7 /10 1 Votes
7.4/10 TV Country of origin United Kingdom No. of series 17 Language English | 6.7/10 IMDb Genre Comedy Original language(s) English First episode date 4 July 1994 Executive producer Lissa Evans | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Also known as Room 101 – Extra Storage (extended repeats) Directed by John F.D. Northover (1994-1997)
Phil Chilvers (1999)
Geraldine Dowd (2000-2007)
Paul Wheeler (2012)
Ian Lorimer (2012-) Presented by Nick Hancock (1994–1999), Paul Merton (1999–2007), Frank Skinner (2012–) Writers Annie Skinner, John O'Farrell, Mark Burton, Rob Colley, Dan Gaster Similar Have I Got News for You, Frank Skinner's Opinionated, The Graham Norton S, QI, Backchat | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Katie price on talentless people on tv talent shows room 101 series 5 episode 3 preview bbc one
Room 101 is a BBC comedy television series based on the radio series of the same name, in which celebrities are invited to discuss their pet hates and persuade the host to consign those hates to oblivion in Room 101, a location whose name is inspired by the torture room in the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four which reputedly contained "the worst thing in the world". George Orwell himself named it after a meeting room in Broadcasting House where he would sit through tedious meetings. It is produced independently for the BBC by Hat Trick Productions.
Contents
- Katie price on talentless people on tv talent shows room 101 series 5 episode 3 preview bbc one
- Greg james on the kardashians as role models room 101 series 5 episode 7 preview bbc one
- History
- Under Hancock 19941997
- Under Merton 19992007
- Under Skinner 2012present
- Memorable moments and controversy
- References
Nick Hancock hosted the first three series of the show from 1994 till 1997. He was succeeded by Paul Merton, who hosted the show from 1999 till the show's original run came to an end in 2007. Frank Skinner hosts the revamped incarnation that started on 20 January 2012.
The 1994–2007 incarnation of the show was that of a one-on-one interview between the host and guest. Consignment of the nominated items, persons or concepts to Room 101 (theoretically banishing them from the world forever) was the decision of the host, sometimes after soliciting the opinion of the studio audience. The 2012 revamp introduced a panel format with three guests competing to have their pet hates consigned to Room 101, a decision made by the host.
Memorable guests have included Ricky Gervais, Spike Milligan, Stephen Fry, Boris Johnson and Ian Hislop (the only person to appear twice on the show in its original format). Stephen Fry went as far as to put Room 101 itself into Room 101.
A Dutch version of Room 101 started on 24 February 2008, but was short-lived. An Israeli version of the show was broadcast between 2010 and 2013. An Australian version of the show hosted by Paul McDermott began in 2015.
Greg james on the kardashians as role models room 101 series 5 episode 7 preview bbc one
History
The radio series was originally broadcast on BBC Radio 5 in 1992, where it was hosted by Nick Hancock. Hancock was also the first presenter when the series transferred to television two years later. The first ever guest on the TV version was comedian Bob Monkhouse who cast the French into Room 101.
In 1999, Hancock was replaced as host by Paul Merton (who was also the first ever guest on the original radio version). Merton's first guest was Nick Hancock and his last was his fellow regular team captain on Have I Got News for You, Ian Hislop. Usually, there were five nominations discussed in each show – represented by several surreal props. The last item usually goes in, sometimes for a forfeit.
Following Merton's departure in 2007, it was announced that a replacement would be sought; however, it was not until 2012 that a twelfth series, now fronted by Frank Skinner, was aired.
Under Hancock (1994–1997)
The rules were fairly tight. Nick Hancock clearly thought out his argument and could be quite strict. Sometimes nominated items he disliked would go into Room 101 and those he didn't would not. Should the guest succeed in getting three items into the room, he would be allowed to choose one rejected item to go in. Should he get too few items in, an item previously put into the room would get a reprieve (this only happened to Caroline Quentin, who released Paul Daniels – he was later put back in by Jim Davidson and was eventually a guest). Incidental music (from a fictional Room 101 radio station) would be played as the item went along the conveyor belt into oblivion.
Under Merton (1999–2007)
When Merton became keeper in 1999, the rules were very straightforward, the conditions for choosing a bonus item or releasing an item were relaxed, the music removed, and the conveyor belt replaced by an elevated trapdoor. The conversation tended to be more relaxed, reflecting Merton's nature. Merton was often hesitant when asked to put animals into Room 101, normally saying, "You're asking me to get rid of an entire species", but he normally backed down. Merton generally put items into the room even if initially he did not want to.
Under Skinner (2012–present)
The show's format was given a complete revamp when Skinner became the new keeper in 2012. Instead of the original Room 101 format, three guests were on each show. The show was divided into a number of categorised rounds, into which guests would nominate something they hated from in that category. They would then argue about why they felt their nominated item should go into Room 101, at the end of which Skinner would choose from all the nominations. Each show also had a "Wildcard" round, where the guests could pick anything they want. At the end of each show, the guest Skinner felt had argued the best would be declared that week's winner and allowed to put any object into Room 101 unchallenged, but this feature was dropped for the second series in the current format. In the fourth series, Christian Jessen was permitted a "bonus choice" where he sent German pop music into Room 101 unchallenged. As of the 16th series the entire concept of items being divided into categories has been dropped and each round is now essentially a "Wildcard round" where guests can nominate anything they want to go into Room 101.