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Bullseye (British game show)

British darts-themed game show


British darts-themed game show

FieldValue
imageBullseye (British game show) title card.jpg
genreGame show
creatorAndrew Wood
presenterJim Bowen
Dave Spikey
Freddie Flintoff
starringTony Green
Richard Ashdown
countryUnited Kingdom
languageEnglish
num_series16
num_episodes354 (inc. 11 Christmas specials)
locationATV Centre (1981–90)
Television House (1990–1995)
The Leeds Studios (2006)
Versa Manchester Studios (2024–)
runtime30/60 minutes (inc. adverts)
companyATV (1981)
Central (1982–95)
Granada Yorkshire (2006)
12 Yard (2024)
Potato (2025–)
networkITV
first_aired
last_aired
network2Challenge
first_aired2
last_aired2
network3ITV
first_aired3
last_aired3present
relatedOne Hundred and Eighty

Dave Spikey Freddie Flintoff Richard Ashdown Television House (1990–1995) The Leeds Studios (2006) Versa Manchester Studios (2024–) Central (1982–95) Granada Yorkshire (2006) 12 Yard (2024) Potato (2025–)

Bullseye is a British darts-themed television game show created by Andrew Wood. The show is currently presented by Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff and scorer/referee Richard Ashdown.

The original series aired on the ITV network and was produced by ATV in 1981, then by Central from 1982 until 1995. Jim Bowen presented the show during its initial 14-year run. A revival produced by Granada Yorkshire for the Challenge TV network, hosted by Dave Spikey, aired in 2006. A Christmas special, hosted by Freddie Flintoff, aired on ITV1 on 22 December 2024, with a full series following in 2025.

The show sports an animated mascot named Bully, an anthropomorphic large brown bull who wears a red and white striped shirt and blue trousers. Bullseye attracted audiences of up to 20 million viewers at its peak.

History

Bullseye was created and owned by Andrew Wood, who came up with the idea after research into aspects of game shows with mass appeal. Programme associates on the show were Mickey Brennan and Roger Edwards.

The series was centred on darts. Three teams of contestants, each consisting of one amateur darts player and one trivia/quizzing expert, competed against one another to win cash and prizes. Available items ranged from major prizes such as new cars, caravans and luxury holidays to consolation prizes that included sets of darts, tankards/goblets (for male and female contestants respectively) and "Bendy Bully" rubber dolls of the show's mascot.

The show originally aired on Monday nights in September 1981 and was produced by ATV. In 1982, Bullseye was moved to Sunday afternoons under the production of Central Television, and a new co-host, Tony Green, a professional darts referee and commentator, was brought in to keep track of the scores, at first out of vision, but in later years Green was promoted to an on-screen presence and from 1989 announced the subject scores. Nick Owen announced the contestants for the first two series of the show. During its run, viewing figures swelled to around 17 million viewers.

Bullseye was moved from Sunday afternoons to Saturday afternoons from 1993 to 1995. A 15th series was planned in 1996, however this was cancelled after Andrew Wood deemed that various changes and additions that Carlton and the ITV network centre were pressing for to update and 'modernise' the show to be unsuitable for the series and he believed it would lose its appeal as a result. After an eleven-year hiatus, Bullseye was revived for a new series, which was recorded for the digital channel Challenge. It was produced by Granada at Yorkshire Television in the Leeds Studios, and was hosted by Dave Spikey. Tony Green also returned to the show as co-host, reprising his role from the original series.

On screen, the show evolved as follows:

The first three series had the players throwing (from the point of view of the viewers and the audience) towards the right for the first round and to the left for all subsequent rounds. From the fourth series, all three boards in use rotated on a single pillar, and all throws were to the audience's right. The first four series featured opening titles of Bully jumping out of a sign and walking into a pub to play darts; this was shortened from series 2 onwards, with new theme music and musical beds from series 4. The opening credits of series 1, much longer than the version used from series 2 onwards, although containing numerous elements of what would become the show's familiar theme, feature a noticeably different arrangement of the theme tune.

