26 November 1979 |
| 19 | 6 | "Shirley Anne Field, Prunella Gee, David Jason, Bob Todd" | 21885 | 3 December 1979 |
| 20 | 7 | "Yootha Joyce, Elizabeth Estensen, Dave Lee Travis, Richard O'Sullivan" | 21886 | 10 December 1979 |
| 21 | 8 | "Faith Brown, Suzanne Danielle, John Junkin, Norman Rossington" | 21890 | 17 December 1979 |
| 22 | 9 | "Paula Wilcox, Clodagh Rodgers, Kenneth Williams, Spike Milligan, Russ Abbot, Dickie Davies, Beryl Reid, Nyree Dawn Porter" | 21891 | 24 December 1979 |
| 23 | 10 | "Libby Morris, Fenella Fielding, Graham Dene, Roy Hudd" | 21889 | 31 December 1979 |
| 24 | 11 | "Liz Fraser, Juliet Hammond-Hill, Warren Mitchell, Kenny Everett" | 21887 | 7 January 1980 |
| 25 | 12 | "Angela Richards, Linda Bellingham, Nicky Henson, Derek Waring" | 21892 | 14 January 1980 |
| 26 | 13 | "Judy Geeson, Linda Haydn, Jimmy Jewel, Norman Eshley" | 21893 | 21 January 1980 |
| 27 | 14 | "June Whitfield, Georgina Hale, Daniel Abineri, Dick Emery" | 21894 | 28 January 1980 |
| 28 | 15 | "Dinah Sheridan, Stacy Dorning, Christopher Beeny, Patrick Cargill" | 21895 | 4 February 1980 |
| 29 | 16 | "Sheila Steafel, Barbara Murray, Lance Percival, Pete Murray" | 21888 | 11 February 1980 |
Series 3 (1980-81)
| Total no. |
Series no. |
Celebrity Guests | VTR | Air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 | 1 | "Nerys Hughes, Yootha Joyce, Moira Lister, John Conteh, Wayne Sleep, Bernie Winters" | 22639 | 25 August 1980 |
| 31 | 2 | "Windsor Davies, Melvyn Hayes, Maureen Lipman, Mick McManus, Susan Stranks, Barbara Windsor" | 22638 | 1 September 1980 |
| 32 | 3 | "Jan Hunt, Annie Ross, Josephine Tewson, Jimmy Logan, Kenny Lynch, Pete Murray" | 22648 | 8 September 1980 |
| 33 | 4 | "Bernard Braden, Barbara Kelly, Roy Kinnear, Beryl Reid, Andrew Sachs, Madeline Smith" | 22641 | 15 September 1980 |
| 34 | 5 | "Floella Benjamin, Peter Blake, Shirley Anne Field, Francis Matthews, Tony Selby, Dilys Watling" | 22642 | 22 September 1980 |
| 35 | 6 | "Christopher Biggins, Kenny Everett, Shaw Taylor, Maria Charles, Liz Fraser, Cyd Hayman" | 22643 | 29 September 1980 |
| 36 | 7 | "Dickie Davies, Alvin Stardust, Lynda Baron, Sally James, Jenny Lee-Wright, Jack Douglas" | 22644 | 6 October 1980 |
| 37 | 8 | "Barry Cryer, Gareth Hunt, Bernie Winters, Jenny Hanley, Nyree Dawn Porter, Janet Street-Porter" | 22645 | 13 October 1980 |
| 38 | 9 | "Arthur English, Don Maclean, Nicholas Parsons, Anita Harris, Libby Morris, Hilary Pritchard" | 22646 | 20 October 1980 |
| 39 | 10 | "Jimmy Jewel, Bobby Moore, Robin Nedwell, Joyce Blair, Irene Handl, Karen Kay" | 22647 | 27 October 1980 |
| 40 | 11 | "Rodney Bewes, Norman Rossington, Simon Williams, Diana Coupland, Cheryl Kennedy, Sheila Steafel" | 22650 | 3 November 1980 |
