Play Your Cards Right broadcast on ITV from 1 February 1980 to 22 November 1987, produced by LWT, and hosted by Bruce Forsyth.
LWT produced a more modern version from 18 March 1994 to 4 June 1999, initially expected to be presented by Brian Conley, who filmed a pilot show before Forsyth was lured back after he unexpectedly quit The Generation Game.
Forsyth also presented a parody of the format, Play Your Iraqi Cards Right (working title: Play Your Kurds Right), when he was guest host on the satirical BBC TV series Have I Got News for You in June 2003.
On 15 October 2005, it made a one-off return as part of Ant & Dec's Gameshow Marathon, celebrating 50 years of ITV.
(If the first couple guessed exactly the number of people, they would win a case of champagne, as opposed to a cash bonus depending on type of question on the US versions ($100 for 10-person surveys with another $100 split among the panel, $500 for 100-person surveys or general knowledge questions.)
If no team had managed to predict the last card correctly within the first three questions sudden death was played.
If a third game was required, three cards were played by each couple instead of five, with sudden death occurring on the third question instead of fourth.
Also around the time a gift of a bottle of champagne was given to a couple in the rare instances where they correctly guessed the exact answer of a question.
At the start of the bottom row, they had the chance to change their base card.
At the start of the second row, they got an extra 200 points, and they had the chance to change the card.
After this, Bruce's gag was to say "Well done you winners, and so sorry losers, we really are sorry to lose you so early in the show...tough."
The rules of the main game were exactly the same as in the original version, except the "Brucie Bonus" was £1,000.
In the Cash Cards, Bruce would first ask the winning couple a ridiculously hard, trivial or stupid question.
", to which the audience would laugh – except that on at least two occasions, the contestants correctly answered the question, shocking Bruce, who accused the contestants – though in a humorous manner – of "ruining the show", prompting much more laughter from the audience.
Card dealers include Jo Thomas, Yvonne Younger, Zena Clifton, Natalie Shaw, Denise "Denni" Kemp, Lesley Anderson, Gillian Elvins, John Melainey, Camilla Blair, Gillian Duxbury, Alison Bell, Carol Dean, Brenda Haldane, Wendy Marler, Robin Martyne, Denni Kemp, Natalie van de Braam, Alison Bell, Carol Dean, Vicki Brattle, Sophie Allisstone, Carly Carter, Debbie Flett, Sharon Amos, Sheryl Deane, Charlie Maloney, Maxine Restall, Annalise Braakensiek and Vicki-Lee Walberg.
In 2011, a new pilot was made for a planned reboot of Play Your Cards Right on ITV with Vernon Kay as the new host.
[1] In June 2019 it was announced that, as one of the country's five all-time favourite game shows, it would be "supersized and rebooted" in a new series Alan Carr's Epic Gameshow filmed at dock10 studios for broadcast on ITV.
[3] In 2020 presenter Ryan Swain revived the gameshow digitally via his Instagram attracting celebrity guests daily; it was to set up to entertain the NHS staff, carers and key workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.