From series 5, the entire set was essentially inverted. The studio audience would now be seen in shot throughout the show, and the viewers would see all darts being thrown to the left. From the studio audience's point of view, everybody continued to throw to the right. Series 5 also saw Bully driving the team bus in the opening titles and ejecting himself from the driver's seat to ride a flying dart. These titles also featured cartoon depictions of Bowen at the front of the coach, and Eric Bristow, John Lowe, Dave Whitcombe, Keith Deller, Cliff Lazarenko, Bob Anderson, Jocky Wilson and Mike Gregory at the back. This same title sequence was used for the revived series, but featuring depictions of presenter Dave Spikey at the front of the coach and professional darts players of the 2000s at the back.

A new set was introduced in the 11th series, with Bowen – who since the second series had opened the show by coming through the audience – now making his entrance through the opening that would then drop a panel behind which the star prize would be hidden. Once the show moved to Saturday afternoons, the opening titles consisted of Bully jumping out of the logo at the back of the studio and charging about to cause chaos on the set, introduced in the 13th series.

For Comic Relief in March 1993, a special crossover between Bullseye and the BBC's snooker-based game show Big Break (the creation of which had been partly influenced by Bullseye) was planned, with guest comedians as contestants, and with Bowen and Big Break host Jim Davidson, along with scorers Tony Green and ''Big Break'''s John Virgo, effectively taking their counterpart's role within the game for humorous effect. Bowen and Davidson were both very enthusiastic about the idea; however the proposal never came to fruition, reportedly after ITV wanted the rights to repeat broadcasts as a self-contained programme, to which the BBC declined.

Bowen once described Bullseye as "the second-best darts-based game-show on television". There were no others at the time.

John Cooper appearance

In 1989, John Cooper appeared on the show. He was later convicted of multiple burglaries, armed robberies, and, in 2011, following advances in forensic science, two double murders, one rape, and another sexual assault. Footage of his appearance on the show was later used by the prosecution to match him to witness reports at the time.

Rounds

Bully's Category Board

A dartboard divided into 10 sectors was used, each representing a different category and further subdivided into outer, middle and inner areas. Three rounds were played, with every team receiving one turn in each and playing in the same order. On a team's turn, the darts player threw one dart and attempted to hit either the bullseye or a category chosen by their partner. Doing so awarded a cash bonus to the team and allowed the partner to answer a question in the chosen category. However, if the dart hit a different category that was still in play, no bonus was awarded and the partner had to answer a question in that category instead. Hitting a category that was out of play or failing to hit the board at all forfeited the team's turn. Questions were worth £30 each in Round 1, £50 in Round 2, and £100 in Round 3. The values on the board (working inward from the edge) were £30, £50, and £100; the bullseye awarded £200 and was always in play. Categories were removed from play after one question had been asked.

In the first series, the board values were £20, £10, and £30, working inward from the edge. The result of each throw determined the category and value of the question to be asked; no bonus was awarded for hitting the bullseye or the category chosen by the non-darts player. A bullseye allowed that contestant to select any question value and awarded £50 for a correct answer.

Starting in series 3, if the contestant in control missed the question, the first opponent to buzz-in could answer and attempt to steal the money. In early series, the opponents could silently buzz-in during the question and/or while the contestant was thinking, but were only asked for a response if the contestant missed. Later, they could only buzz-in after a miss, triggering an audible signal. If neither opponent buzzed-in, or if the first to do so also missed, the host gave the correct answer and the game continued.

For the first seven series, the lowest-scoring team was eliminated from the game after the first round. In the event of a tie for low score, the darts players for the tied teams each threw three darts at a standard matchplay board and the high scorer's team advanced. From series 8 on, all three teams continued to the next portion of the game.

Categories used during this round, in alphabetical order:

  • Affairs (Series 2–14)
  • Art (Series 1)
  • Bible (Series 1)
  • Books
  • Britain (Series 2–15)
  • Faces (Series 5–15)
  • Food (Series 1–3)
  • History
  • Myths (Series 1)
  • Places (Series 1–14)
  • Pot Luck (Series 4)
  • Science (Series 15)
  • Showbiz
  • Spelling
  • Sport
  • Words (Series 2–15)
  • World (Series 15)

Pounds for Points

Each darts player threw three darts at a standard matchplay board, and the one who achieved the highest score won control of a question for their partner. Starting in series 2, an incorrect response passed the question to the team with the second-highest score, then the third if necessary; the first team to respond correctly won £1 per point scored by their darts player.

