Password (British game show)

*Password*
Password
Genre	Panel game
Created by	Bob Stewart
Presented by	Shaw Taylor (1963); Brian Redhead (1973); Eleanor Summerfield (1974); Esther Rantzen (1975–76); Tom O'Connor (1982–83); Brian Munn (1985); Gordon Burns (1987–88)
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of series	1 (ATV era); 3 (BBC era); 1 (Channel 4 era); 3 (UTV era)
No. of episodes	27 (ATV era); 39 (BBC era); 26 (Channel 4 era); 70 (UTV era)
Production
Running time	30 mins (inc. adverts)
Production companies	ATV (1963); Thames in association with Talbot Television and Goodson-Todman Productions (1982–83); Ulster (1985–88)
Distributor	ITV Studios; Fremantle
Release
Original network	ITV (1963, 88); BBC2 (1973); BBC1 (1974–76); Channel 4 (1982–83); Ulster (1985–87)
Picture format	4:3
Original release	12 March 1963 –; 29 July 1988
Chronology
Related shows	Password

Password is a British panel game show based on the US version of the same name.

Gameplay[]

Gameplay is identical to the US version. Two celebrity-civilian teams compete, and after being given the password, the team in control has to decide whether to pass or play. Clues were worth 10 points if the player guessed the password on the first try, 9 on the second try, and so on down to 5 points for the last try (teams only got three guesses each in the UK version). The first side to earn 25 points won the game, and celebrities switched partners after each game. The first player to win three games continued as champion.

After a team accumulated 25 points or more, the points were turned into cash, at £1 per point. The winning team then played the lightning round, where teams had to guess 5 passwords in 60 seconds. Each word earned the contestant an extra £5 per word, or £50 if the team guessed all 5.

Transmissions[]

ATV era[]

Series	Start date	End date	Episodes
1	12 March 1963	10 September 1963	27

BBC era[]

Series	Start date	End date	Episodes
1	24 March 1973	28 April 1973	6
2	7 January 1974	27 August 1974	27
3	29 December 1975	3 January 1976	6

Channel 4 era[]

Series	Start date	End date	Episodes
1	6 November 1982	14 May 1983	26

UTV era[]

Series	Start date	End date	Episodes
1	2 September 1985	15 November 1985	20
2	5 January 1987	13 March 1987	20
3	20 June 1988	29 July 1988	30