Blankety Blank

Main game

Two contestants compete. Historically, the contestants have always been a man and a woman or two women; at no point did two men compete head-to-head. The object of the game is to match the answers of as many of the six celebrity panelists as possible on fill-in-the-blank statements.

The main game is played in two rounds. The contestant is given a choice of two statements labelled either "A" or "B". The host then reads the statement. When Les Dawson became the host, the programme did away with the A or B choice, but this was reinstated when Lily Savage became the host. Frequently, the statements are written with comedic, double entendre answers in mind. A classic example: "Did you catch a glimpse of that girl on the corner? She has the world's biggest blank."

While the contestant ponders their answer, the six celebrities write their answers on index cards. After they finish, the contestant is asked for their answer. The host then asks each celebrity – one at a time, beginning with #1 in the upper left hand corner – to give their response. The contestant earns one point for each celebrity who wrote down the same answer (or reasonably similar as determined by the judges) up to a maximum of six points for matching everyone.

After play is completed on the contestant's question, the host reads the statement on the other card for the challenger and play is identical.

The challenger again begins Round 2, with two new questions, unless they matched everyone in the first round. Only celebrities that a contestant failed to match could play this round.

If the players have the same score at the end of the show, a tiebreaker is used that reverses the game play. The contestants write their answers first on a card in secret, then the celebrities are canvassed to give their answers. The first celebrity response to match a contestant's answer gives that contestant the victory; if there is still no match (which is rare), the round is replayed with a new question.

Supermatch

A fill-in-the-blank phrase is given, and it is up to the contestant to choose the most common response based on a studio audience survey. After consulting with three celebrities on the panel for help the contestant has to choose an answer. The answers are revealed after that; the most popular answer in the survey is worth 150 Blanks, the second-most popular 100 Blanks, and the third most popular 50. If a contestant fails to match any of the three answers, the bonus round ended.

Another game is played with two new players, and the one who amassed the most from the Supermatch wins the game (and if the two winners score the same it would go to "sudden death", using the same tiebreaker as in the main game). Here, they can win a better prize, doubling their blanks or winning a holiday. The player chooses one of the celebrities who writes down their answer to a "word BLANK" phrase. The player then gives their answer, if they matched, they win.

Supermatch "prizes"

Prizes on British game shows of the 1980s seem very poor by modern standards. The Independent Broadcasting Authority restricted prize values on ITV shows, and BBC-programme prizes were worth even less because the Corporation felt it inappropriate to spend licence payers' money on such things. As a result, the poor-quality prizes became a running joke throughout the show's various runs, particularly during the Dawson era. Dawson drew attention to the fact that the prizes were less-than-mediocre, not pretending that the show had "fabulous prizes" as others did, but making a joke of it, such as referring to them as "fire salvaged" prizes.

Dawson affectionately ridiculed the show. On one memorable occasion, the 300 Blanks star prize was a trip on Concorde. As the audience (expecting the usual cheap prizes) clapped and cheered appreciatively, Dawson waved them down with "Don't get excited—it goes to the end of the runway and back."

Most famously was the consolation prize—the Blankety Blank chequebook and pen, which Dawson would often call "The Blankety Blank chequepen and book!" The "chequebook" consisted of a silver trophy in the shape of a chequebook. When one contestant had won nothing, Dawson rolled his eyes and asked her "I bet you wish you'd've stopped at home and watched Crossroads—do you want me to lend you your bus fare home?" However, despite Dawson's constant jibing of the consolation prize ("Never mind love, you might have lost, but you'll never be short of something to prop your door open with now..."), the chequebook and pen are now worth a great deal, as they were never commercially available and only a limited number were made.

The Blankety Blank Chequebook, minus the pen, was one the items uncovered by Andy in Mackenzie Crook's BBC Comedy Detectorists

By the time of the 1990s revival, the IBA prize limits had been lifted, and the star prize was generally a holiday.

Wogan's Wand

When he was host, Terry Wogan had an unusual stick-like microphone. It was modelled on the Sony ECM-51, Gene Rayburn's microphone from the 1973–1982 American version but was, in fact, an ECM-50 mounted on a car radio aerial. He always referred to it as "Wogan's Wand". On one memorable occasion, Kenny Everett bent it in half (with Wogan, obviously not expecting this, carrying on valiantly through the show with the wand at a 45-degree angle). This led to a running gag on Everett's subsequent appearances on the show, when he would come up with new ways of damaging the wand, such as attempting to cut it in half with shears. (This instance at least was visibly planned, as Wogan deliberately bent forward for him to grab it, and when the wand refused to break, Everett quipped "It worked in rehearsals".) In his first show when he took over from Wogan, Les Dawson broke Wogan's Wand in half, muttering "Been wanting to do that for years." Wogan himself destroyed the wand on a Children in Need one-off special in 2004.

Return

Blankety Blank returned to British screens in 2004 as a one-off edition as part of the BBC's annual Children in Need telethon, in which Terry Wogan reprised his role as the host of the show, accompanied by his wand microphone. The contestants were impressionists Jon Culshaw and Jan Ravens and the panellists were Donny Osmond, Maureen Lipman, Jamie Cullum, Barbara Windsor, Simon Cowell and David Coulthard.

In 2006, the show was brought back this time as an interactive DVD game, with Terry once again reprising his role of host and once again being accompanied by his magic wand-type microphone. However, the theme tune to the DVD game is not the original theme, but a version that was used for the ITV revival.

A one-off edition was shown on 21 April 2007 as part of Gameshow Marathon hosted by Vernon Kay.

Another special edition of the programme was recorded, in aid of Comic Relief's 24 Hour Panel People, on 6 March 2011. The recording was broadcast live on the Red Nose Day website and, in an edited version, on BBC Three on 14 March. The panellists were Barbara Windsor, David Tennant, Stacey Solomon, David Walliams, George Lamb and Keith Harris & Orville. The contestants were Lee Ryan and Duncan James. Paul O'Grady returned as host, this time as himself.

On 22 August 2016, it was announced that David Walliams will front a Christmas special on ITV. The episode aired on Christmas Eve from 6.30–7.30pm. It will be a trial to see if it will be a hit. If it succeeds, a full series will be commissioned in 2017. The panellists for the Christmas special were Brooke Vincent, Lesley Joseph, Louis Walsh, The Chuckle Brothers, Anne Robinson and Joe Lycett. The episode was seen by 3.7 million viewers.

Spoofs

The programme was spoofed in a 1986 episode of the BBC sitcom Filthy Rich & Catflap under the title Ooer!! Sounds a Bit Rude!!.

Another spoof was shown in 2003 as part of Comic Relief, taking the form of a "lost" Wogan-era episode with Peter Serafinowicz as Wogan. The celebrities were Willie Rushton, Su Pollard, Johnny Rotten, Ruth Madoc, Freddie Starr, and Liza Goddard (played by Nick Frost, Matt Lucas, Martin Freeman, David Walliams, Simon Pegg, and Sarah Alexander). Stirling Gallacher and Kevin Eldon played the two contestants, while Paul Putner was the star prize of a chauffeur. The skit began with one of the Wogan-era opening sequences (using the theme from the era with a slightly-slower tempo), and featured an accurately-rebuilt set.

In December 2010, Radio 4's Afternoon Drama was "Chequebook and Pen", a pastiche on Les Dawson's taking over the show, co-written by & starring Johnny Vegas.