Initially, if two or more darts players achieved the same total, a re-throw was held and the high scorer won control of the question, for the value of the original throw. Later, the re-throw was eliminated and the question was played on the buzzer by the tied partners.

During the first series, the partner of the highest-scoring darts player in each round could choose to answer a question worth £25, £50, or £101. In the event of a tie, the darts players each threw one dart at a board divided into concentric circles, and the one who hit closer to the centre won control of the question.

After three questions, the team with the highest cash total from the first two games went through to play Bully's Prize Board. In the first series alone, the team who won the most money in the Pounds for Points game alone went through to Bully's Prize Board.

All three teams received their accumulated cash totals, as well as show-themed souvenirs that included darts, pens, key rings, patches, tankards (or goblets for female contestants), and "Bendy Bully" rubber dolls in the likeness of the show's mascot.

Charity interlude

At the beginning of part two, a professional darts player (or occasionally a celebrity during the first four series and the 2006 revival) would throw nine darts at the matchplay board. The show donated £1 per point scored to a charity of the winning team's choice, or £2 per point if the total was 301 or higher. Celebrity players often performed badly and would contribute some of their own money to the donation.

One episode of series four originally broadcast on 2 December 1984, featured comedienne Carol Lee Scott as the celebrity guest darts thrower. Bowen and Scott had known each other for many years prior after both having appeared on the same bill at various working clubs. However, as mentioned in Bowen's 1998 biography From a Bundle of Rags: Autobiography of Jim Bowen, the pair had a backstage exchange after filming of the episode, with Bowen commenting on Scott's performance which led to the pair trading several offhand comments, after which they refused to ever speak again.

Bronze Bully Trophy

During series 5 through 13 (1985 to 1994), the professional who recorded the highest score in the charity interlude over the course of an individual series won a Bronze Bully Trophy. The winners:

  • 1985–86: John Lowe
  • 1986–87: Lionel Smith
  • 1987–88: Ray Farrell
  • 1988–89: Mike Gregory
  • 1989–90: Eric Bristow
  • 1990–91: Bob Anderson
  • 1991–92: Mandy Solomons
  • 1992–93: Mike Gregory
  • 1994: Kevin Painter

Bully's Prize Board

The team with the highest cash total from both rounds faced a board divided into eight pairs of alternating narrow red and wide black sectors, with a bullseye at the centre. The red sectors were numbered 1 through 8, each corresponding to a different prize, and the bullseye represented a larger item, "Bully's Special Prize." The team threw nine darts, the first and last three by the darts player and the middle three by their partner, and won the prizes for all red sectors they hit. Black sectors awarded nothing, and hitting the same red sector twice forfeited that prize—hence the show's catchphrase, "Keep out of the black and in the red, nothing in this game for two in a bed." A third hit to the same sector awarded the prize once again.

For most of the programme's original run, prize values were restricted by the Independent Broadcasting Authority, which may explain the perceived poor quality of prizes on offer. Although some prizes (such as a remote-controlled toy car or a "TV with wired remote control") were laughed at by the studio audience even then, smaller prizes were taken for granted at the time, and they seemed relatively lavish compared to those on offer in BBC game shows such as Blankety Blank. In a 2006 episode, Bully's Special Prize was a fully functional show-themed Fruit Machine.

During the first series, only the Pounds for Points scores were used to determine the winner, and the non-winning sectors were green rather than black.

Bully's Star Prize Gamble

After throwing their nine darts at Bully's Prize Board, the winning team had to decide whether to risk their prizes for a chance at "Bully's Star Prize," a large mystery prize hidden behind a screen in the studio. For the first ten series, the money they had won for themselves was not at risk; beginning with series 11, they had to put up both their money and prizes in order to play. (The team's souvenirs and the money won by the professional for their charity were never at risk.) If they chose to try for the Star Prize, they were given six darts (three per person; non-darts player throwing first) to score 101 or more on a standard matchplay dartboard. If they succeeded, they received the Star Prize and kept their previous winnings; if not, they lost all cash/prizes they had risked. When money was at stake during Bowen's tenure as host, he would tell the team that they would receive nothing except their "BFH" (bus fare home) if they lost.

