This episode inspired Jacques Antoine (creator of La Chasse aux Trésors) in the creation of the TV game show Fort Boyard.

[1] The concept of Fort Boyard was imagined and outlined in 1986, at a meeting in the company of Antoine to find a game show to succeed Treasure Hunt.

Whilst looking for a set, a production team visited Fort Boyard in April 1987[2] and this fortification, located between the Île-d'Aix and the île d'Oléron in the Pertuis d'Antioche strait, was bought in November 1988 for one and a half million francs.

[2] The fortress had been put up for sale in October 1981 by the Ministry of Armed Forces and was purchased by Eric Aerts, a Belgian dental surgeon from Avoriaz, for 28,000 francs at an auction in May 1962.

[2] Because of the weather conditions, the construction of the sets for the show was done in two stages: between the start of the renovation and October 1989 then the following spring, and were completed shortly before the first day of filming on 30 June 1990.

It was reported by newspaper Sud Ouest that talks with the English broadcaster, who showed speficic interest and the most enthusiasm about the project, had begun by December 1988.

A non-televised pilot of the show funded by Channel 4 was filmed in a London studio with O'Brien as presenter, as the fort was not available at the time due to its ongoing renovations.

Footage of O'Brien's pilot, showing the initial idea for the "Treasure Room" segment of the format, later appears in a casting call advert for the French version, broadcast in May 1990.

To be as close as possible to reality, a quarter of the Fortress had been built in the studio using metal structures with 18 cells installed for playing games, which were all tested for the first time.

The concept of The Crystal Maze was developed in just "two days", creating a game that, although similar to Fort Boyard, is substantially different in terms of presentation and style.

Channel 5 later bought the rights to Fort Boyard and made their own British version, using the now refurbished set, which aired from 16 October 1998 to 29 December 2001 for four series.

These include: cyclist Laurent Fignon, Formula 1 driver Romain Grosjean in 2019, figure skating champion Brian Joubert (appearing in 2004, 2007, 2008 and 2012), Djibril Cissé, Omar Sy, R&B singer Leslie (in 2002, 2003 and 2013), Tony Parker and Eva Longoria in 2009, and many others.

In 2019 French World Cup winning footballer Adil Rami was sacked by Olympique de Marseille for reportedly missing training to appear on the show.

[17] On 26 December 1999, a celebrity edition of Fort Boyard was broadcast, featuring, Frank Bruno, Samuel Kane, Glenda McKay, Gabby Logan and Sharron Davies as contestants.

Another celebrity edition aired at the end of series four (episode 14) in 2001 featuring Sally Gray, Scott Wright, Nell McAndrew, Keith Duffy and Tris Payne.

It featured Doug Williams, Paul Burchill, Nikita, James Tighe, and Sweet Saraya, all of whom were wrestling stars from British promotion FWA.

Argentina's was the first version to have a female character guarding the tower: "La Dama del Fuerte" played by Isabel Achaval.

[24] In December 2005, it was reported that French producers Adventure Line Productions were in final talks with around three Indian broadcasters to bring the format to the country;[26] however in the end this did not happen.

Sweden, Morocco, Ukraine and the Pan-African versions cancelled filming for 2021 because of the health constraints linked to the pandemic, however, Norway and Poland confirmed that they would return alongside Denmark and Russia.

[31] The fort has also been used for special private events in 2014, 2016 and 2019 by Russian visitors[32][33] and filmed non-televised shows featuring children for the French sponsor Prince de LU from 2011 to 2013,[34] with Anne-Gaëlle Riccio returning as host.

[35] Further mini-episodes featuring Willy Rovelli's Chef character and eating challenge were filmed in June 2020 and premiered online on the children's on-demand platform Okoo of France Télévisions, and its website france.tv from October 14, 2020.

[36] It was confirmed in July 2019 that an unnamed Russian billionaire of a large steel company had hired the Fort three times, firstly in 2014 for a team building session and most recently for his 50th birthday.

[62] Ukraine (ТЕТ, 2006–2007), Georgia (Rustavi 2, 2010), Slovakia (Dajto, 2013), Algeria (A3), Quebec (Prise 2, 2009–2010, 2024), Argentina (Volver, 2019), Lebanon (LBCI, 2020–21) and the UK have also repeated past series on various channels.

If a contestant fails to leave the challenge room before the time runs out, he or she is locked in and then shortly after taken away to a cage (by La Boule or Mr Boo since 2011), meaning they are not allowed to continue with the rest of the key games and must stay there until the end of Phase One.

When the gong is struck (by La Boule) the tigers are taken away by Monique, the gate to the Treasure Room rises and will only stay open for the time won in the Council Duels (1:30 minimum, or 4:00 maximum in the French version), 2:00 minutes in UK series 1 to 4 (the time stated did not include the 20 seconds before the gate started to rise) or 3:00 minutes in UK series 5.

If, however, they declare an incorrect word, the gold is not released and instead the gate to the treasure room begins to close immediately, prompting the contestants to make a quick escape, and they complete the game with no winnings.

Their winning total was added to the "Leader Board", which was introduced in the second British series and displayed the five teams who collected the greatest amount of gold.

The Hall of Judgement provides opportunities for candidates to obtain the missing keys against the sacrifice of one of them but also to free the team members locked in during the first half.

The challenges are set by new female character, the White Judge; played by Louise-Marie Hustings in 2011, then Raphaëlle Lenoble during 2012, and Delphine Wespiser since 2013 (who was a contestant at Halloween 2012).

), a 50-minute show which features additional games and adventures played on the Fort alongside behind the scenes footage and interviews with the candidates from the episode broadcast just before.