| 41 | 12 | "Paddie O'Neil, Roy Kinnear, Alfred Marks, Victor Spinetti, Liza Goddard, Ann Sidney" | 22649 | 10 November 1980 |
| 42 | 13 | "Ray Alan, Billy Dainty, David Hamilton, Rachael Heyhoe Flint, Julia McKenzie, Sheila White" | 22640 | 17 November 1980 |
| 43 | 14 | "Derek Fowlds, Harry Fowler, Bernie Winters, Gabrielle Drake, Jean Rook, Barbara Windsor" | 22653 | 24 November 1980 |
| 44 | 15 | "Yootha Joyce, Tim Barrett, Amanda Barrie, Robert Lindsay, Victor Spinetti, Muriel Odunton" | 22652 | 1 December 1980 |
| 45 | 16 | "Jim Davidson, Derek Griffiths, George Sewell, Sandra Dickinson, Jill Gascoine, June Whitfield" | 22651 | 8 December 1980 |
| 46 | 17 | "Ian Lavender, Patricia Brake, Geoff Love, Anna Dawson, Wayne Sleep, Miriam Karlin" | 22654 | 15 December 1980 |
| 47 | 18 | "Jim Davidson, Kenny Everett, Alfred Marks, Barbara Windsor, Mollie Sugden, Julia Mackenzie" | 23993 | 24 December 1980 |
| 48 | 19 | "Christopher Biggins, Bryan Marshall, Hugh Paddick, Janet Brown, Katie Boyle, Suzanne Danielle" | 22655 | 29 December 1980 |
Specials (1981)
| Total no. |
Series no. |
Celebrity Guests | VTR | Air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 49 | - | TBA | TBA | 14 May 1981 |
| 50 | - | "Brian Murphy, Anna Dawson, Derek Griffiths, Roy Kinnear, Ruth Madoc, Sandra Dickinson" | 25091 | 29 July 1981 |
Series 4 (1981-82)
| Total no. |
Series no. |
Celebrity Guests | VTR | Air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 51 | 1 | "Michele Dotrice, Rolf Harris, Glenn Hoddle, Edward Woodward, Lucinda Prior-Palmer, Jill Gascoine" | 24349 | 1 September 1981 |
| 52 | 2 | "Roy Kinnear, Robin Nedwell, Duncan Goodhew, Faith Brown, Rula Lenska, Claire Rayner" | 24345 | 8 September 1981 |
| 53 | 3 | "Geoff Capes, Pam Ayres, Gabrielle Drake, Paul Eddington, Kenny Everett, Donna Hartley" | 24348 | 15 September 1981 |
| 54 | 4 | "Peter Davison, Sandra Dickinson, Geoffrey Hayes, Lesley Judd, Jon Pertwee, Beryl Reid" | 24350 | 22 September 1981 |
| 55 | 5 | "Anna Quayle, Susan Penhaligon, Sharron Davies, John Inman, Alex Higgins, Victor Spinetti" | 24344 | 29 September 1981 |
| 56 | 6 | "Maureen Lipman, Maria Charles, Jenny Hanley, Kenneth Williams, Griff Rhys-Jones, Shaw Taylor" | 24347 | 6 October 1981 |
| 57 | 7 | "Lynsey de Paul, Molly Parkin, Andrews Sachs, Christopher Biggins, Anna Dawson, John L. Gardner" | 24346 | 13 October 1981 |
| 58 | 8 | "Jackie Collins, Angela Rippon, Jenny Lee-Wright, Henry Cooper, Windsor Davies, Bernie Winters" | 24351 | 3 November 1981 |
| 59 | 9 | "Sally James, Denis King, Ian Lavender, Henry McGee, Annie Ross, Madeleine Smith" | 24352 | 10 November 1981 |
| 60 | 10 | "Nigel Davenport, David Jacobs, Jenny Lee-Wright, Tom O'Connor, Suzi Quatro, June Whitfield" | 24353 | 17 November 1981 |
