After £40m in prizes and 3,000 shows, it’s no new deal for Deal or No Deal
C4 devastates telly fans everywhere by axing iconic show — but legend host Noel Edmonds insists 'Deal is not over'
TWENTY-TWO sealed red boxes, a fictional banker and Noel Edmonds standing by the telephone.
The format didn’t exactly sound like TV gold, but Deal Or No Deal became an instant hit.
And yesterday its fans were in mourning after Channel 4 axed it after 11 years.
My Blobby legend Noel, whose career was revitalised by the surprise game show hit, is the most disappointed.
He had always lobbied C4 bosses to keep faith with the show, which had slumped from its ratings peak but retained a diehard loyal fanbase.
But yesterday, take-no-prisoners C4 boss Jay Hunt shunted the show from the regular weekday line-up in a bid to save her channel’s dire ratings.
At its peak in 2006 Deal Or No Deal got an average of 3.3million viewers — unprecedented for a light entertainment programme in its then slot of 5pm.
But in recent years it was bumped down the schedule, first to 3pm and then 2pm, and audiences slumped to a little over 300,000.
Noel, who is notoriously outspoken, has been kept sweet by a promise of a series of on-the-road specials and two completely new game shows.
In an exclusive interview with The Sun barely minutes after the news broke, Noel, who is on holiday in France, said he wanted “other challenges” after filming 3,000 episodes in the so-called “Dream Factory” studio since 2005.
‘It’s one of the best formats ever because it’s 22 boxes, a telephone and me’
Despite Channel 4 attempting to move away from the show, he insisted: “Deal or No Deal is definitely not over.”
“And if you think about it, that actually makes it more accessible to our fans than people travelling all the way to Bristol from all over the UK.
“So I would ask the loyal fans of Deal, of which there are still millions, to see this as a new era and a very exciting opportunity.”
It was a marked turnaround from February this year when Noel criticised Jay Hunt on Twitter over her refusal to recommission the series.
He tweeted: “‘They’ is a lady called Jay Hunt, Head of 4. Ask her (because she refuses to meet me) Ask her — Dead Or Not Dead?”
He added: “Save your energy, the only decision she makes is what time is lunch at The Ivy! #mealornomeal?”
Later, he tweeted: “We’ve contestants & applicants left in limbo. It’s a shocking way to treat people. Maybe Sky or 5 will have the vision. Amazon?”
Since then, Jay has kept Noel happy with the offer of two new game shows, and a huge, studio-based programme.
The first is an hour-long show currently titled Cheap Cheap Cheap and the second is Sell Or Swap, where contestants bid live on items ranging from pricey antiques to secondhand boats
In our interview yesterday, Noel said: “I’m very excited because Channel 4 has offered me four new shows and it’s the biggest announcement of its kind that anyone I have spoken to can recall.
“I’m hugely grateful for their massive show of confidence and I’m grateful for the challenges and the opportunities. I believe it’s going to be a massive hit.”
Noel also said he pitched the idea of taking Deal Or No Deal on the road to Jay earlier this year.
He revealed: “I’ve always wanted to take Deal to the people. So it’s taken a bit of organising and Jay has been brilliant.
“We’re going to close the dream factory and take Deal on tour. And we are going to play the game in some extraordinary locations.
“It’s one of the best formats ever because it’s 22 boxes, a telephone and me. So you can do it anywhere, and that’s what I wanted to do and I pitched the idea to Jay, it must be six months ago, and that’s what we’re going to do.”
Despite the bad news, Noel has claimed his place in game show history ahead of Anne Robinson of The Weakest Link and Chris Tarrant of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?
He said: “To have done 3,000 Deals is pretty amazing.
“For half the year we recorded sometimes four shows a day. The last one was 300 shows, and I’ve been doing that for ten years. And that’s a huge output. I think it’s still an industry record.
“I don’t think Anne Robinson got there with The Weakest Link. I don’t think any other show has produced so much volume.
“So was it always going to go on doing that? Clearly not. I think I’ve actually recorded over 150 days of shows, which is quite a few.”
For a game show, Deal Or No Deal required zero skill.
A player would choose from 22 numbered red boxes each containing a mystery cash prize, ranging from 1p to £250,000. The boxes would be opened one by one, with the money disappearing from play each time.
The player would win either whatever was in the last box, or the fee offered by the mysterious banker on the other end of Noel’s phone.
The format sounded illogical but it made for perfect teatime viewing — that and Noel’s flamboyant shirts.
‘Deal or No Deal is definitely not over’
A total of £40million has been handed out in prize money by C4 and makers Endemol since Deal Or No Deal began in 2005 — more than any other British daytime show.
Eight contestants were lucky enough to walk away with the £250,000 jackpot, while 48 poor souls got to join the infamous 1p Club.
Olly Murs is the only contestant ever to make two appearances.
His first was as an unknown member of the public and then again on the celebrity version after he shot to fame on X Factor. He managed to leave with a total prize sum of £10.50 from both shows.
Dear Or No Deal also marked the revival of Noel’s TV career.
The star disappeared from our screens and into the showbiz wilderness for more than 15 years after the BBC scrapped his hit show Noel’s House Party.
He retired to his Devon mansion and focused on his business interests, including producing radio and TV programmes from behind the scenes.
But he was given a lifeline when Channel 4 got in touch offering him the gig hosting their new daily game show, which started in October 2005.
The regular studio version of Deal Or No Deal will air for the final time this autumn when the last remaining episodes — which were filmed in 2015 — are screened.
Noel might have sorted out his future, but if anyone needs a banker there is one going spare.
Additional reporting: Ally Farrell
Stars come out in full force
SINCE 2012 there have also been special celebrity editions of Deal Or No Deal, with stars taking on the banker for charity.
Comedian Jimmy Carr was the first to appear.
Olly Murs, who was a contestant on the show before finding fame on The X Factor, returned as a celebrity. But he still only managed a combined winnings total of £10.50.
X Factor judge Louis Walsh won the most out of all the stars scooping £70,000, while the worst scoring star was fashion guru Gok Wan with 10p.
Other big names who have appeared on the show include Katie Price, Peter Andre, Joan Collins, Jonathan Ross, Sarah Millican and Alan Carr.
Late Late Show host James Corden was the first to play with 23 boxes, and boybands McFly and JLS played as teams.
We all picked big box
LAURA Pearce was 24 when she became the show’s first ever jackpot winner in 2007.
She said: “I was in shock for days later. It was a great feeling.”
Laura, from Wales, used some of her £250,000 prize money to travel and visited South Africa, Vietnam, Thailand and Bali.
It was another two years before the jackpot was won again.
Student Alice Munday, 21, could have chosen the 1p box in the last round but got the top payout.
Last year retired dinner lady Ann Crawford from Manchester also “spanked the banker” when she became the eighth contestant to win the jackpot.
The pensioner whose hobby was bell-ringing – and who was nicknamed Queen Ann on the show – refused a final offer from the banker of £64,000 with only the 50p and £250,000 boxes left in play.
Her gamble paid off.