Entertainment
Deal or No Deal fans fume as one big change on ITV has ‘killed’ the show-Emily Bashforth-Entertainment – Metro
Stephen Mulhern began hosting the former Channel 4 game show last year.
Deal or No Deal viewers aren’t fans of the new format (Picture: ITV)
Deal or No Deal viewers have insisted the show ‘doesn’t work anymore’ after one major change was made.
The hugely popular British game show first aired from 2005 to 2016 on Channel 4 and was fronted by Noel Edmonds.
After seven years off air, the programme was revived by ITV, with its launch episode airing in November last year with Stephen Mulhern at the helm.
Deal or No Deal, which originally ran for 11 series, started with a jackpot prize of £250,000, which was won by nine contestants upon opening the famous red boxes.
However, when the show returned, there was one noticeable difference.
Instead of the quarter of a million, the most players can win is now £100,000.
Noel Edmonds hosted the original game show (Picture: ITV/Shutterstock)
But that’s not all, as viewers have noticed the higher amounts of money available, which appear on the red side of the board, are all considerably lower.
Taking to discussion site Reddit, user Educational-Angle717 argued that the show ‘doesn’t work anymore’ because of this, explaining that the old show reds were £1k, £3k, £5k, £10k, £15k, £20k, £35k, £50k, £75k, £100k, and £250k.
In contrast, the new reds are £1k, £2k, £3k, £4k, £5k, £7.5k, £10k, £25k, £50k, £75k, and £100k.
‘What this means is your chances of actually going away with any decent money are now incredibly limited,’ the forum poster said.
‘The bulk of the offers seem to be around £1-3k max. They’ve lost a lot of the real jeopardy in it,’ they added.
It’s been noted by viewers that the lower prize pots across multiple game shows on the channel are likely due to budget cuts.
The prize pot used to be £250,000 (Picture: Channel 4)
Nine people won the quarter of a million across 11 series (Picture: Channel 4)
Because of this, Deal or No Deal viewers in particular believe the show is now ‘failing’.
Organic-Daydream agreed that ‘you need the big money to make it even mildly interesting’, citing the likes of Tipping Point as another example, where the jackpot is £10,000.
Yoshichu25 also said that Deal or No Deal is ‘entirely luck-based’ as there is ‘no skill or knowledge involved’.
Others have also argued that the switch-up in presenters has also been detrimental to the classic teatime show.
A former contestant with the username JacobSax88 commented: ‘I was on the original series. Stephen does a good job but that show just isn’t the same without Noel either. And you are correct, it is difficult to win anything close to the big prizes we used to see.’
The British version of Deal or No Deal isn’t the only version to be hit by the cost of living crisis, as the Australian edition has also slashed its jackpot.
Now, the jackpot is significantly lower (Picture: ITV)
Long-time fans have also noticed the reds have decreased in value (Picture: Channel 4)
Amounts such as £15k and £35k have gone (Picture: ITV)
When the show first aired in 2003, a whopping $2million was on the table.
However, as the number of episodes began to increase, the prize went the other way and became $200k.
The show was scrapped in 2013, but it was picked up by Channel 10 in 2024 and Grant Denyer became its host.
It was then that the jackpot became $100k, while players were also robbed of the opportunity to win a car like they previously could.
As for the UK format, despite dividing viewers, it’s still proven a success as, in January this year, the revival was renewed for an extended second run by ITV alongside four celebrity specials.
Watch Deal or No Deal on ITV1 and ITVX.
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