| 61 | 11 | "Cheryl Kennedy, Madge Hindle, Victoria Burgoyne, Rodney Bewes, Barry Mason, Brian Marshall" | 24358 | 24 November 1981 |
| 62 | 12 | "Susan Anton, Beryl Reid, Debbie Linden, Dudley Moore, Jimmy Jewel, Simon Williams" | 24355 | 1 December 1981 |
| 63 | 13 | "Pat Coombs, Stacy Dorning, Joanna Van Gyseghem, Terry Scott, Joe Brown, Nicholas Lyndhurst" | 24359 | 24 December 1981 |
| 64 | 14 | "Mollie Sugden, Patricia Brake, Nanette Newman, Kenneth Williams, Gareth Hunt, Lonnie Donegan" | 24357 | 31 December 1981 |
| 65 | 15 | "Katie Boyle, Angela Douglas, Lyn Paul, Dudley Moore, Harry H. Corbett, Brian Cant" | 24354 | 5 January 1982 |
| 66 | 16 | "Suzanne Danielle, Roy Kinnear, Bonnie Langford, Julia McKenzie, Pete Murray, Shaw Taylor" | 24360 | 6 April 1982 |
| 67 | 17 | "Liz Fraser, Victoria Wood, Denise Nolan, Richard O'Sullivan, Wayne Sleep, Lance Percival" | 24361 | 13 April 1982 |
| 68 | 18 | "Judith Chalmers, Leslie Ash, Nicky Henson, Kenny Ball, Justin Fashanu, Nerys Hughes" | 24356 | 20 April 1982 |
Series 5 (1982)
| Total no. |
Series no. |
Celebrity Guests | VTR | Air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 69 | 1 | "Honor Blackman, Lorraine Chase, Angela Douglas, Michael Barrymore, Danny la Rue, George Sewell" | 26459 | 4 May 1982 |
| 70 | 2 | "Maureen Lipman, Anna Dawson, Debbie Arnold, Kenneth Williams, Bernard Bresslaw, Mike Berry" | 26458 | 11 May 1982 |
| 71 | 3 | "Sylvia Syms, Joanne Whalley, Barbara Windsor, Christopher Biggins, Martin Jarvis, Spike Milligan" | 26460 | 18 May 1982 |
| 72 | 4 | "Julia McKenzie, Patricia Hayes, Suzanne Dando, Edward Woodward, Mike Reid, Robin Cousins" | 26462 | 7 September 1982 |
| 73 | 5 | "Sheila White, Jenny Linden, Su Pollard, Nigel Davenport, Lennie Bennett, Ray Alan" | 26461 | 14 September 1982 |
| 74 | 6 | "Ruth Madoc, Isla Blair, Avril Angers, Rolf Harris, Christopher Timothy, Vince Hill" | 26463 | 21 September 1982 |
| 75 | 7 | "Gemma Craven, Susan Hanson, Bonnie Langford, Kenneth Williams, Frazer Hines, Norman Collier" | 26464 | 28 September 1982 |
| 76 | 8 | "Lorraine Chase, Claire Rayner, Annie Ross, Marty Feldman, Martin Jarvis, Felix Bowness" | 26465 | 5 October 1982 |
| 77 | 9 | "Carol White, Dana, Joyce Blair, Geoffrey Bayldon, Roy Castle, Glyn Houston" | 26466 | 12 October 1982 |
| 78 | 10 | "Shirley Anne Field, Sue Lloyd, Libby Morris, Bernie Winters, Jeffrey Holland, Simon Cadell" | 26467 | 19 October 1982 |
| 79 | 11 | "Patricia Brake, Lorna Dallas, Anna Quayle, Jon Pertwee, Christopher Timothy, David Janson" | 26468 | 26 October 1982 |
| 80 | 12 | "The Bachelors, The Beverley Sisters" | 26469 | 2 November 1982 |
| 81 | 13 | "Anna Dawson, Suzanne Danielle, Derek Griffiths, Roy Kinnear, Jenny Lee-Wright, Freddie Starr" | 26471 | 9 November 1982 |
