Using the new fangled (it’s been here all the time) sticky post feature to annoy you into voting, the 20th running of our annual poll is now open! Details under the cut, you’ve got until the evening of Sunday 12th January to vote.
20. Twenty. The Big Two Oh. The end of 2024 marks our twentieth running of The UKGameshows/Bother’s Bar Poll of the Year and we can’t wait to see what you, the titans of the British format industry and the viewers thought of it all.
It’s extremely sad that the list of new competitive unscripted formats on broadcast television in 2024 is so small, but we can only work with what we’re given – on the brighter side we know there are some interesting shows to come in 2025, hopefully not a shorter list still.
The Rules
- Easy peasy. For each category (except Golden Moments) you get FIVE votes, so you can nominate FIVE shows. Please put each vote on a separate line, it makes it easier for us to count. You can no longer give the same show multiple votes.
- For most of the categories, your choices are for new formats made and broadcast in the UK in 2024.
- You do not have to use all your votes.
- We welcome short comments with your reasoning for your vote – these may be used in the final write-up. We’re more likely to use your comments if they are to the point. The comments will be kept anonymous.
- If you’re in the industry it would be useful to point that out – we absolutely welcome you and you may indeed vote for shows you’ve worked on – but we reserve the right to disqualify insincere dodgy ballots.
- Time is of the essence, the vote closes 23:59 Sunday 12th January.
The Categories
- Hall of FAME – For the best gameshows, competitive reality and panel games first broadcast on linear TV (or radio) in the UK in 2024.
- Hall of SHAME – For the worst gameshows, competitive reality and panel games first broadcast on linear TV (or radio) in the UK in 2024.
- Golden Five – For any shows made primarily for the UK market that had a new first-run episode broadcast in 2024.
- Streaming Five – Must be gameshow or gameshow related, must be either from a subscription streaming service (i.e. Netflix, Amazon, Nebula etc), a channel’s online offering not destined for broadcast television, or if it’s on Youtube (or equivalent) backed professionally or at the very least a legitimately returnable format. Cannot be a Twitch Stream. Cannot be a broadcast radio show as its own podcast, vote for them in the Golden Five. Does not have to be made in the UK, but does need to be able to be watched here a) legitimately and b) earlier or at the same time as the rest of the world. Must have new episodes out in 2024.
- Magic Moments – For your favourite moments. If there are Youtube links, that would be handy.
A non-exhaustive list of eligible shows can be found on ukgameshows.com. We give shiny floor show and competitive unscripted reality equal weight. You may vote for revivals.
How to vote
This year the preferred method is by Google Forms. This allows you to fill it in over a number of sessions and change or modify your votes up until the deadline.
However we also accept e-mail ballots, please send them to poll@bothersbar.co.uk with Poll of the Year 2024 in the subject line and they’ll get to the same place.
Thanks very much and look out for the results towards the end of January.
Even though not all of the shows have been great, thankfully ITV gave us something to talk about in the second half of 2024. Only being short runs and specials, they could easily have shown something else and waited until this year to bring out new stuff. BUT it has the knock-on effect of making 2025 predictable as I imagine Bullseye, You Bet and Parents Evening will get re-commissioned as will Password. Oh for the days of shows getting axed after one series!
My gut says they won’t bother with Password seeing as they already left it on the shelf for ages and then it underperformed. Bullseye I’d understand, sad as it is you can’t argue with its figures. You Bet will probably happen although it’d be a waste of everyone’s time and money and they know it. Parents Evening is 50/50 I reckon, did better than Password albeit not hugely, not expensive, gives ITV an outlet for Romesh – I think there are worse recommissions.
Someone at ITV has evidently decided Jake Humphrey is this year’s winner despite all the Whisper shows frankly underperforming so it will be interesting to see how that develops this year.