How does the prize money work on Michael McIntyre’s The Wheel?

Celebrities are sent into a spin on the BBC show (Picture:BBC)

Michael McIntyre’s popular BBC series, The Wheel, has most definitely put a spin on the usual game show format.

Now in its second series – and with an American spin-off coming – the show sees an assortment of famous faces brought on to assist three hopeful players who take turns answering questions on different topics.

The celebrities are all meant to be an expert on specific topics and, once the category is picked, they are spun around and, with some luck, the celeb expert will be picked by the wheel to help answer the question.

The contestants will hope to land on the corresponding celeb expert for more than one reason, though. If they get the right celebrity to their chosen category, the prize money will go up.

Here’s how the prize money works on The Wheel…

How does the prize money work on BBC’s The Wheel?

When one of the three contestants is picked to play at random on The Wheel, they have until they get a question wrong to keep playing, adding to the prize money with each correct answer.

Each correctly answered question is worth £3,000.

However, landing on the gold expert – the celebrity who is the corresponding expert for the chosen category – means it is worth a whopping £10,000.

Landing on the red shutdown celebrity means they are off The Wheel immediately.

At the end of the spin, the contestant gets the help of whichever celebrity lands in front them. This could a celebrity with a surprising amount of knowledge on the area – or they might be completely clueless.

If the contestant gets the question right, they add money to the prize pot, complete the category and stay in the centre of The Wheel.

If the contestant gets a question wrong then they are sent straight back down beneath The Wheel and we may never see them again.

One of the three contestants on the Contestant Wheel is then randomly selected to rise up and continue the game where the last one left off.

Once all seven categories have been completed, whichever contestant is in control of The Wheel faces one final question to try and take home the prize pot they’ve accrued.

The Wheel continues tonight at 8pm on BBC One.

MORE : How to apply to be on The Wheel

MORE : Michael McIntyre: ‘I came up with the idea for The Wheel in the bath’

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