Winning Lines
| Winning Lines | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Game show |
| Created by |
David Briggs Steve Knight Mike Whitehill |
| Presented by |
Simon Mayo (1999–2000) Phillip Schofield (2001–04) |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 6 |
| No. of episodes | 81 |
| Production | |
| Running time |
35 minutes (1999) 40 minutes (2000) 45 minutes (2001–04) |
| Production company(s) | Celador |
| Release | |
| Original network | BBC One |
| Picture format | 16:9 |
| Original release | 12 June 1999 – 16 October 2004 |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows | The National Lottery Draws |
Winning Lines is a National Lottery game show that was broadcast on BBC One from 12 June 1999 to 16 October 2004. It was originally hosted by Simon Mayo then by Phillip Schofield.
Round 1
Forty-nine contestants take part in this round; each is assigned a two-digit number from 01 to 49. In the first series, the host asks a question that can be answered by one of these numbers, and anyone who believes that his/her number is the answer may buzz-in. Contestants who buzz-in wrongly are eliminated. If the owner of the correct number buzzes-in; he/she advances to the next round; if not, he/she is eliminated. The host continues to ask questions until six contestants have qualified to advance, at which point all others are eliminated.
The last digit from each of the six advancing players' numbers are displayed at the end of the show. Any home viewers who can form their own telephone number from these digits may call in for a chance to appear on the next episode.
The format of this round was changed beginning with the second series. Each contestant now has a keypad on which to enter answers. The host asks a question with a numerical answer, and the contestant who keys it in first advances to the next round. Anyone who enters an incorrect answer is eliminated. As before, the round ends when six contestants have qualified to advance, and all others are eliminated.
Round 2 - Looking After Number One
The six qualifying contestants retain their numbers from the first round. The host asks a series of toss-up questions on the buzzer, each of which can be answered with the number of a contestant still in play at the time. If a contestant responds correctly with an opponent's number, that opponent is eliminated; a contestant who responds correctly with his/her own number remains in the game. An incorrect response eliminates the contestant who gave it. If no one buzzes-in on a question, the contestant with the correct number is eliminated. The last remaining contestant advances to the Wonderwall round for a chance to win a trip.
Bonus Round - The Wonderwall
The champion faces a set of three projection screens on which 49 answers are displayed, numbered 1 to 49, and has three minutes to answer as many questions as possible. The host gives the champion 15 seconds to study the answers, after which the questions begin and the clock starts to run. The champion must respond by giving both an answer and its number. The correct answer is then removed from the board, regardless of whether the contestant gave it or not. No penalties were given for incorrect answers.
Twice during the round, the champion may take a "pit stop" by pressing a handheld button. Doing so freezes the clock for 15 seconds, during which the champion may look over the answers again; however, he/she may not respond to the current question until the pit stop has ended.
The champion wins a trip whose destination depends on the number of correct answers given, as shown in the table below. During Schofield's tenure as host, the champion then played the Wonderwall again (on the same day as the Wednesday Lotto draw), but with no pit stops; each correct answer awarded £200, to a maximum of £4,000. Due to the September 11 attacks, the three trips to continental American destinations were replaced with alternates for only the second half of the 2001 series.
The prize for giving only one correct answer was a stay at a bed-and-breakfast near the Gravelly Hill Interchange, popularly referred to as "Spaghetti Junction."
| Correct Answers | Vacation | Cash Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 20 | Around the World | £4,000 |
| 19 | Australia | £3,800 |
| 18 | Barbados | £3,600 |
| 17 | Hawaii | £3,400 |
| 16 | Florida/St. Lucia | £3,200 |
| 15 | African Safari | £3,000 |
| 14 | Caribbean Cruise | £2,800 |
| 13 | Mauritius | £2,600 |
| 12 | USA/African Beach | £2,400 |
| 11 | Hong Kong | £2,200 |
| 10 | New York/Mediterranean Cruise | £2,000 |
| 9 | Italy | £1,800 |
| 8 | Majorca | £1,600 |
| 7 | Monte Carlo | £1,400 |
| 6 | Paris | £1,200 |
| 5 | Amsterdam | £1,000 |
| 4 | Ireland | £800 |
| 3 | Scottish Castle | £600 |
| 2 | London | £400 |
| 1 | Spaghetti Junction | £200 |
Transmissions
| Series | Start date | End date | Episodes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 June 1999 | 4 September 1999 | 13 |
| 2 | 15 April 2000 | 22 July 2000 | 13 |
| 3 | 9 June 2001 | 24 November 2001 | 22 |
