I know they used to knock around various torrenting sites, but it’s possibly quite surprising given that there are entire runs of things like Crystal Maze on Youtube that there’s a surprising lack of Treasure Hunt on Youtube.
So I was pleased to look through my subscription list this morning to discover that the All Our Yesterdays channel seems to be uploading them, albeit Family Channel branded ones. Only the first two series at time of writing, but still. Of course Golden Age Treasure Hunt with Wincey Willis didn’t start until the year after but you can definitely see the lighter tone of the show forming with series two (we always quite liked Annette Lynton) whilst the first series is fascinating in its own right.
Here’s the very first episode which worked much closer to La Chasse Aux Tresors, and has a very similar set. The theme still gets us going!
UK pilot edition, that then ended up being the first edition of series 1?
‘Studio Facilities – VTF Paris’ should be the biggest giveaway.
Would confidently bet a fair amount that the same chase was done twice over two days. The French on one, and ours on the other.
I suspect S1 E2 was the first to be recorded at it’s usual UK home at the now demolished Limehouse Television Studios.
Episode seven set in London is quite weird in that they search for numbers for a code, which seems like such an odd thing to do mid-series, I assumed they might have tried it as an idea first, decided they didn’t like it and hidden it mid-series. I don’t know though.
That episode is really unusual. I haven’t seen enough of the episodes to say whether it’s unique or not, but having a break in the middle of a clue is weird, even if it clearly hides the camera team relocating. Additionally, a clue that can be solved while still in the air is not what you would expect. Is it possible that one scheduled hunt had to be scrapped and replaced by an emergency standby at no notice… and the easiest place to stage a standby was in London itself?
Don’t quote me, but that might be a pilot – or at the very least, influenced by the Greenwich course they shot as one of the pilot shows. The first pilot show was planned for Egypt but had to be cancelled due to problems with the authorities. Then they filmed another one, but that didn’t work out because the videotapes turned out to be blank. So they ended up doing a few hops around London as the third one, off which the series was commissioned.
This reminds me of this article, which is well worth a read:
http://www.offthetelly.co.uk/oldott/www.offthetelly.co.uk/index11fa.html?page_id=985
I always wondered if it was a pilot, that’s what makes the most sense, but then why do your first broadcast episode from the French set especially if they go internationally to Singapore on the London set anyway.
A very odd thing to see mid-run anyway.
That’s a great article, it must have been years since I last read it so thanks for the reminder.
Incidentally, our archivist continues to upload episodes, although it doesn’t look like they’ve got round to The Making Of Treasure Hunt yet:
You know, I don’t think I’ve ever seen that.
It misses out lots of potentially interesting bits. Like the Lair of Meo.
Series 1 and 2 are wobbly, but really fascinating – it’s great to see Anneka’s confidence grow and that golden formula slowly come together.
Just to say, there’s quite the glut of Treasure Hunts on this channel, although tragically they come with the theme tune muffled:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCj0xYg50vwwhDuA0_fhFn9g/
One thing I’m looking forward to, dipping in and out of this, is looking at places I’m familiar with but thirty years ago – there’s one in Cambridgeshire and at least one of the locations is somewhere I go walking.
It seems unbelievable that the Suzi Perry version was fifteen years ago.
Ha ha, I’m watching the Series 2 Cambridgeshire one now, the first clue was actually in one of the rooms Anneka describes and walks through during her intro.
I taped loads of these when Challenge used to show them nightly about twenty years ago, but other than hilarious ‘get Anneka on a theme park ride’ moments and that JCB ballet thing I don’t remember a great deal of it.
Probably worth giving a shout out to friend of the bar, Mr Tom Scott who appeared on the Suzi Perry / Dermot Murnaghan rehash of the naughties with his father. Self confessed computer geek!
He might like us to forget Vivienne Westwood, but we won’t. #neverforget