The National Lottery: In It to Win It

Five contestants competed for a chance to win up to £100,000. They were initially seated in the Waiting Area, on one side of the studio, and each was assigned one of five colours. One ball was drawn at random from a lottery machine, and the contestant matching its colour crossed the studio to sit in Winners' Row. They were asked a series of multiple-choice questions, each with three answer options. Every correct answer added £5,000 to a prize fund, but a miss sent the contestant to the Red Area, between the Waiting Area and Winners' Row.

Once a contestant went to the Red Area, another ball was drawn from the lottery machine and that contestant moved from the Waiting Area to Winners' Row. The host then asked an open-ended question to the contestant(s) in the Red Area. A correct answer allowed them to return to Winners' Row behind the newly chosen contestant, but a miss sent them back to the Waiting Area. No money was at stake on these questions.

As the game progressed, multiple contestants may be in Winners' Row and/or the Red Area at the same time. In the former case, the host asked a new multiple-choice question to each in turn; if any miss and go to the Red Area, a single new contestant was chosen from the Waiting Area, regardless of how many answered incorrectly. In the latter case, the open-ended question was posed to all contestants in the Red Area, and they had to collectively agree on an answer. All move to either Winners' Row or the Waiting Area on a correct response or miss, respectively.

After 20 multiple-choice questions have been asked, all contestants not in Winners' Row were eliminated from the game with no winnings. Those who remained were asked one more multiple-choice question apiece, and all who answered correctly won an equal share of the prize fund. If no one answered correctly, or if no contestants were in Winners' Row after the 20th question, no one won any money. The maximum prize of £100,000 could only be won if a single contestant correctly answered all 20 multiple-choice questions and the extra one.

The programme also included the Saturday night Thunderball and Lotto draws. Originally, from Series 1 to 5, Winton himself presided over the Lottery draws live. From series 6 onwards though, a different presenter at "Lottery HQ" conducted the live draws.

• The National Lottery: In It to Win It at BBC Programmes
• The National Lottery: In It to Win It at UKGameshows.com