Catchphrase (British game show)

Format

Note: The description in this section primarily refers to the game played in most recent series of Catchphrase. The format has considerably changed and evolved throughout the show's forty years on air.

Main game

In the main game, at the start of each standard round, one contestant stopped a randomiser consisting of money amounts by hitting their button. The value landed on would be the amount earnt for correctly guessing the catchphrases in that round. The potential prizes increase over the rounds.

For the first round, the large screen in front of the contestants would slowly draw a visual representation of the catchphrase answer accompanied by background music (primarily using CGI). When most of the catchphrase has been revealed, contestants can then buzz in and try to guess the answer. If the player that buzzed in guessed incorrectly, the other player would be offered the chance to guess. If a player guessed correctly, they would win the predetermined amount and then have a chance to solve the bonus catchphrase.

Bonus Catchphrase

A correct answer won the contestant the predetermined money amount, plus a chance to solve the bonus catchphrase, which was hidden behind nine squares. The contestant chose a square by hitting their buzzer to randomly select one of them. That square was then removed, and the contestant had five seconds to come up with an answer. If they were right, they won the amount of money in the bonus bank, a sum of money accumulated over the contestants answering the regular catchphrases. If they were wrong, then they would have another catchphrase to guess, and the rounds cycle.

Quickfire round

Following a set amount of standard rounds, a penultimate "quickfire round" takes place. This round followed a similar structure to a standard round, except that all catchphrases were worth a fixed amount of money (originally £50) and there was no bell, so the contestants could buzz in and answer them whenever they wished and as many times until the puzzle is solved or time runs out.

The player with the most money following this round won the game and then plays the Super Catchphrase. Other contestants who do not have the most money keep their winnings, but do not move forward in the game.

Super Catchphrase

For this round, the screen displays 15 numbered squares in the form of a pyramid (with 15 at the top) with each row, starting at the bottom, being worth a higher amount of money increasing exponentially, the largest being £50,000. Number 11 in the middle is starred and correctly answering it awards a bonus prize. (In the celebrity specials, correctly answering this catchphrase doubles the amount of money won by the other two celebrities for their chosen charities.) Starting from the bottom level, the winning player has 60 seconds to reach the highest level possible. Each square still contains a catchphrase; answering a catchphrase in a level correctly clears that level and allows the player to move to the next level. At the end of the round, the player receives the prize money of the level they have last cleared, plus the bonus prize (if Square 11 is cleared), along with their main game winnings.

Transmissions

Original

Revival

Regular

Celebrity

Notable moments

"Snake Charmer" (1994)

One of the most famous moments in the show's history included a Bonus Catchphrase where the puzzle was uncovered in a way which made Mr. Chips and a snake appear to be performing a sexual act. The audience, the contestants and host Roy Walker laughed uncontrollably as the puzzle was revealed. Originally broadcast on 30 December 1994 as the ninth episode of series ten, this was edited in the original ITV broadcast, but it did appear uncensored two years later on the out-take show It'll Be Alright on the Night.

"Dicing With Death" (2014)

On the 2014 Mother's Day celebrity special, one of the Bonus Catchphrases caused a very similar incident to 1994's "Snake Charmer" puzzle. The first piece revealed was of a hand moving up and down in a rapid motion near the person's waist, making it look like the person may have been masturbating. Like the aforementioned "Snake Charmer" incident, this caused the entire studio to break out in laughter as the picture was revealed in a similar manner.

"The Tail Wagging The Dog" (2019)

On another celebrity edition featuring the Bonus Catchphrase, which was originally broadcast on 12 January 2019, the first selected square revealed an animation of a dog's head shaking very vigorously with a large grin on its face and hanging in the air. This caused the same reaction for the audience of this episode while the contestants and host Stephen Mulhern grimaced at this picture as it was revealed in a very humorous looking sort of way.

Theme music

Catchphrases original theme tune and incidental music were composed by television composer Ed Welch, whose original version of the theme was used for the TVS incarnation of the show, until 28 October 1994. It was also used on Family Catchphrase in 1994.

The show returned on 4 November 1994 with a brand new look and now being produced by Action Time for Carlton Television. The show's theme and incidental music was re-tuned, and was composed by Simon Etchell whose version was used from 1994 to 1999, with some slight alterations made in late 1998.

From 2000 to 2002, a third version of the Catchphrase theme music was used. It was a re-mixed and "jazzed-up" version of the previous theme, composed by Simon Etchell and was used alongside a revamped title sequence followed by a new studio set.

From 2013 onward, a fourth version was introduced, based on Ed Welch's original theme and composed by Marc Sylvan and Richard Jacques. A new title sequence, logo and studio set was also created for the series.

Mr Chips & other mascots

The series' original mascot is a golden robot called "Mr Chips". The figure often appeared in the animations for the catchphrases. He was repurposed from the original US version of the programme where he was known as "Herbie".

As the animation styles used in the show changed throughout the year, the design of Mr Chips changed as well; eventually transitioning from a taller figure to becoming much smaller. Variations of the mascot sometimes appeared in the animations, such as Mr Chips with a lemon for a head (for the catchphrase "lemonheads").

After Nick Weir took over as presenter and the change of graphics, Mr Chips was semi-retired and replaced with the "Catchphrase Family", consisting of a father, mother, son and two other men. These characters were also featured in the opening sequence which showed the family trying to catch the letters of the word "Phrase" (essentially serving as a catchphrase for "Catchphrase" itself) ending with the family themselves becoming the letters of "Catch" above "Phrase". The family was not as popular as Mr Chips, but despite this, the family appeared until the series finished in 2002.

Mr Chips returned to appearing in the Catchphrases again throughout the series hosted by Mark Curry in 2002, as well as for the revival version hosted by Stephen Mulhern in 2013 where he is animated in 3D computer animation, as with the catchphrases themselves.

Notes

References

References

1. Walker, James. (18 October 2014). "Filming of ITV show Catchphrase, hosted by Stephen Mulhern, will begin next month at Maidstone Studios in New Cut Road".
2. "Ex-ITV Regional Studios". TV Studio History.
3. "dock10 welcomes Catchphrase". [[Dock10 (television facility).
4. "CATCHPHRASE (Series 16, Episode 21)". [[ITN Source]].
5. (21 August 2013). "'Catchphrase' returning for second series on ITV". [[Digital Spy]].
6. Jeffery, Morgan. (9 October 2012). "'Catchphrase': ITV orders full series with Stephen Mulhern.". [[Digital Spy]].
7. (24 May 2012). "Catchphrase to make comeback on ITV!". [[Digital Spy]].
8. "CATCHPHRASE".
9. "Catchphrase".
10. (6 March 2025). "ITV commissions 11th series of Celebrity Catchphrase".
11. "CATCHPHRASE (Series 10, Episode 9)". [[ITN Source]].
12. (30 December 1994). "Snake charmer". Action Time for Carlton.
13. Wightman, Catriona. (28 March 2014). "Catchphrase: Is this the rudest clue ever? Watch David Walliams gasp". [[Digital Spy]].