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Would I Lie to You?
Genre
Created byPeter Holmes
Directed byBarbara Wiltshire (2007–2008, 2011–)
David Coyle (2009–2010)
Presented byAngus Deayton
Rob Brydon
StarringDavid Mitchell
Lee Mack
Voices ofDavid de Keyser
Paul Ridley
Opening theme"Bar Fight" by Craig Joiner, Andrew Welsford, Mervyn Goldsworthy
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series17
No. of episodes150 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producersPeter Holmes
Ruth Phillips
Gilly Hall (2011–)
ProducersAndrew Westwell (2007–2008)
Derek McLean (2007–2009)
Fiona McDermott (2009–2010)
Rachel Ablett (2011–)
Kate Staples (2011)
Stephanie McIntosh (2012–)
Production locationsThe Fountain Studios (2007)
BBC Television Centre (2008)
Pinewood Studios (2009–21, 2023)
Elstree Studios (2022)[1]
EditorsSteve Andrews (2007–2008)
Tim Ellison (2007–2008)
Bex Murray (2007–2008)
Steve Nayler (2009–)
Tom Munden (2011–)
Running time30 minutes
Production companyZeppotron
Original release
NetworkBBC One
ITV (2021 one-off special)
Release16 June 2007 (2007-06-16) –
present

Would I Lie to You? (abbreviated as WILTY) is a British comedy panel show aired on BBC One, made by Zeppotron for the BBC. It was first broadcast on 16 June 2007, starring David Mitchell and Lee Mack as team captains. The show was originally presented by Angus Deayton, and since 2009 has been hosted by Rob Brydon.

History

The show was presented by Angus Deayton in 2007 and 2008, with Rob Brydon (who had appeared as a guest panellist in the second series) taking over as host in 2009.[2] Throughout the entire run of the show, the team captains have been comedians David Mitchell and Lee Mack. Alan Carr was a team captain in the pilot but subsequently turned down an offer to appear on later shows.[3][better source needed]

The first series was recorded at Fountain Studios in Wembley during March and April 2007 and aired at 21:55 between 16 June and 28 July 2007 on BBC One (missing a week for coverage of the Concert for Diana memorial event). Filming for the second series took place between 15 November and 18 December 2007. The second series was filmed at BBC Television Centre in White City, West London, because Fountain Studios were being used for The X Factor. The second series aired at 21:00 between 11 July 2008 and 29 August 2008 on BBC One, and contained eight shows, an increase of two from series one. A compilation episode featuring some previously unaired material was aired on 19 September 2008 at 21:30 on BBC One.[4]

Filming of a third series of eight episodes took place at Pinewood Studios during March and April 2009, and was broadcast between 10 August 2009 and 29 September 2009 on BBC One at 22:35. A compilation episode was also recorded. The airdate was 17 December 2009, due to the addition of Match of the Day to the BBC One schedule. Filming of a fourth series of eight episodes took place at Pinewood Studios again during April and May 2010, and was broadcast between 23 July 2010 and 10 September 2010 on BBC One at 22:35. The compilation episode aired on 17 September 2010. The fifth series was filmed during March 2011 and started airing from 9 September at 21:30.[5]

The sixth series of the show was recorded in March 2012 and began its broadcast on 13 April 2012.[6] This series was aired in a pre-watershed slot, at 20:30, for the first time.[7] Series 16 aired on Fridays at 20:00.

Format

For each show, two celebrity guests join each of the team captains. The teams compete as each player reveals unusual facts and embarrassing personal tales for the evaluation of the opposing team. Some of these are true, some are not, and it is the panellists' task to decide which is which.

Rounds

In all rounds, the scoring system is the same: teams gain a point for correctly guessing whether a statement is true or not, but if they guess incorrectly the opposing team gets a point. Each episode running time is 30 minutes, so some questions are edited out prior to airing. In addition, the comic format allows each team member to question and joke with the opposing team. Hence, each episode has differing total scoring points reflecting the varying number of questions asked and answered.

During series one through series five, it was impossible for viewers to follow the scores until they were read out at the end of each round, as some questions were edited out, and the final scores reflected the total questions played while filming each episode (not reflecting the final edits for the 30 minute running time). However, starting with series six on, the scores were re-recorded to reflect what had made the aired edits and not the whole filmed recording.