If the winning team declined to play, the second-place team had the option to risk their money and try to win the prize; if this pair also declined, the third-place team was given the same choice. The actual prize was only revealed after a team had played the round, win or lose, or if all three teams chose not to play.

Bully's Star Prize was usually a holiday (especially in later series), a car, a caravan or a speedboat. Less lavish Star Prizes (fitted kitchens and the like) were sometimes given away in the early series, so as to fit within the IBA's prize limits at the time. In an episode from 1987, the Star Prize was a £2,000 fashion spree. After the prize limits were abolished in 1993, the Star Prize in Bowen's final two series would sometimes be "Bully's Treasure Chest," a cash award of £5,000.

From series 8 onwards, if the second- and third-place teams had the same total, both were asked if they wanted to gamble. If both said yes, the two darts players threw three darts each at the matchplay board and the higher score won the right to play for the Star Prize.

On the show, it was never made clear if the two winning contestants had to share the Star Prize or if they got one each.

On charity Christmas specials, in which celebrities and professional darts players teamed up to play for nominated charities, the winning team's accumulated cash total and prizes were not at risk. The cash would be doubled if they won Bully's Star Prize Gamble.

Guests

Series 1

#NameDate
1Bobby Georgeurl=https://www.newspapers.com/image/905479672/title=28 Sept 1981, page 2 - Coventry Evening Telegraphwebsite=Newspapers.comaccessdate=4 August 2025}}
2Maureen Flowers5 October 1981
3Alan Evans12 October 1981
4Eric Bristow19 October 1981
5Bill Lennard26 October 1981
6Tony Brown2 November 1981
7Ceri Morgan9 November 1981
8Jocky Wilson16 November 1981
9Dave Whitcombe23 November 1981
10John Lowe30 November 1981
11Linda Batten7 December 1981
12Cliff Lazarenko14 December 1981
13Tony Greenurl=https://www.newspapers.com/image/920700122/title=21 Dec 1981, page 2 - Coventry Evening Telegraphwebsite=Newspapers.comaccessdate=4 August 2025}}

Series 2

#NameDate
1Cliff Lazarenkourl=https://www.newspapers.com/image/905093131/title=09 Oct 1982, page 9 - Coventry Evening Telegraphwebsite=Newspapers.comaccessdate=4 August 2025}}
2Tony Skuse17 October 1982
3Eric Bristow24 October 1982
4Maureen Flowers31 October 1982
5Ceri Morgan7 November 1982
6Linda Batten14 November 1982
7Bill Lennard21 November 1982
8Angus Ross28 November 1982
9Tony Brown5 December 1982
10Steve Brennan12 December 1982
11Jocky Wilson19 December 1982
12Dave Whitcombe2 January 1983
13John Corfe9 January 1983
14Alan Glazier16 January 1983
15Alan Evansurl=https://www.newspapers.com/image/911514019/title=22 Jan 1983, page 9 - Coventry Evening Telegraphwebsite=Newspapers.comaccessdate=4 August 2025}}

Series 3

#NameDate
1Jocky Wilsonurl=https://www.newspapers.com/image/859200954/title=26 Nov 1983, page 19 - Birmingham Evening Mailwebsite=Newspapers.comaccessdate=4 August 2025}}
2Linda Lewis4 December 1983
3Tony Brown11 December 1983
4Neil Adams18 December 1983
5Duncan Norvelle1 January 1984
6Lance Percival8 January 1984
7Bobby George15 January 1984
8Leighton Rees22 January 1984
9Acker Bilk29 January 1984
10Nick Owen5 February 1984
11Steve Brennan12 February 1984
12Bill Lennard19 February 1984
13Norman Vaughan26 February 1984
14Linda Batten11 March 1984
15Lionel Blair18 March 1984
16Paul Lim25 March 1984
17Keith Deller1 April 1984
18The Mighty Atom8 April 1984
19John Lowe15 April 1984
20Steve Jones22 April 1984
21Ceri Morgan29 April 1984
22Ted Moult6 May 1984
23Cliff Lazarenko13 May 1984
24Dave Whitcombe20 May 1984
25Bob Champion27 May 1984
26Duncan Goodhewurl=https://www.newspapers.com/image/909882397/title=02 Jun 1984, page 9 - Coventry Evening Telegraphwebsite=Newspapers.comaccessdate=4 August 2025}}

