Room 101 (TV series)

This article is about the British series. For the Australian series, see Room 101 (Australian TV series).
Room 101
Also known as Room 101 – Extra Storage
(extended repeats)
Genre Comedy
Directed by John F.D. Northover (1994-1997)
Phil Chilvers (1999)
Geraldine Dowd (2000-2007)
Paul Wheeler (2012)
Ian Lorimer (2012-)
Presented by Nick Hancock (1994-1999)
Paul Merton (1999-2007)
Frank Skinner (2012-)
Country of origin United Kingdom
Original language(s) English
No. of series 15
No. of episodes 121 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s) Jimmy Mulville (Series 12-)
Richard Wilson (Series 12-)
Mirella Breda (Series 12-)
Producer(s) Lissa Evans (Series 1-3)
Toby Stevens (Series 4-5)
Victoria Payne (Series 6-10)
Paul McGettigan (Series 11)
Adam Copeland (Series 12-)
Editor(s) Steve Dix (Series 12)
Tim Ellison (Series 12-)
Dan Evans (Series 13-)
Location(s) The London Studios (1994-2007)
BBC Television Centre (2012-2013)
Elstree Studios (2014-)
Running time 30 minutes
Production company(s) Hat Trick Productions
Release
Original network BBC Two (1994-2007)
BBC One (2012-)
Picture format 4:3 (1994-1997)
16:9 (1999-)
Audio format Stereo
Original release Original series
4 July 1994 (1994-07-04) – 9 February 2007 (2007-02-09)
Revived series
20 January 2012 (2012-01-20) – present
Chronology
Related shows Room 101 (radio series)
TV Heaven, Telly Hell
Room 101 (Australian TV series)

Room 101 is a BBC comedy television series based on the radio series of the same name, in which celebrities are invited to discuss their pet hates and persuade the host to consign those hates to oblivion in Room 101, a location whose name is inspired by the torture room in the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four which reputedly contained "the worst thing in the world". George Orwell himself named it after a meeting room in Broadcasting House where he would sit through tedious meetings.[1] It is produced independently for the BBC by Hat Trick Productions.

Nick Hancock hosted the first three series of the show from 1994 till 1997. He was succeeded by Paul Merton who hosted the show from 1999 till the show's original run came to an end in 2007. Frank Skinner hosts the revamped incarnation that started on 20 January 2012.[2]

The 1994–2007 incarnation of the show was that of a one-on-one interview between the host and guest. Consignment of the nominated items, persons or concepts to Room 101 (theoretically banishing them from the world forever) was the decision of the host, sometimes after soliciting the opinion of the studio audience. The 2012 revamp introduced a panel format with three guests competing to have their pet hates consigned to Room 101, a decision made by the host.

Memorable guests have included Ricky Gervais, Stephen Fry, Boris Johnson and Ian Hislop (the only person to appear twice on the show in its original format). Stephen Fry went as far as to put Room 101 itself into Room 101.

A Dutch version of Room 101 started on 24 February 2008, but was short-lived.[3] An Israeli version of the show was broadcast between 2010 and 2013. An Australian version of the show hosted by Paul McDermott began in 2015.[4][5]

History

The radio series was originally broadcast on BBC Radio 5 in 1992, where it was hosted by Nick Hancock. Hancock was also the first presenter when the series transferred to television two years later. The first ever guest on the TV version was comedian Bob Monkhouse who cast the French into Room 101.

In 1999, Hancock was replaced as host by Paul Merton (who was also the first ever guest on the original radio version). Merton's first guest was Nick Hancock and his last was his regular competitor on Have I Got News for You, Ian Hislop. Usually, there were five nominations discussed in each show – represented by several surreal props. The last item usually goes in, sometimes for a forfeit.

Following Merton's departure in 2007, it was announced that a replacement would be sought; however, it was not until 2012 that a twelfth series, now fronted by Frank Skinner, was aired.[2][6]

Rules

Under Hancock (1994–1997)

The rules were fairly tight. Nick Hancock clearly thought out his argument and could be quite strict. Sometimes nominated items he disliked would go into Room 101 and those he didn't would not. Should the guest succeed in getting three items into the room, he would be allowed to choose one rejected item to go in. Should he get too few items in, an item previously put into the room would get a reprieve (this only happened to Caroline Quentin, who released Paul Daniels – he was later put back in by Jim Davidson and was eventually a guest). Incidental music (from a fictional Room 101 radio station) would be played as the item went along the conveyor belt into oblivion.

Under Merton (1999–2007)

When Merton became keeper in 1999, the rules were very straightforward, the conditions for choosing a bonus item or releasing an item were relaxed, the music removed, and the conveyor belt replaced by an elevated trapdoor. The conversation tended to be more relaxed, reflecting Merton's nature. Merton was often hesitant when asked to put animals into Room 101, normally saying, "You're asking me to get rid of an entire species", but he normally backed down. Merton generally put items into the room even if initially he did not want to.

Under Skinner (2012–present)

The show's format was given a complete revamp when Skinner became the new keeper in 2012. Instead of the original Room 101 format, three guests were on each show. The show was divided into a number of categorised rounds, into which guests would nominate something they hated from in that category. They would then argue about why they felt their nominated item should go into Room 101, at the end of which Skinner would choose from all the nominations.[7] Each show also had a "Wildcard" round, where the guests could pick anything they want. At the end of each show, the guest Skinner felt had argued the best would be declared that week's winner and allowed to put any object into Room 101 unchallenged, but this feature was dropped for the second series in the current format. In the fourth series, Christian Jessen was permitted a "bonus choice" where he sent German pop music into Room 101 unchallenged. As of the 16th series the entire concept of items being divided into categories has been dropped and each round is now essentially a "Wildcard round" where guests can nominate anything they want to go into Room 101.

Memorable moments and controversy

Transmissions

Series Start date End date Episodes
1 4 July 1994 22 August 1994 8
2 1 September 1995 20 October 1995 8
3 1 August 1997 26 September 1997 8
4 22 July 1999 10 September 1999 8
5 4 August 2000 29 September 2000 8
6 8 January 2001 12 March 2001 10
7 25 February 2002 22 April 2002 8
8 3 November 2003 22 December 2003 8
9 13 September 2004 1 November 2004 8
10 14 September 2005 2 November 2005 8
11 5 January 2007 9 February 2007 6
12 20 January 2012 9 March 2012 8
13 4 January 2013 22 February 2013 8
14 24 January 2014 14 March 2014 8
15 2 January 2015 6 March 2015 9
16 14 January 2016 17 March 2016 9

See also

References

  1. "THE REAL ROOM 101". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 9 December 2006.
  2. 1 2 Frank Skinner (1970-01-01). "Media Centre - Frank Skinner to host Room 101 on BBC One". BBC. Retrieved 2014-01-25.
  3. "Episode 1". Room 101 (Dutch version). 2008-02-06.
  4. "Paul McDermott back on TV as half therapist half host with Room 101 on SBS". News Ltd. 19 October 2014. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
  5. "Room 101". SBS. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
  6. "Frank Skinner to host new Room 101 series". British Comedy Guide. 20 August 2011. Retrieved 20 August 2011.
  7. "Room 101 gets new format with new host Skinner". British Comedy Guide. 12 September 2011. Retrieved 12 September 2011.

External links

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