contestants

BBC Only Connect viewers left ‘screaming’ at their TVs after question stumps contestants

Only Connect viewers were left ‘screaming’ at their televisions over the ‘obvious’ answer on Monday’s show

Only Connect viewers were all quick to say the same thing after the latest episode.

On Monday’s show, hosted by Victoria Coren Mitchell, viewers were introduced to the two teams, comprising of Culture Club and Ad Astra. It comes as BBC viewers have been left delighted over quiz Mondays with Only Connect followed by University Challenge.

Making up Culture Club were Charlie Brookfield, a consultant microbiologist, Viki Owen, a clinical scientist, and their captain, Hugh Adler, a consultant microbiologist.

Meanwhile, making up Ad Astra were David Howes, a retired RAF officer, Paul McMillan, an astrophysics lecturer, and their captain, Louise McMillan, a research development officer.

During the Connecting Wall challenge, Ad Astra were left stumped by one of the connections. The trio had difficulty with finding the final word in a group of anagrams for different types of starches and carbohydrates.

They were able to successfully find – top oat – potato, tapas – pasta, and eric – rice. Yet they struggled to find the final word to complete the connection, asking in frustration: “What are we missing?”

However, viewers at home were left ‘screaming’ at their televisions over the correct final word, which was beard – bread.

Taking to Twitter, now X, one person said: “I AM SCREAMING BREAD #onlyconnect” while a different account put: “#OnlyConnect Shouting BEARD IS BREAD!! over and over at my TV.”

Another viewer wrote: “Shouting BREAD repeatedly at the TV. #onlyconnect” while a different show watcher commented: “Only #onlyconnect has me shouting “Bread” at the TV.”

Elsewhere, a different fan put: “BREAD #ONLYCONNECT”, another viewer joked: “Shouting Bread at the screen like a lunatic ffs #onlyconnect” while a different viewer added: “Bread! F**king Bread #OnlyConnect.”

Meanwhile, another show watcher joked: “I don’t think I’ve ever said bread and beard so many times in succession in my life #onlyconnect” while a different viewer added: “How many people were shouting BREAD?? #onlyconnect.”

After the correct answers appeared on screen, contestant Paul declared: “Bread, it’s bread!” as he put his head in his hands. Meanwhile, team captain Louise quipped: “Can’t believe we didn’t spot bread!”

Yet despite struggling on the Connecting Wall challenge, the team were later victorious as they won a place in the next round with 26 points. Meanwhile, Culture Club had 20 points.

Only Connect continues on BBC Two.

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From fat-shaming female contestants to acne bullying scandal

BEFORE Netflix dominated TV screens, quiz shows were all the rage in many British households.

Due to the limited channels, primetime shows would see figures reach 19million for the peak-time shows with the presenters becoming huge household names. 

For three years, Chris Tarrant hosted a beauty pageant for men called Man O Man Credit: Unknown
Ten men would show off their bodies in Man O Man in front of an all-female panelCredit: Not known clear with Picture Desk

However, would these dominant shows from the 60s to 90s be put in front of modern TV viewers today?

Times have evolved and many of the outdated jokes would not land well with audiences – especially families on a Saturday night.

Here, we look at some once-popular TV shows that quite possibly wouldn’t make it to air today… 

Man O Man 

Hosted by Chris Tarrant from 1996 to 1999 before his Who Wants To Be A Millionaire stint, Man O Man effectively was a beauty pageant for men.

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Ten chaps competed in front of an all-female audience in just swimwear for one section, and would perform chat-up lines and show their muscles.

Then, 125 women would vote for them, and if a female contestant wasn’t impressed, she’d push the man into the pool.

While some described the show as inverting stereotypical tropes and being tongue-in-cheek, others felt it was degrading and encouraged public humiliation.

Bullseye 

TV host Jim Bowen front Bullseye, where he made unkind comments about a woman’s body in one episode Credit: Rex

During its peak from 1981 to 1995, Sunday night darts show Bullseye drew up to 20million viewers.

The show saw host Jim Bowen – known for catchphrases such as “super, smashing, great” – guide three pairs of contestants through the darts and quiz questions.

However, ex-teacher Bowen’s comedy frequently relied on punching down at contestants, including body shaming women.

In one toe-curling exchange, he asked Jane Groves about her weight loss journey after she did a sponsored slim.

Bowen cruelly asked: “How much do you owe?” and when audiences stopped laughing, he added: “That’s very unkind of me.”

The show has been rebooted in recent years, with ex cricketer Andrew Flintoff taking the helm, and guest appearance by Britain’s teen darts hero Luke Littler.  

3-2-1 

Ted Rogers’ 3-2-1 featured women who rarely spoke but glamorised the prizes Credit: Shutterstock Editorial

From 1978 to 1988, the TV show 3-2-1 brought Ted Rogers, his sidekick Dusty Bin, and a large dose of sexism into millions of homes

Rogers commanded the stage while surrounded by silently objectified “3-2-1 girls,” whose main purpose was to wear revealing outfits that often matched to the prizes. 

Rogers’ routine heavily featured old-fashioned sexist “nagging wife” tropes and jokes that modern audiences could find intolerable.

They Think It’s All Over 

The panel of They Think It’s All Over, hosted by Nick Hancock, were criticised for bullying claims Credit: Handout

Airing from 1995 to 2006, this sports panel show fostered a hyper-masculine, “locker room” environment.

Panelists routinely demeaned female guests and admitted they “behaved like teenagers” whenever they were booked in.    

The show was originally hosted by Nick Hancock, and saw two captains, often David Gower, Gary Lineker, Phil Tufnell, Ian Wright, and David Seaman, joined by comedians and sporting stars.