Series 4

#NameDate
1Jocky Wilson2 September 1984
2George Best9 September 1984
3Peter Locke16 September 1984
4Joe Brown23 September 1984
5Alan Glazier30 September 1984
6Gary Wilmot7 October 1984
7Mike Gregory14 October 1984
8Tessa Sanderson21 October 1984
9Dave Lee28 October 1984
10Faith Brown4 November 1984
11Alan Evans11 November 1984
12Pat Roach18 November 1984
13Steve Brennan25 November 1984
14Carol Lee Scott2 December 1984
15Anthony King9 December 1984
16Henry Cooper16 December 1984
17Cliff Lazarenko30 December 1984
18Jimmy Greaves6 January 1985
19Sharon Kemp13 January 1985
20Jimmy Cricket20 January 1985
21Terry O'Dea27 January 1985
22Lil Coombes3 February 1985
23Paul Henry10 February 1985
24Leighton Rees24 February 1985
25Sharron Davies10 March 1985
26Bobby George17 March 1985
27Kenny Lynch24 March 1985
28Bob Anderson31 March 1985
29The Krankies14 April 1985
30Eric Bristow21 April 1985

Series 5

#NameDate
1Alan Evans1 September 1985
2Cliff Lazarenko8 September 1985
3Peter Masson15 September 1985
4Lil Coombes22 September 1985
5Terry O'Dea29 September 1985
6Gerry Hayward6 October 1985
7Bob Anderson13 October 1985
8Cathy Gibson20 October 1985
9Bobby George27 October 1985
10Sharon Kemp3 November 1985
11John Cosnett10 November 1985
12Steve Brennan17 November 1985
13Keith Deller24 November 1985
14Fred McMullen1 December 1985
15Eric Bristow8 December 1985
16Jocky Wilson22 December 1985
17Mike Gregory29 December 1985
18Linda Batten5 January 1986
19Sandra Lee19 January 1986
20Leighton Rees26 January 1986
21Ritchie Gardner2 February 1986
22Dave Lee9 February 1986
23Alan Glazier16 February 1986
24Maureen Flowers23 February 1986
25John Lowe9 March 1986
26John Lowe16 March 1986

Series 7

#NameDate
1Keith Deller13 September 1987
2Sonja Ralphs20 September 1987
3Dave Lee27 September 1987
4John Lowe4 October 1987
5Terry Collins11 October 1987
6Linda Batten18 October 1987
7Ritchie Gardner25 October 1987
8Peter Evison1 November 1987
9Maureen Flowers8 November 1987
10Eric Bristow15 November 1987
11Mike Gregory22 November 1987
12Jocky Wilson29 November 1987
13Cathy McCulloch6 December 1987
14Peter Locke13 December 1987
15Cliff Lazarenko20 December 1987
16Alan Evans3 January 1988
17Dave Whitcombe10 January 1988
18Bob Anderson17 January 1988
19Leighton Rees24 January 1988
20Chris Johns31 January 1988
21Bobby George7 February 1988
22Alan Glazier14 February 1988
23Ronnie Sharp21 February 1988
24Ray Farrell28 February 1988
25Sharon Kemp6 March 1988
26Lionel Smith13 March 1988

Series 9

#NameDate
1Mike Gregory29 October 1989
2Mandy Solomons5 November 1989
3Ritchie Gardner12 November 1989
4Ray Battye19 November 1989
5Paul Reynolds26 November 1989
6Bob Anderson3 December 1989
7Alan Warriner10 December 1989
8Ronnie Sharp17 December 1989
9Peter Evison31 December 1989
10Cliff Lazarenko7 January 1990
11Eric Bristow14 January 1990
12Dave Lee21 January 1990
13Leighton Rees28 January 1990
14Maureen Flowers4 February 1990
15Alan Glazier11 February 1990
16Mark Day18 February 1990
17Bobby George25 February 1990
18Dave Whitcombe11 March 1990
19Keith Deller25 March 1990
20John Lowe1 April 1990
21Ray Farrell8 April 1990
22Chris Johns15 April 1990
23Jocky Wilson22 April 1990
24Brian Bairns29 April 1990
25Dennis Hickling6 May 1990
26Cathy McCulloch13 May 1990

