Quiz Call

A grid or table of money amounts is shown on screen. Behind each amount lies an answer to the main question. The main question is normally given in a clue word with associated answer. For example, Films 'M', Black____ or Things That Are Red. A possible 10 – 18 answers are available with numerous outcomes but only the answers on the grid/table are correct. The top prize answers worth £1,000, £2,000 and £3,000 were generally difficult but not totally unheard of (such as Marge Simpson's necklace, The headlights on the 'KITT' car from Knight Rider or the seats in the House of Lords – other answers were easier and would be fairly well known such as 'a postbox'). The host will take calls at random for callers to answer the question, and if it corresponds to an answer on the grid/table they will win a cash prize shown that is available. Around halfway through the show, when the presenters swap, the cash considerably drops. for example, the top answer that was worth £3,000 drops down to around £500-£750, and the smallest answer of around £100-£250, drops to around £25-£50.

Various situations will happen during the show as to how much is available, such as double, triple, 4×, 5×, 6×, 7×, 8×, 9× and even 10× the money, extra answers, instant wins or jackpot amounts.

Since the show's relaunch on Five, it was revealed on 8 August 2009 that they had given away over £8 million in prizes and £650,000 had been given away in 2009, and on 27 August 2009, it was revealed £710,000 had been given away to 1930 winners so far in 2009.

On 24 September 2006, Quiz Call admitted to The Sunday Times that they had manipulated games by blocking callers from taking part for periods of up to 40 minutes. Under headlines of "naked profiteering", Quiz Call said that on these occasions, it charged thousands of callers a standard 75p premium line fee – knowing that it would give them no chance to answer the prize question. At the culture, media and sport committee, held on 28 November 2006, representatives from Quiz Call admitted that one instance of people being put on hold did occur and that the producer responsible no longer works for Ostrich Media.[3]

Quiz Call, which once offered a £100,000 jackpot, admitted that the show's producer was responsible for deciding how long callers had to wait to enter the games. It admitted that Quiz Call had been caught out cutting corners, in using its own staff to pose as prize winners, clutching 3-foot cheques in an on-air promotion, though there was no suggestion that any employees had been playing or winning the games.

The BBC Radio 4 programme You and Yours broadcast a segment on Quiz Call on 10 October 2006, who were contacted by listeners who had been barred by the channel. One listener, Mari Hamilton from Aylesbury, who used the on-air name 'Luna', contacted the programme to say that they were blocked by the channel after winning a number of cash prizes using the free web entry option.[4]

Quiz Call was removed from TV screens as part of Five's review into all its premium rate phone calling quiz programmes in March 2007, and returned on the evening of 30 March 2007.

At least one independent individual has estimated Ostrich Media to be drawing more than £23,000 per hour of the show being on air, or around £100,000 per evening based on the new legal requirement to show the number of calls received in any particular minute.

Presenters who have hosted the show include:

For the last week of the show, 4 of the 7 presenters who were working for Quiz Call at the time presented. The three that did not present were Russ Spencer, Pollyanna Woodward and Keith Price. The presenters for the last three shows were as follows:

• Thursday – Liz Fuller and Kait Borsay
• Friday – Chris Hopkins and Chris Park
• Saturday (the final show) – Liz Fuller and Chris Park

• Quiz Call official website
• Clip showing examples of Quiz Call solutions (YouTube)