High Stakes (game show)
| High Stakes | |
|---|---|
| Presented by | Jeremy Kyle |
| Voices of |
Elizabeth Conboy Marc Silk |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 8 |
| Production | |
| Location(s) | Granada Studios, Manchester |
| Running time | 60 minutes (inc. adverts) |
| Production company(s) | ITV Studios in association with Escalate Television |
| Release | |
| Original network | ITV, STV, UTV |
| Picture format | 16:9 (HDTV) |
| Original release | 11 October – 13 December 2011 |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows | It's Not What You Know |
High Stakes is a British game show series hosted by Jeremy Kyle. The ITV series commenced broadcasting on 11 October 2011 and finished broadcasting on 13 December 2011.
Format
Contestants use all their skill and nerve to try to win up to a half a million pounds. Players must try to cross the High Stakes grid, and the further they progress, the more cash they accumulate. However, along the grid, is a series of traps, and if the contestants land on a trap they'll lose their money and must leave the game immediately. Luckily, they are given clues which will help them avoid the obstacles - but only if they can interpret the hints correctly.
Each stage of the High Stakes grid uses 7 consecutive numbers (for example, the numbers 41-47 or 52-58). As the player completes each stage, the money they win will increase:
- Completing Stage 1 wins £1,000
- Completing Stage 2 wins £2,500
- Completing Stage 3 wins £10,000
- Completing Stage 4 wins £25,000
- Completing Stage 5 wins £100,000
- Completing Stage 6 wins £500,000
Each stage also has an increasing number of traps squares, going from 1 in Stage 1 to 6 in Stage 6, with the amount of traps increasing by 1 each stage. The player may elect to take a risk and step on what they believe to be a safe square or they may use one of the 10 clues they are given at the start of the game. If the player chooses to use a clue, a female voice will inform the player that they need to avoid the number the clue states. As an example, a clue may read "AVOID the highest number in the UK Lotto game". As the highest number in UK Lotto was (at the time of broadcast) 49, the player should step on a square OTHER than 49 to progress in the game. The player may also ask the host for help, and Jeremy will usually tell the player what he or she believes to be the correct answer.
As each stage is completed, Jeremy will ask the player if they wish to 'cash out' and leave the game, or 'raise the stakes' and proceed to the next stage of the game. Should the player fail on Stages 1 or 2, they will leave with nothing, but if they fail from the 3rd stage onwards, they'll drop down 2 money levels (for example, if a player fails on Stage 3, they'll leave with £1,000 which is the prize for completing Stage 1, and a graphic will appear on the video wall to show this).
Sudden Death
Should a player raise the stakes, having exhausted all 10 of their clues, the game enters Sudden Death, and the gameplay changes significantly. The contestant first selects a square they believe to be safe, and then selects a square they believe to be a trap. If the square is indeed a trap, it is marked as such. If it is a safe square, then, it is eliminated from the game. In either case, the contestant again chooses a square to stand on, and then repeats the process until they have either found every trap or they have eliminated every safe square. In the first instance, the contestant would advance to the next stage and be given the choice to 'cash out' or 'raise the stakes'. In the second, the player is eliminated as in the main game.
Production
The programme is produced by ITV Studios and co-produced by Escalate Television and filmed in Studio 12 of the Granada Studios in Manchester. The studio facility is listed as 3SixtyMedia in the closing credits, which refers to the holding company that maintains the studios.