Series 10

#NameDate
1Bobby George2 September 1990
2Ali Timmins9 September 1990
3Mike Gregory23 September 1990
4Bob Anderson30 September 1990
5Keith Deller7 October 1990
6Chris Whiting14 October 1990
7Ray Battye21 October 1990
8Mandy Solomons28 October 1990
9Phil Taylor4 November 1990
10Ritchie Gardner11 November 1990
11Jocky Wilson18 November 1990
12Peter Evison25 November 1990
13Eric Bristow2 December 1990
14Chris Johns9 December 1990
15Dave Whitcombe16 December 1990
16Maureen Flowers30 December 1990
17Dennis Hickling6 January 1991
18Ronnie Sharp13 January 1991
19Brian Cairns20 January 1991
20Paul Lim27 January 1991
21Ray Farrell3 February 1991
22Cliff Lazarenko10 February 1991
23Deta Hedman17 February 1991
24John Lowe24 February 1991
25Leighton Rees3 March 1991
26Alan Warriner17 March 1991

Series 11

#NameDate
1Bob Anderson1 September 1991
2Raymond van Barneveld8 September 1991
3Graham Miller22 September 1991
4Ronnie Sharp29 September 1991
5Keith Deller6 October 1991
6Jane Stubbs20 October 1991
7Ritchie Garnder27 October 1991
8Eric Bristow3 November 1991
9David Whitcombe10 November 1991
10Leighton Rees17 November 1991
11Alan Warriner24 November 1991
12Dennis Priestley1 December 1991
13Phil Taylor8 December 1991
14Bob Taylor15 December 1991
15Sharon Colclough29 December 1991
16Sean Palfrey5 January 1992
17Mandy Solomons12 January 1992
18Mike Gregory19 January 1992
19Cliff Lazarenko26 January 1992
20Chris Jones2 February 1992
21Jocky Wilson9 February 1992
22Kevin Kenny16 February 1992
23Rod Harrington23 February 1992
24John Lowe1 March 1992
25Peter Evison8 March 1992

Remakes

Although not strictly a remake but more of a show influenced by the original, Welsh language TV channel S4C has a darts gameshow called Oci, Oci, Oci, which uses the concept of darts and questions to win prizes. Instead of in a studio, the show is at various social clubs and pubs each week. The show has two people who handle the questions and two playing darts.

''Ant & Dec's Gameshow Marathon''

In 2005, it was announced that programme creator Andrew Wood had signed a contract with Granada Media for Granada to produce a one-hour long celebrity special Bullseye show to be hosted by Ant & Dec. This special was part of Ant & Dec's Gameshow Marathon, in turn part of ITV's 50th anniversary celebrations, and was aired on ITV on 22 October 2005. Vernon Kay and Coronation Street star William Roache were the contestants, accompanied by professional darts players Eric Bristow and Andy Fordham, while Tony Green reprised his role as co-host.

Challenge TV revival

Subsequently, Granada decided that a new series of Bullseye would be produced early the following year on Challenge and that the show was to be hosted by comedian Dave Spikey. Bully was also redesigned for the new series, albeit very similar to the Bully used in the original series.

The new series of Bullseye returned on Challenge in April 2006. The show maintained the style of prizes from the original, bar white goods; none of the cash prizes had increased in value since the second series in 1982, although the bullseye on the category board had decreased to £150 from the £200 of the original series. Some of the prizes from Bully's Prize Board were of more modern gameshow standard, such as a TFT television and an MP3 player. Dave Spikey and Tony Green commented on BBC Radio 1's Colin and Edith show on 19 April 2006: "...[Bullseye is] The only gameshow on the television in which the prizes get a round of applause...".

The revived series was strikingly similar to the original series. Whilst refreshed, the show maintained the original theme music and stings and used a remade version of the original's second title sequence, Bully driving the team bus. A cartoon version of Dave Spikey replaced Jim's in the titles. The Challenge revival ran for thirty episodes.