Ex Manchester United footballer Luke Chadwick received a public apology from Hancock and Gary Lineker over jokes made about his physical appearance, including his teeth and acne, on the show.

Hancock offered an apology to Luke Chadwick after jokes made on They Think It’s All Over Credit: BBC
Manchester United’s Luke Chadwick’s appearance was commented on during the show Credit: PA

One example of the bullying was: “This photo of Luke Chadwick was ruined… when Luke Chadwick turned up.”

He admitted to BBC in 2020 that the comments affected his mental health.

Chadwick shared: “I became a picture of fun, and that was probably the hardest thing. 

“Obviously people were finding it funny, but it was eating away at me a bit inside while that was happening.”

Olympian Fatima Whitbread settled for an undisclosed figure when she took the show to court in 1999, with Rory McGrath saying: “We joked she failed the urine test because she got her c*** stuck in the bottle.”

Mr and Mrs 

Some felt Mr and Mrs featured outdated gender stereotypes Credit: Shutterstock Editorial

Running from 1965 to 1999 after originating in Canada, Mr and Mrs championed old family dynamics that feel rather archaic now. 

Host Derek Batey questioned heterosexual couples, consistently reinforcing a dynamic where the husband was the primary breadwinner and the wife a homemaker.

The game, which many people will know from hen or stag parties, involved each person answering questions about their partner, with the aim to get enough right to bag a jackpot.

Its narrow definition of marriage and with Batey referring to some ladies as “my darling”, mean it probably wouldn’t land well with modern viewers. 

The Generation Game 

Jim Davidson in hosting duties on The Generation Game Credit: BBC

Occupying prime Saturday night viewing from 1971 to 2002, The Generation Game featured casual sexism despite its massive popularity under hosts Bruce Forsyth, Larry Grayson, and later Jim Davidson.

Contestants would watch prizes go past on a conveyor belt and would have to recall what they saw in order to take a haul home. 

Glamorous assistants like Anthea Redfearn and Rosemarie Ford were relegated to secondary roles on the Saturday night BBC show, and were seen modelling prizes and smiling silently.

Bruce famously courted and married his hostess, Anthea, before they divorced six years later in 1979.

During their tenure together, Forsyth regularly flirted with her on camera, and instructed her to spin around so the studio audience could “have a look at you.”

The Price is Right 

The Price is Right, hosted by Bruce Forsyth, saw objectified models called Host’s Hostesses pose on prizes Credit: ITV

Brought to ITV from the US, The Price is Right – which has aired between 1984 and 2007 – was first hosted Leslie Crowther, who had previously fronted the deeply controversial Black and White Minstrel Show.

Later Bruce Forsyth took the helm, and airing on Saturday night at 7pm, audience contestants would guess the cost of various items to win prizes.

A rather sexist element of the show were the ‘Host’s Hostesses’.

Typically models were hired for the role, which involved them smiling and looking glamorous as they’d drape themselves across the prizes without uttering a word.

Blankety Blank 

Les Dawson made a number of sexist jokes on Blankety BlankCredit: Not known clear with Picture Desk

A recent reboot of Blankety Blank, hosted by Bradley Walsh, was cut in July by the BBC to reduce costs.

However, the original version – which ran from 1979 to 1990 – would certainly raise eyebrows today. 

Deadpan comedic presenter Les Dawson was known for sharing numerous offensive jokes about his mother-in-law and wife, and relying on sexist quips.

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BBC Great British Sewing Bee judge announces show first as contestants face major twist

Great British Sewing Bee contestant were left shocked after a huge twist was annouced

Great British Sewing Bee judges announced a huge twist.

During Tuesday’s (August 11) episode of the BBC hit show, the sewing room was transformed for Sports Week with the eight remaining sewers facing a series of challenges designed to test everything from technical precision to their creativity under pressure.

They had to go above and beyond to impress judges Patrick Grant and Esme Young and earn their place in next week’s episode. However, not long into the show, things took an unexpected turn as Patrick revealed a major change to the competition.

Everyone was left stunned when the Savile Row tailor delivered the biggest surprise of the episode and announced that the contestants would no longer be working individually.

Just before they could get stuck into the Transformation Challenge, Sophie told the sewers: “It’s time for the transformation challenge, where you take something that’s been through the mill and give it a new lease of life.”

She then turned to Patrick and asked: “So Patrick, what have you got for them?” Patrick revealed the unusual materials waiting for the contestants.

He said: “Well as you can see, we’ve given you wind surfer sails. We want you to transform these into a two-piece outfit but for the first time in the sewing room, you will be working and being judged in pairs.”

The announcement immediately left the contestants stunned, with everyone gasping at the unexpected twist but Patrick wasn’t finished. “Which, like all classic cup competitions, will be drawn at random,” he added, meaning the sewers had no control over who they would be teaming up with.

Fashion designer Esme then laid down the challenge for the newly formed teams. “We want you to make a cohesive outfit. So, remember teamwork makes the dream work,” she explained.

Rather than being judged solely on their own individual creation, the pairs had to produce two pieces that worked together as a complete outfit – making communication just as important as technical ability.

And the choice of material was certainly not straightforward as they were presented with windsurfing sails. They had to work out how to turn a tough, technical material designed for use on the water into something fashionable and wearable, all while working against the clock.

Adele was paired with Tim, Emma had to work with Heather, Beth worked with Minnie and Rebecca’s with Anna. Despite everyone’s hard work it was Rebecca and Anna who came out on top in first place after impressing the judges with their crisscross trouser suit.

Patrick explained: “We chose this one as our winner because it was so dramatically different from the sail. But the way the whole thing ties together is exemplary.” Meanwhile Esme added: “I think it’s brilliant.”

The Great British Sewing Bee is available to stream on BBC iPlayer

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