Wheel of Fortune has been revived in the UK! More than two decades since it was last on our screens, Wheel of Fortune will now have new host Graham Norton when it hits ITV1 in 2024.
Fans of the format, which is still going strong in the US, will remember that Wheel Of Fortune is known for its giant carnival wheel, which the contestants spin to win cash as well as trying to solve word puzzles. And the winner will walk away with a life-changing sum of money of up to £50,000. The reboot will also include two celebrity specials, where famous faces compete to win money for their chosen charity.
"My first ever TV job was a game show on ITV, so this feels like coming full circle,’ says Graham Norton of hosting Wheel Of Fortune. "You might even call it a wheel!"
Here’s everything you need about the new ITV1 series Wheel Of Fortune…
Wheel of Fortune release date
Wheel Of Fortune will start on ITV1, ITVX and STV on Saturday January 6 2024 at 6pm. It's an eight-part series, which includes two celebrity specials.
What happens in Wheel of Fortune?
In Wheel of Fortune contestants spin the huge ‘wheel of fortune’ to win a cash prize. The wheel secures a cash prize and then they pick a letter to help them solve a word puzzle. Every time they reveal a letter in the puzzle they win multiples of the cash sum locked in by the wheel. However, they could also spin a ‘lose a turn’ or a ‘bankrupt’ which could see them lose everything. Along the way, the contestants also win prizes, including a holiday, which are added to their cash pot to help them reach the bonus round.
INTERVIEW: Graham Norton on hosting Wheel Of Fortune
Why did you decide to host Wheel of Fortune?
Graham Norton says: "It was lovely to be asked to do this. Over the years I have done gameshow pilots and they’ve always been new formats, there is always a moment when you are doing a new game show when you realise ‘oh that’s why this won’t work’. With the Wheel of Fortune it’s a tried and tested formula. It's been running for fifty-one years in America so that is what gave me the confidence to say yes, the game is really strong."
When was the last time you hosted a gameshow?
Graham says: "It must have been about thirty years ago. My very first job was a middle of the night, filthy version of Mr & Mrs and it was called Carnal Knowledge made by Rapido. We made twenty- seven episodes in a few days. So, I think this was the last gameshow I hosted. I’ve done some reality since then and I’ve done pilot game shows but this is the first big game show since then."
Do you think people will be pleased Wheel of Fortune back in the UK?
Graham says: "I think even people who haven’t even seen The Wheel of Fortune, think they have. The wheel is so iconic. It’s weird it’s like it’s in our DNA, people are born knowing about The Wheel of Fortune."
Can you explain how it works?
Graham says: "The game is a combination of skill and luck. So, the luck is all about the wheel and what it lands on, so there is nothing you can do as a player to get better at that. There are three contestants and they spin the wheel. They each get a turn and whatever it lands on is the monetary value of the letters. Then they’ve got to solve the puzzles and the puzzles are where the skill comes in. It’s interesting the players who are good and the players who are not so good, if you keep your nerve you can kind of think ‘oh that must be i,o,n at the end of that word’. The people who don’t do well are the ones who just see blanks as they just can’t calm down to guess what it is. That’s what I like about the game play, it’s half luck. If it’s all luck what’s the point and if it’s all skill the best person wins. What’s good about this is the person who is best at solving the puzzle can still lose if the wheel doesn’t like them, so it’s a nice combination of those two things. There are two end games. One person gets the opportunity to play these games and in the game you get to choose a category out of three. One of the end games you play for a holiday and the other one you play for a really big cash prize, up to £50,000."
How does the puzzle work?
Graham says: "It’s like hangman as you pick the letters, but it’s not as simple as that. As you play the game you discover some of the puzzles are slightly different. Some of the grids are crosswords or sometimes they are linked phrases, but the basic puzzle is like hangman. You get a clue so the clue could be ‘it’s a weekend activity’ so there will be some sort of phrase to give you a ballpark."
How do the prizes work?
