Special Celebrity Sale of the Century editions aired occasionally, starting on 2 January 1981 with Steve Jones as host.
If a contestant runs out of money at any time, he or she is eliminated from further play, but may remain in his or her seat for the remainder of the show.
The first player to buzz in after the prize was revealed won and kept it regardless of the final outcome of the game, and the price was deducted from their score.
The biggest change was the "Fame Game": Here, a succession of increasingly larger clues were given to the identity of a famous person, place, or event.
Once chosen, the space selected would be spun around to reveal either a relatively small prize (typically appliances or furniture valued at around a weekly wage) or a bonus money card, which added to the player's score.
The winning contestant would be given the opportunity to spend his or her cash total on at least one of four grand prizes at the "Sale of the Century" which almost always included a new car.
From 1977 to 1983, any champion who won the game with £140 or more could choose to purchase one of the lesser four prizes or correctly answer a possible four of five questions, with no risk, to win a car.
The series was one of the most consistently high-rating entertainment shows of the 1970s, gaining peak viewing figures of 20 million.
The producers hence preferred to engage with foreign manufacturers to provide better value prizes, often including top-of-the-range Ladas.
On 22 December 1978, an all-out strike at the BBC meant that 21.2 million viewers watched the programme, the highest ever rating for a game show produced by ITV.
The show is often famed as having been the place that record producer Simon Cowell made his television debut.