| 82 | 14 | "Angela Douglas, Barbara Murray, Tracey Ullman, David Jacobs, John Inman, Brian Jacks" | 26470 | 16 November 1982 |
| 83 | 15 | "Susan Penhaligon, Sabina Franklyn, Julia McKenzie, Barry Cryer, William Franklyn, Duggie Brown" | 26472 | 23 November 1982 |
| 84 | 16 | "Leslie Ash, Lucinda Green, Rolf Harris, Tom O'Connor, Shaw Taylor, Dilys Watling" | 26473 | 30 November 1982 |
| 85 | 17 | "Carol Drinkwater, Hazel O'Connor, Victoria Wood, Leslie Crowther, Michael Barrymore, The Great Soprendo" | 26474 | 21 December 1982 |
| 86 | 18 | "Susannah York, Elaine Paige, Suzanne Dando, Freddie Starr, Patrick Mower, Christopher Biggins" | 26475 | 26 December 1982 |
Series 6 (1983-84)
| Total no. |
Series no. |
Celebrity Guests | VTR | Air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 87 | 1 | "Cheryl Baker, Anna Quayle, Gillian Raine, Leonard Rossiter, Terry Scott, David Jensen" | 29114 | 6 September 1983 |
| 88 | 2 | "Dawn Addams, Anneka Rice, Paula Wilcox, Ian Ogilvy, Richard Murdoch, Roy Kinnear" | 29113 | 13 September 1983 |
| 89 | 3 | "Leslie Ash, Honor Blackman, Angela Rippon, Wayne Sleep, Hank Marvin, Jeffrey Holland" | 29110 | 20 September 1983 |
| 90 | 4 | "Joyce Blair, Madeline Smith, Anne Diamond, Graeme Garden, Jim Davidson, Bill Beaumont" | 29123 | 27 September 1983 |
| 91 | 5 | "Prunella Gee, Judy Geeson, Gloria Hunniford, Christopher Timothy, Don Maclean, Hubert Gregg" | 29108 | 4 October 1983 |
| 92 | 6 | "Lynda Barron, Ruth Madoc, Deborah Watling, Kenneth Williams, Mark Wynter, Derek Waring" | 29116 | 18 October 1983 |
| 93 | 7 | "Anna Dawson, Stephanie Lawrence, Gayle Hunnicutt, Bernie Winters, Freddie Trueman, Joe Brown" | 29115 | 25 October 1983 |
| 94 | 8 | "Julia McKenzie, Maureen Lipman, Stephanie Beacham, Michael Bentine, Barry Cryer, David Kernan" | 29119 | 1 November 1983 |
| 96 | 9 | "Rosalind Ayres, Isla St Clair, Paula Yates, Martin Jarvis, Billy Dainty, Tommy Boyd" | 29109 | 8 November 1983 |
| 96 | 10 | "Su Pollard, Julie Walters, Tessa Wyatt, Richard O'Sullivan, Alan Minter, Stubby Kaye" | 29118 | 15 November 1983 |
| 97 | 11 | "Pam Ayres, Jenny Lee-Wright, Carol Drinkwater, Lance Percival, Charlie Drake, William Frankyn" | 29112 | 29 November 1983 |
| 98 | 12 | "Bonnie Langford, Sonia Lannaman, June Whitfield, Mike Read, Brian Murphy, Malcolm Macdonald" | 29117 | 6 December 1983 |
| 99 | 13 | "Debbie Arnold, Suzi Quatro, Annie Ross, Derek Griffiths, Michael Craig, Jess Conrad" | 29120 | 13 December 1983 |
| 100 | 14 | "Angela Rippon, Victoria Wood, Sylvia Syms, Gerald Harper, Stu Francis, Leslie Crowther" | 29111 | 20 December 1983 |
| 101 | 15 | "Jane Asher, Tracey Ullman, Jilly Cooper, Bob Geldof, Russell Grant, Tim Brooke-Taylor" | 29124 | 26 December 1983 |
| 102 | 16 | "Elspet Gray, Karen Kay, Iris Williams, Brian Rix, John Junkin, Christopher Biggins" | 29125 | 2 January 1984 |
