Sale of the Century (1971)

Run Time - 30 min.  |   Countries - United Kingdom  |  
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Synopsis by Hal Erickson

Based on the American game show of the same name, the British Sale of the Century was presented by Anglia Television beginning in 1971. Like the original, this version featured contestants who won small amounts of cash by answering general questions, then were permitted to exchange their money for expensive prizes. Those with the most amount of money and the largest selection of prizes at the end of the show were invited to continue playing on the next episodes. The British series was hosted by Nicholas Parsons, with John Benson serving as announcer. (Benson's trademarked introduction, "Live from Norwich -- the Quiz of the Week," led many viewers to assume that the title of the series was either Live From Norwich or Quiz of the Week!) After Sale of the Century cemented its popularity on both sides of the Atlantic, new versions of the series popped up in Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, and Paraguay. The most popular of these was the Australian edition, which was still running into the 21st century, long after the British version of Sale of the Century had packed it in during 1985. (Britons were treated to brief revivals of the property courtesy of the Sky One satellite service in 1991, and the Challenge TV cable channel in 1998).