Graham says: "There are spot prizes as well. Sometimes there will be a spot prize on the wedge where the wheel lands. If the letter you choose is up there, you also get the spot prize as well as the money. It’s quite hard to leave with nothing. People will leave with nothing but it’s hard to leave with nothing. The £50,000 gets added to what they’ve already won so they can win more than £50,000. So, if you’ve got to the position where you are playing for £50,000 you’ve probably got quite a lot in the bank already. Also, on the wheel you have bankrupt wedges and lose a turn wedges. If the wheel lands on a bankruptcy wedge you only lose the money from that round. As the game goes on, the top amount on the wedges on the wheel increases but so does the number of bankrupt wedges, so it’s kind of yin and yang. It is fascinating how the wheel will have a run of ‘no I’m not playing’ and people will just keep landing on the bankrupt wedge. In the final puzzle the player doesn’t know how much money they are playing for. They can be playing for anything between £15,000 and £50,000 so it’s only after they’ve won or lost that they find out. So, it’s not too cruel, you don’t watch somebody accumulate thousands and thousands and then it all goes. Hopefully everybody has banked a bit as they go. That’s why I say it’s quite hard to leave with nothing, it’s doable but it’s hard to do that."
Do you think you’d do well at the game?
Graham says: "It’s weird as I feel with word puzzles you either get them quite quickly or you really are just bamboozled. When you are looking at the three players you kind of know when one of them has got it (the puzzle) and they really want the wheel back as they know the answer. You feel like it’s obvious and they still get it wrong because there is kind of a snow blindness that takes over. It’s a bit like trying to parallel park when people are watching you. You are trying to do a word puzzle and people are not just looking over your shoulder there are two banks of people and cameras all watching you. I like to do a cross word but if my husband is doing it at the same time on his phone, I don’t like it."
What have the contestants been like?
Graham says: "What struck me about the contestants is they are up for a good time and they are here to have fun, but it was only when I got onto the studio floor that I realised ‘hang on this is serious money, this is big’. For the people who win they are walking away with a lot of money, that is really going to affect their lives. It’s going to be a good year for them. That was the element that I stupidly hadn’t taken into consideration before I actually met the contestants. So, we do have fun but at the end the stakes are high."
Tell us about the celebrity episodes...
Graham says: "I’m looking forward to the celebrity specials and it will be interesting to see how they play. They are playing for charities so in a way the stakes are higher because it’s a charity they support. It’s also quite exposing, you could end up looking a bit of an idiot. Also, a lot of celebrities are quite competitive so I think it will be quite cut-throat."
What have the audiences been like when filming Wheel Of Fortune?
Graham says: "What’s been lovely is the audience gets so into it. It’s weird as it hasn’t been on UK Television for over twenty years but it’s like the audience just knows the game. They are really into the wheel and you can tell when the audience knows the puzzle. The audiences have been great!"
A brief history of Wheel of Fortune in the UK
Based on the American format, Wheel of Fortune started in the UK in 1988, with Long Lost Families’ Nicky Campbell at the helm. He filmed eight series before he was succeeded by John Leslie. Bradley Walsh took a turn in 1997 and Paul Hendy hosted the last series in 2001. Carol Smillie, Terri Seymour and Jenny Powell were all former ‘hostesses’ who span the wheel.
All about Wheel Of Fortune host Graham Norton
Graham Norton hosts the award-winning chat show The Graham Norton Show and commentates on the Eurovision Song Contest. He’s a judge on RuPaul’s Drag Race UK and had acting roles in the sitcom Father Ted, Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga and Absolutely Fabulous. He’s also hosted So Graham Norton and appeared on Loose Ends, Bring Me The Head of Light Entertainment and the musical competitions Over The Rainbow and I’d Do Anything. Graham is also a successful novelist. In 2024 Graham will be hosting LOL: Last One Laughing Ireland.
Is there a Wheel of Fortune UK trailer?
No trailer for this new Wheel Of Fortune is yet available. We'll update if one arrives.