| 103 | 17 | "Joyce Blair, Frank Carson, Windsor Davies, Patricia Hayes, Judy Loe, Richard Stilgoe" | 29122 | 13 March 1984 |
| 104 | 18 | "Katie Boyle, Michele Dotrice, Diane Solomon, Vidal Sassoon, William Rushton, Aiden J. Harvey" | 29126 | 27 March 1984 |
| 105 | 19 | "Janet Brown, Sheila Ferguson, Fiona Fullerton, Peter Gordeno, Gareth Hunt, Freddie Starr" | 29127 | 10 April 1984 |
| 106 | 20 | "Faith Brown, Angela Douglas, Aimi Macdonald, Henry McGee, Acker Bilk, Lennie Bennett" | 29121 | 17 April 1984 |
Transmissions
| Series | Start date | End date | Episodes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 January 1979 | 27 March 1979 | 13 |
| 2 | 29 October 1979 | 11 February 1980 | 16 |
| 3 | 25 August 1980 | 29 December 1980 | 19 |
| Specials | 14 May 1981 | 29 July 1981 | 2 |
| 4 | 1 September 1981 | 20 April 1982 | 18 |
| 5 | 4 May 1982 | 26 December 1982 | 18 |
| 6 | 6 September 1983 | 17 April 1984 | 20 |
| 7 | 4 September 1984 | 1 January 1985 | 16 |
| 8 | 28 May 1985 | 2 July 1985 | 6 |
| 9 | 12 September 1985 | 26 December 1985 | 15 |
| 10 | 3 July 1986 | 21 August 1986 | 8 |
| 11 | 4 January 1988 | 18 March 1988 | 55 |
| 12 | 1 November 1988 | 2 December 1988 | 20 |
| 13 | 14 February 1989 | 10 March 1989 | 16 |
| 14 | 5 December 1989 | 19 January 1990 | 16 |
| 15 | 15 January 1991 | 8 March 1991 | 32 |
| 16 | 3 September 1991 | 4 May 1992 | 33 |
| 17 | 10 November 1997 | 19 December 1997 | 30 |
DVD release
The first six series of Give Us a Clue have been released on DVD by Network, but only 98 out of the first 106 episodes were included. The eight episodes that are not in the collection had appearances of three celebrities with sexual abuse offences that were investigated in Operation Yewtree.
| DVD Title | Discs | Year | Episodes | Release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Give Us a Clue | 13 | 1979-1984 | 98 | 28 November 2022 |
International versions
| Country | Local Name | Host | Team captains | Network | Year Aired |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Netherlands | Hints |
Frank Kramer (1983–97) Anita Witzier (1997–2003) Sofie van den Enk (2010–11) |
- | KRO | 1983–2003 2010–11 |
| New Zealand | Give Us a Clue | Les Thompson (1980s) Brian Edwards (1993) Marcus Lush (1999) Paula Bennett (2021–22) |
Peter Rowley, Jenny Maxwell (1980s) Gary McCormick, Belinda Todd (1993) Gary McCormick, Alison Wall (1999) Hilary Barry, Tom Sainsbury (2021–22) |
TVNZ (1980s) TV3 (1993) TVNZ (1999; 2021–22) |
1980s 1993 1999 August 11, 2021 – August 17, 2022 |
| Spain | Dame una pista | Luján Argüelles | - | Cuatro | July 13, 2010 – January 7, 2011 |
| Sweden | Gäster med gester |
Lennart Swahn (1982–99) Rickard Olsson (2011–12) |
- | SVT | September 8, 1982 – January 5, 1999 2011–12 |