''Vernon Kay's Gameshow Marathon''

On 19 May 2007, another one-hour long celebrity special was aired on ITV, this time as part of Vernon Kay's Gameshow Marathon. This time the contestants were newsreader Andrea Catherwood, footballer Graeme Le Saux and another Coronation Street star, Michael Le Vell, paired with professional darts players Martin Adams, Phil Taylor and Raymond van Barneveld respectively. Once again, Tony Green reprised his co-host role. Jim Bowen did not appear on the Bullseye episode; instead, he appeared on the marathon's remake of The Golden Shot, acting as "Bowen the Bolt" (instead of "Bernie the Bolt"). At one point, he did make the comment to Kay, "Vernon, this is a bit like Bullseye used to be...throwing arrows for prizes!"

Potential series revival; ''[[Alan Carr's Epic Gameshow]]''

In March 2018, it was rumoured that Vernon Kay would front a reboot of Bullseye. However, he later denied that he was fronting the new reboot of Bullseye. In June 2019 it was announced that Bullseye, as one of the country's five all-time favourite game shows, was to be "supersized and rebooted" in a new series, Alan Carr's Epic Gameshow for broadcast on 4 July 2020. Commissioned by ITV, the series was filmed at dock10 studios and presented by Alan Carr.

ITV revival

A Christmas special was commissioned by ITV in 2024 with Freddie Flintoff as the host. He commented "I love the darts and Bullseye was one of my favourite shows as a kid. Can’t quite believe I’ll get to host this Christmas special.” He added “You can’t beat a bit of Bully!”. Katie Rawcliffe, director of entertainment and daytime commissioning at ITV said: “Bullseye is back and we can’t wait to welcome Freddie Flintoff back to ITV too. “It’s a real treat to have both as key parts of our Christmas schedule on ITV1 and ITVX this year.” According to ITV, the special pulled in seven million viewers and its success was followed by the commission of a full series for broadcast in 2025, hosted by Flintoff and with Richard Ashdown as the scorer and announcer.

The new series, airing from 9 November 2025, follows the same structure as the original but incorporates the following changes.

  • In Bully's Category Board, the outer/middle/inner values are £50, £100, and £150, with £250 awarded for a bullseye. Questions are worth £50 in the first two rounds and £100 in the third.
  • The team in last place after Pounds for Points is eliminated.
  • The charity interlude, renamed "Bully's Charity Challenge," is played immediately after Pounds for Points to benefit a charity selected by the higher-scoring team. The host and a professional darts player are given three minutes to go "round the clock," hitting all 20 numbers in ascending order and finally the inner bull. Each participant throws three darts per turn, starting with the professional; the host may hit any portion of the current number, but the professional must hit a double or treble to move ahead. The donation is equal to £100 times the highest number hit, or £5,000 for hitting all of them and the inner bull.
  • The two remaining teams play a third game, "Bully's Head-to-Head." The host asks three questions alternately to each team, with numerical answers ranging from 1 to 20. The higher-scoring team blindly chooses one of two question sets, with the other put aside for their opponents, and receives the first question. The two members may confer, and the darts player is then given one chance to hit the correct number. Doing so scores one point, and the team in the lead after the last question advances to Bully's Prize Board. This game uses a Yorkshire-style board with no treble ring, and hitting a double multiples the number by two for answering purposes. (E.g. a team can register a guess of 10 by hitting either the single 10 or the double 5.) If the score is tied after three throws each, a sudden-death showdown is played, with the questions continuing in pairs until one team scores and the other does not.
  • One of the prizes on Bully's Prize Board is secretly paired with a "Golden Dart," which allows the darts player one extra throw in the Star Prize Gamble (renamed "The 101 Challenge") if needed. Only the team's prizes are at risk in the latter, not their cash total.

Merchandise

For the Christmas 2005 season, a Bullseye DVD game was released by board game manufacturer Upstarts. Although the game did not feature Bowen or Green, it did feature a redesigned Bully. A second DVD game titled "Classic Bullseye" was released by ITV DVD for the 2006 Christmas season, which featured both Bowen and the voice of Green, and also classic footage from the show. An updated version, "All New Bullseye", was released in 2007.

Several board games based on the show have also been released.

In the 80s and 90s, there were licensed videogames on the ZX Spectrum, the Acorn and the Commodore 64.

A version for the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 was developed and published by Sabec, and released in June 2021.

