Crosswits
| Crosswits | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Game show |
| Created by | Jerry Payne |
| Presented by |
Barry Cryer (1985–7) Tom O'Connor (1987–98) |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 12 |
| No. of episodes | 435 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 30 minutes (inc. adverts) |
| Production company(s) | Tyne Tees in association with Cove Productions and Action Time |
| Distributor | ITV Studios |
| Release | |
| Original network | ITV |
| Picture format | 4:3 |
| Audio format |
Mono (1985–93) Stereo (1994–98) |
| Original release | 27 April 1985 – 23 December 1998 |
Crosswits is a British game show produced by Tyne Tees in association with Cove Productions and Action Time and filmed from their City Road studios in Newcastle upon Tyne. It was first shown on 27 April 1985 originally hosted by Barry Cryer for the first 2 series, then comedian Tom O'Connor took over from series 3 until the show ended on 23 December 1998. The show consisted of two members of the public competing against each other to solve simple crossword puzzles. Each member of the public was helped out by a "celebrity" partner. The announcers for the show were generally Tyne Tees continuity announcers such as Judi Lines, Jonathan Morrell and Bill Steel.
Basically, the game was the same as its American counterpart, except that there were two players (one celebrity and one contestant) on each team instead of three. As in the American version, teams took turns solving words in a crossword puzzle (by virtue of clues), all of which are clues to a master puzzle. Each correct answer keeps control and earns one point per letter in the answer plus a chance to solve the master puzzle for 10 bonus points. Later in the run, teams always took turns whether they were right or wrong.
There were also special rounds in the game:
The team with the most points when time runs out, wins the game and plays the same Crossfire round as the American version.
The winning team was shown one last crossword puzzle, with 10 words none of which are clues to a master puzzle. The host reads rapid-fire clues to each of the 10 words. Each correct words brings the winning team extra closer to a holiday for the contestant, and if they can solve all ten in 60 seconds or less, they'll win the holiday, otherwise the winning player wins consolation prizes.
The first series was only broadcast in the Tyne Tees region on Saturdays.
From Series 2 onwards, it was networked on all ITV regions with the second series airing on Tuesday afternoons at 3:00pm (no episode aired on 17 March 1987 due to live coverage of Budget '87) and the third series airing on Tuesday to Thursday afternoons at 2:00pm, except for TVS, who did move the days and time around.
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