| 4 | 3 August 2002 | 2 November 2002 | 14 |
| 5 | 19 July 2003 | 18 October 2003 | 13 |
| 6 | 11 September 2004 | 16 October 2004 | 6 |
Ratings
Episode Viewing figures from BARB.[1]
Series 1
| Episode no. | Airdate | Viewers (millions) | BBC One Weekly Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 June 1999 | 8.46 | 9 |
| 2 | 19 June 1999 | 7.49 | 13 |
| 3 | 26 June 1999 | 7.00 | 12 |
| 4 | 3 July 1999 | 7.77 | 8 |
| 5 | 10 July 1999 | 6.56 | 13 |
| 6 | 17 July 1999 | 7.76 | 8 |
| 7 | 24 July 1999 | 6.86 | 12 |
| 8 | 31 July 1999 | 6.34 | 12 |
| 9 | 7 August 1999 | 8.49 | 6 |
| 10 | 14 August 1999 | 8.24 | 10 |
| 11 | 21 August 1999 | 7.35 | 12 |
| 12 | 28 August 1999 | 5.79 | 21 |
| 13 | 4 September 1999 | N/A | N/A |
Series 2
| Episode no. | Airdate | Viewers (millions) | BBC One Weekly Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 15 April 2000 | 6.94 | 19 |
| 2 | 22 April 2000 | 5.91 | 29 |
| 3 | 29 April 2000 | 5.52 | 30 |
| 4 | 6 May 2000 | 5.56 | 27 |
| 5 | 13 May 2000 | 5.29 | 28 |
| 6 | 20 May 2000 | 5.56 | 25 |
| 7 | 27 May 2000 | 7.09 | 17 |
| 8 | 3 June 2000 | 7.42 | 11 |
| 9 | 10 June 2000 | 5.99 | 17 |
| 10 | 1 July 2000 | 5.19 | 22 |
| 11 | 8 July 2000 | 6.28 | 14 |
| 12 | 15 July 2000 | 6.38 | 14 |
| 13 | 22 July 2000 | 5.99 | 16 |
Series 3
| Episode no. | Airdate | Viewers (millions) | BBC One Weekly Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 June 2001 | 5.65 | 24 |
| 2 | 16 June 2001 | 6.22 | 16 |
| 3 | 23 June 2001 | 5.85 | 19 |
| 4 | 30 June 2001 | 5.66 | 12 |
| 5 | 7 July 2001 | 5.79 | 12 |
| 6 | 14 July 2001 | 5.82 | 17 |
| 7 | 21 July 2001 | 5.73 | 20 |
| 8 | 28 July 2001 | 4.99 | 18 |
| 9 | 4 August 2001 | 5.01 | 16 |
| 10 | 11 August 2001 | 6.29 | 12 |
| 11 | 18 August 2001 | 7.63 | 6 |
| 12 | 25 August 2001 | 7.29 | 6 |
| 13 | 8 September 2001 | 7.37 | 9 |
| 14 | 15 September 2001 | 7.76 | 12 |
| 15 | 22 September 2001 | 7.68 | 11 |
| 16 | 29 September 2001 | 7.36 | 13 |
| 17 | 6 October 2001 | 7.90 | 10 |
| 18 | 13 October 2001 | 8.31 | 11 |
| 19 | 27 October 2001 | 7.82 | 10 |
| 20 | 3 November 2001 | 8.20 | 10 |
| 21 | 17 November 2001 | 7.18 | 18 |
| 22 | 24 November 2001 | 7.00 | 18 |
Series 4
| Episode no. | Airdate | Viewers (millions) | BBC One Weekly Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 August 2002 | 4.91 | 15 |
| 2 | 10 August 2002 | 5.83 | 12 |
| 3 | 17 August 2002 | 4.84 | 21 |
| 4 | 24 August 2002 | 5.91 | 12 |
| 5 | 31 August 2002 | 4.95 | 21 |
| 6 | 7 September 2002 | 5.01 | 21 |
| 7 | 14 September 2002 | 5.27 | 21 |
| 8 | 21 September 2002 | 5.31 | 17 |
| 9 | 28 September 2002 | 5.84 | 19 |
| 10 | 5 October 2002 | 6.81 | 14 |
| 11 | 12 October 2002 | 6.12 | 17 |
| 12 | 19 October 2002 | 5.96 | 17 |
| 13 | 26 October 2002 | 6.38 | 16 |
| 14 | 2 November 2002 | 6.40 | 15 |
Series 5
| Episode no. | Airdate | Viewers (millions) | BBC One Weekly Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 19 July 2003 | 5.58 | 17 |
| 2 | 26 July 2003 | 5.57 | 11 |
| 3 | 2 August 2003 | 4.47 | 23 |
| 4 | 9 August 2003 | 3.94 | 26 |
| 5 | 16 August 2003 | N/A | N/A |
| 6 | 23 August 2003 | 5.10 | 19 |
| 7 | 30 August 2003 | 4.38 | 23 |
| 8 | 13 September 2003 | 5.33 | 14 |
| 9 | 20 September 2003 | 5.60 | 17 |
| 10 | 27 September 2003 | 5.72 | 16 |
| 11 | 4 October 2003 | 6.41 | 14 |
| 12 | 11 October 2003 | 4.91 | 27 |
| 13 | 18 October 2003 | 5.60 | 20 |
Series 6
| Episode no. | Airdate | Viewers (millions) | BBC One Weekly Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 September 2004 | 5.60 | 12 |
| 2 | 18 September 2004 | 5.56 | 14 |
| 3 | 25 September 2004 | 6.26 | 10 |
| 4 | 2 October 2004 | 5.64 | 14 |
| 5 | 9 October 2004 | 5.49 | 14 |
| 6 | 16 October 2004 | 5.41 | 17 |
International versions
American version
An American version of Winning Lines aired on CBS in 2000 between January 8 to February 18. It was presented by Dick Clark. In the first round, like the British Winning Lines, it had 49 contestants. The differences were that in Round 1 instead of contestants answering questions with answers arranging from 1 to 49, they had to answer six mathematical questions, each with a numerical answer, and the contestants have five seconds to enter their answers on numerical keypads. On each question, the contestant who enters the correct answer in the shortest time advances to the next round. The other 43 contestants are eliminated at the end of the round. Round 2 stayed true to the British Winning Lines. Round 3 also stayed true to the British version, except that the contestant was playing for a cash prize; in addition, restrictions were added concerning passed and missed questions.
French Version
A French version of Winning Lines, named Le Numéro gagnant, aired on France 2 between 2001 and 2002. It was presented by Nagui. The format was identical to the first series of the original BBC version.
| Country | Title | Broadcaster | Presenter | Premiere | Finale |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Winning Lines | CBS | Dick Clark | 8 January 2000 | 18 February 2000 |
 | Le Numéro gagnant | France 2 | Nagui | 2001 | 2002 |