Crosswits is a British game show produced by Tyne Tees in association with Cove Productions and Action Time, and filmed from Tyne Tees' City Road studios in Newcastle upon Tyne. First shown on 3 September 1985, it was originally hosted by Barry Cryer for the first two series; comedian Tom O'Connor then took over from series 3 until the show ended on 23 December 1998. The show consisted of two members of the public competing against each other to solve simple crossword puzzles. A "celebrity" partner helped each member of the public. The announcers for the show were generally Tyne Tees continuity announcers such as Judi Lines, Jonathan Morrell and Bill Steel.
| Crosswits | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Game show |
| Created by | Jerry Payne |
| Presented by | Barry Cryer (1985–87) Tom O'Connor (1987–98) |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 12 |
| No. of episodes | 435 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 30 minutes (inc. adverts) |
| Production companies | Tyne Tees in association with Cove Productions and Action Time |
| Original release | |
| Network | ITV |
| Release | 3 September 1985 – 23 December 1998 |
| Related | |
| The Cross-Wits (US version) | |
Gameplay
editThe teams consisted of two players (one celebrity and one contestant), solving words in a crossword puzzle (by virtue of clues), with six words to solve, with a clue word, all of which were clues to a keyword that linked the six answers. Each correct answer kept control and earned one point per letter in the answer plus a chance to solve the keyword for 10 bonus points. On the first two series, which had been transmitted weekly, the teams played for pounds. Later in the run, teams always took turns whether they were right or wrong.
There were also special rounds in the game:
- Anagram round – the first letter of every answer in the crossword puzzle makes the keyword.
- Mystery round – finding a keyword after one clue without assistance from a clue word wins the contestant a small prize such as a cordless phone or a pocket TV.
- Song round – all clues were lyrics to a well-known song.
The team with the most points when time runs out, wins the game, and plays the same Crossfire round as the American version. The other player received a dictionary and thesaurus.
Crossfire round
editThe winning team was shown one last crossword puzzle, with 10 words none of which are clues to a master puzzle. The host reads rapid-fire clues to each of the 10 words. Each correct words brings the winning team extra closer to a holiday for the contestant, and if they can solve all ten clues in 60 seconds or less, they'll win the holiday, otherwise the winning player wins a gold pen and pencil set.
Transmissions
edit| Series | Start date | End date | Episodes | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 September 1985 | 3 December 1985 | 13 | 1985 |
| 2 | 5 January 1987 | 30 March 1987 | 13 | 1986 |
| 3 | 27 October 1987 | 17 December 1987 | 24 | 1987 |
| 4 | 25 April 1988 | 17 June 1988 | 40 | 1988 |
| 5 | 15 May 1989 | 14 July 1989 | 45 | 1989 |
| 6 | 9 April 1990 | 25 May 1990 | 35 | 1990 |
| 7 | 29 April 1991 | 21 June 1991 | 40 | 1991 |
| 8 | 13 April 1992 | 26 June 1992 | 55 | 1992 |
| 9 | 17 May 1993 | 18 June 1993 | 25 | 1993 |
| 10 | 4 April 1994 | 8 July 1994 | 70 | 1994 |
| 11 | 21 October 1996 | 13 December 1996 | 40 | 1996 |
| 12 | 6 January 1998 | 23 December 1998 | 35 | 1997 |
Regional transmissions information
edit1985
editThe first series aired on Tuesday afternoons at 3 pm, apart from TVS who aired the series on Thursday afternoons at the same time.
Early 1987
editThe second series aired on Monday evenings at 6:30 pm in the Tyne Tees region. The rest of the regions aired the series on Tuesday afternoons at 3 pm.
Late 1987
editThe third series aired on Tuesday to Thursday afternoons at 2 pm, apart from TVS which aired the series on Monday afternoons at 3 pm, but did not air all the episodes, and Channel which aired the series on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday afternoons at 3 pm.
1988–94
editFrom the fourth series up until the tenth series, the show aired on Monday to Friday mornings at 9:25 am, just after TV-am/GMTV had finished.
1996
editThe eleventh series aired on Monday to Friday afternoons but was not networked. Depending on the region, it aired at random times in certain areas.
- Carlton, Central, Tyne Tees, Westcountry and Yorkshire had shown the series at 1:25 pm.
- Ulster aired the episodes at 1:55 pm.
- Grampian put the shows out at 2:50 pm.
- Scottish aired the episodes at 2:20 pm, but only four times a week.
- Border and Granada aired the episodes at 5:10 pm most days.
- Anglia and Meridian aired the episodes on most days at 12:55 pm. Anglia continued to broadcast more episodes, finishing on 24 January 1997.
- HTV aired over half the episodes at 2:25 pm, but did not complete the run.
1998
editThe twelfth series aired on Tuesday to Thursday afternoons at 1:50 pm for the first 32 episodes from 6 January to 19 March. The last three episodes aired from 21 to 23 December 1998.