The TV show is similar to an earlier detective fiction programme named Whodunnit?, where audience members had to guess the identity of the culprit after viewing prerecorded footage and interrogating suspects.
[7] Despite the notion that the Colonel's prior occupation would make him the obvious suspect for every murder, it is stressed that "everyone has equally good reasons for bumping off the victim".
Brindebella's British analogue Arlington Grange, filed at Arley Hall in Cheshire, was chosen as it had a "near perfect layout of downstairs rooms" that the game of Cluedo requires.
[8] The Cheshire mansion was only 18 miles from the Granada studios in Manchester where the live portions were taped, and open the public only at certain times of the year, both of which made filming easier.
[8] The house had to be furnished to fit the 1930s period that the show is set in, while some original furniture was deemed "ideal for the programme"; Gorton noted, ”as far as the owners were concerned, as long as the items weren’t too valuable we were free to use them".
[8] The Drawing Room "fitted the bill perfectly" due to its "unusual gothic fireplaces" which featured leaping gargoyles and furnishings like oil paintings, however high-backed furniture with lions paw feet was added.
Understanding the Global TV Format likened the show to Voce Decide, describing them both as "a hybrid, an amalgamation of a gameshow with a fictional situation and story".
[6] One magazine noted the "high level of talent the show can attract", putting it down to Cluedo being a game that most households (including those of celebrities) grew up with.
"[15] In the second episode of the fourth season, Col. Mike Mustard murdered former comrade and property developer Sir Nigel Hussey (Ian McNeice) with a G-string in the kitchen.
A short time after the episode aired, the producers received a letter that was written by the family of one Felix Reese, who himself was a taxi driver who was shot in the head by Leslie Grantham (the actor playing Col. Mustard) while the future star of EastEnders was a soldier stationed in Germany.