This was a real treat for me, not just because of the great show itself, but it was the first place I ever saw comedian Jimmy Carr. He hosts this show that takes four contestants, one lost round by round, until one is left, who has the chance to win a car (often a Mini) or £5000. The questions consist of mostly simple and trivia based questions, with a single subject, a single letter answer or identifying pictures, and the contestant with the least correct answers is eliminated. But the hook is that each contestant has to do something painful, humiliating or disgusting, the distraction, in order to participate. Distractions included being electrocuted, peeing in toilets as a buzzer, sticking clothes pegs to faces, snapping and putting elastic bands on faces, cactus surrounded buzzers, ugly naked people joining them in sporting events, bubbles blowing in faces while wearing cheek retractors, paint balls fired when an question is wrong or not answered, wrestlers throwing them around, eating animal parts, and much more. The final round sees the surviving contestant given their car or cash, but they have to answer five questions (from an choice of two categories, e.g. bears or space, trousers and bacon) correctly to keep their prize intact, or their car loses parts, or their cash is burnt on a small furnace or in toasters. There were two special episodes in the series, the first starring Big Brother 2003 (the only boring series) contestants playing for charity, with Federico Martone, BB winner Cameron Stout, Anouska Golebiewski, and eventual winner Jon Tickle, and the second special where all contestants were police officers. It was so popular that it was taken to America, with Carr remaining as host, and I watched this all the time, I loved it, a very funny and original game show. It was number 64 on The 100 Greatest TV Treats 2003. Very good!
Review of Distraction