Transmissions

Series

SeriesStart dateEnd dateEpisodesPresenter
128 September 198121 December 198113Jim Bowen
210 October 198223 January 198315
327 November 19833 June 198426
42 September 1984url=http://www.itnsource.com/en/shotlist/ITVProgs/1985/04/21/845778/title=BULLSEYE (Series 4, Episode 30)publisher=ITN Sourceaccess-date=18 May 2014}}30
51 September 1985url=http://www.itnsource.com/en/shotlist/ITVProgs/1986/03/16/855284/title=BULLSEYE (Series 4, Episode 26)publisher=ITN Sourceaccess-date=18 May 2014}}26
631 August 19868 March 198725
713 September 1987url=http://www.itnsource.com/en/shotlist/ITVProgs/1988/03/13/871319/title=BULLSEYE (Series 7, Episode 26)publisher=ITN Sourceaccess-date=18 May 2014}}26
818 September 1988url=http://www.itnsource.com/en/shotlist/ITVProgs/1989/04/30/882756/title=BULLSEYE (Series 8, Episode 26)publisher=ITN Sourceaccess-date=18 May 2014}}26
929 October 1989url=http://www.itnsource.com/en/shotlist/ITVProgs/1990/05/13/894217/title=BULLSEYE (Series 9, Episode 26)publisher=ITN Sourceaccess-date=18 May 2014}}26
102 September 1990url=http://www.itnsource.com/en/shotlist/ITVProgs/1991/03/17/905492/title=BULLSEYE (Series 10, Episode 26)publisher=ITN Sourceaccess-date=18 May 2014}}26
111 September 1991url=http://www.itnsource.com/en/shotlist/ITVProgs/1992/03/08/916337/title=BULLSEYE (Series 11, Episode 25)publisher=ITN Sourceaccess-date=18 May 2014}}25
126 September 1992url=http://www.itnsource.com/en/shotlist/ITVProgs/1993/02/28/911890/title=BULLSEYE (Series 12, Episode 25)publisher=ITN Sourceaccess-date=18 May 2014}}25
1326 March 1994url=http://www.itnsource.com/en/shotlist/ITVProgs/1994/07/23/913275/title=BULLSEYE (Series 13, Episode 18)publisher=ITN Sourceaccess-date=18 May 2014}}18
141 April 19958 July 199513
1517 April 2006url=http://www.itnsource.com/en/shotlist/ITVProgs/2006/07/28/156070030/title=BULLSEYE (Series 15, Episode 30)publisher=ITN Sourceaccess-date=18 May 2014}}30Dave Spikey
169 November 202530 November 20254Freddie Flintoff

Christmas Specials

DatePresenterGuests
26 December 1982Jim BowenEric Bristow, Margo MacDonald, Cliff Lazarenko, Katharine Whitehorn, Maureen Flowers, Nigel Mansell
25 December 1983Eric Bristow, Anne Diamond, Keith Deller, Kenneth Kendall, Maureen Flowers, Judith Hann and Anne Aston
23 December 1984Eric Bristow, Keith Deller, Jocky Wilson, Tommy Boyd, Margaret Harris, Kathy Staff, Rod Hull, Alvin Stardust and Vivienne Rooke
28 December 1986Ray Alan, Lord Charles, Bob Anderson, Eric Bristow, Frank Carson, Sarah Greene, John Lowe and Fatima Whitbread
27 December 1987Eric Bristow, Duggie Brown, Geoff Capes, Bob Carolgees, Cliff Lazarenko, Rustie Lee, Jan Leeming, Steve Nallon, Gerry Thomas and Jocky Wilson
25 December 1988Les Dennis, Roy Walker, Bob Holness, Jocky Wilson, Bob Anderson and Eric Bristow
24 December 1989featuring emergency services teams of two firemen, two nurses and two ambulancemen alongside darts players Chrissy Johns, Cliff Lazarenko and Ronnie Sharp
23 December 1990Bobby Davro, Bella Emberg, Paul Shane, Eric Bristow, Bob Anderson and Leighton Rees
22 December 1991Frank Bruno, Linda Lusardi, John McCririck, Bob Anderson, Dennis Priestley and Phil Taylor
27 December 1992Liza Goddard, Mandy Solomons, Mike Reid, Rod Harrington, Steve Wright, Phil Taylor and Norris McWhirter
22 December 2024Freddie FlintoffLuke Littler
25 December 2025Michael van Gerwen

References

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