Channel 5 quiz show admits using fake winners as TV row intensifies

PoloMint

CHANNEL Five has been dragged into the row over premium phone quizzes on television after the broadcaster admitted some competition winners on its show Brainteaser were faked.

Producers of the popular lunchtime programme, which asks viewers to solve a word puzzle within five minutes, made up names of on-screen winners if the audience failed to get the answer. In one case, a production crew member went on air posing as a "winning contestant".

Five's chief executive, Jane Lighting, said: "We are shocked and disappointed and wish to apologise unreservedly to our viewers."

Blaming the show's production company, Cheetah, for failing to meet the network's "high standards", Ms Lighting added: "We have decided to suspend any output which involves any premium-rate services and to appoint an external auditor, though we have found no evidence involving any programmes other than Brainteaser."

Five, which was unaware of the cheating, is the latest TV network to become embroiled in a deepening controversy that threatens to shatter public confidence in how television quiz games are run.

Icstis, the premium-rate phone regulator, is investigating six shows: Channel 4's Richard and Judy; the BBC's Saturday Kitchen; ITV's entertainment series X Factor, Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway, Soapstar Superstar and I'm A Celebrity.

Five's Brainteaser show is being investigated by Ofcom as the problems concerned editorial content rather than phone-line irregularities.

The watchdog yesterday held a crisis meeting with UK broadcasters and said the TV industry had got itself into a "pretty grim mess" over the running of phone quizzes. Those attending the meeting included the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Five and Sky, together with programme makers Endemol and Eckoh, the company which runs the phone lines for the Richard and Judy programme and Saturday Kitchen.

Sir Alistair Graham, the chairman of Icstis, warned that the police would be called in if evidence of criminal activity was found.

The watchdog announced the creation of a licensing regime for all premium-rate service providers and said it was considering the introduction of a kite-mark to restore confidence.

"It is in everyone's interests to ensure that services are reliable and trustworthy as well as entertaining and fun," he said.

ITV announced this week that it was suspending all of the premium-rate parts of its output while an independent auditor investigated their running.

Scotsman

'All you need is duck tape and WD40; if it moves and it shouldn't, use duck tape - if it should move and it doesn't, use WD40'

Analoguesat

Well this has to be deception if nothing else:

Analoguesat's message to the world Analogue forever!

rolfw

This is just the thin end of the wedge, a lot of skeletons to emerge from some pretty deep closets yet.

Rolf If you enjoy our site, you can help support it by wearing our unique branded merchandise, you can do this by clicking on my baseball cap, making a direct donation with Paypal by clicking on the Donation button below, or using our site supporting advertisers, to do this, click on the central image below. Follow us on Twitter, click on the twitter image.

jimbo

I'm surprised that anyone ever phones these 0900 numbers and expects to win anything. I've always thought they were a scam.

Jimbo

Topper

Yes they are a scam but somebody always wins and as a result the next batch think they stand a chance of winning which is how it is supposed to work but the reality is that they kept on claiming it was not a done deal and it already was, hence the Hoo Haa and the compensation which they will have to pay.

War does not determine who is right, it determines who is left!

Formerly toppervte33h
whose six pack has turned into a keg

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Freddie Flintoff is back

w hole

Hello All

I know this doesn't [or at least I very much hope it doesn't] relate directly to the topic, but......

SWMBO and I still can't work out what happened with the voting towards the end 0f the last series of Strictly Come Dancing.

Its difficult to put your finger on it, but.....

Anyway best to all and even more OT anyone know what to do with a Humax F1-CI which displays 'rA' and not a lot else?

Mush rush back to Dancing on Ice before that is 'switched off'.

Best

W. H.