Current rounds

  • "Home Truths": Panellists read out a statement about themselves, from a card which they have not seen prior to recording. The opposing team has to decide whether it is true or false by asking the panellist questions. Much of the comedy in this round derives from the holder of the card having to improvise answers under increasingly detailed questioning. The first series used all six panellists; from the second series onwards, the round tended to focus on the four guests. In series two a 'possessions' element was introduced, in which the panellist takes an item out of a box and reads a statement from a card, and has to convince the opposing team that the possession genuinely belongs to them.
  • "This is My...": A guest comes onto the set and is introduced by first name, but remains standing in silence as the round continues. Panellists on one team tell the opposing team about their relationship to the guest; only one account out of three told is genuine, and the opposing team has to work out which it is. At the end of the round, the guest reveals their true identity, and which of the panellists they have a genuine relationship with. On at least two occasions the guest has been a dog, which led on one occasion to David Mitchell complaining tongue-in-cheek that doing so "rather spoiled the nature of the game".
  • "Quick-Fire Lies": The second questioning round, with the panellists chosen at random. In earlier series, the panellists were ostensibly under a time limit although no on-screen indicator of the time limit was ever present. The notion of a time limit was eventually dropped in the later series, making the round identical to "Home Truths" in practice. This round usually features – but is not exclusive to – Mitchell and Mack. From the fourth series onwards, Brydon also became an occasional participant, with both teams questioning him at once.

Former rounds

  • "Ring of Truth": A celebrity fact is read out by the host, and each team has to reach a joint decision on whether it is true or false. This round was generally edited out of the fourth series; as of series five, it is no longer being played.
  • "Telly Tales": Clips from a TV show are shown, a statement is read out about the show by a member of one team and the other team has to guess whether it is true or false. This round was only played in the first series.

Special episodes

Most series have included some special episodes:

  • Christmas special: these are just like ordinary episodes, except that they are Christmas-themed, and are first broadcast near Christmas.
  • Unseen bits and More unseen bits: these are mainly a complilation of truths or lies which were edited out of the regular episodes of the series. Sometimes some bloopers are included as well.
  • Best bits: has highlights from the series.
  • Seasons 2 and 3 combined Best & Unseen bits into a single episode.

Cast

Actor Angus Deayton hosted the first two series.
Comedian and actor Rob Brydon has hosted every episode from Series 3 onwards.
Comedian and frequent panel show guest David Mitchell has appeared as a team captain in every episode.
Comedian and Not Going Out star Lee Mack is the other regular team captain on the show.

Guest appearances

The following have all appeared multiple times as one of the guest panelists on the show, including any as-yet unbroadcast episodes of Series 18. This does not include the 2011 Comic Relief special.

a. ^ Including an appearance where he substituted for Lee Mack as captain

Ratings

The first show of Series 1 had 3.8 million viewers, a 19% audience share at the time it was broadcast.[8]

The first show of Series 2 had 3 million viewers and a 14% audience share.[9] Later episodes indicated ratings of 2.7 - 3.2 million,[10][11][12] with the final show of the series getting 3.3 million viewers and a 15% audience share.[13]

The first show of Series 3 had 2.8 million viewers, the lowest number for a series opener so far; however, this equated to a 17% audience share.[14] The final show attracted only 2.5 million viewers, but with a 19% audience share overall.[15]

The first show of series 4 had 3.12 million viewers and a 19.7% audience share, the best performance for a series opener since series 1.[16]

The series 5 premiere had the show's highest ratings to date, with 4 million viewers and a 17.2% audience share.[17]

Series 6 began with an audience share of 14.9% and peak viewing figures of 3.53 million.[18] These figures were above the seventh series figures of 2.83 million / 12.8% audience share,[19] although these rose to 3.17 million by the end of the series with a 14.7% share.[20]

Awards and nominations

Ceremony Year Award Nominated work Result
British Comedy Guide Awards 2010 Best TV Panel Show WILTY? Nominated[21]
2011 Won[22]
2013 Won[23]
Comedy of the Year Won [24]
2014 Best TV Panel Show Won[25]
2015 Won[26]
2016 Nominated[27]
2017 Won[28]
2018 Won[29]
2019 Won[30]
2020 Won[31]
British Comedy Awards 2010 Best Comedy Panel Show Won[32]
2011 Nominated[33]
2013 Won[34]
2014 Won[35]
2022 Best Comedy Entertainment Series Nominated[36]
2023 Best Comedy Panel Show Nominated[37]
Outstanding Male Comedy Entertainment Performance Lee Mack Won[37]
British Academy Television Awards 2014 Best Comedy Entertainment Programme WILTY? Nominated[38]
2015 Nominated[39]
2016 Nominated[40]
2018 Nominated[41]
2019 Nominated[42]
2023 Nominated[43]
2024 Nominated[44]
2019 Best Entertainment Performance David Mitchell Nominated[42]
Lee Mack Won[42]
2020 Nominated[45]
2021 David Mitchell Nominated[46]

International broadcasts

The show airs on ABC TV in Australia and TVNZ 2 in New Zealand and began screening on BBC UKTV in Australia and New Zealand from November 2014. It is available to stream on BritBox in the US and Canada.

Merchandise

  • A DVD of the complete fourth series was released in September 2011.[47]
  • A board game based on the show was released in 2012, [48][49] with a second edition with updated prompts following in 2019.[50]
  • A DVD of the complete fifth series was released in October 2012.[51]
  • A DVD of the complete sixth series was released in October 2013.[52]
  • A book based on the series, Would I Lie to You? Presents the 100 Most Popular Lies of All Time, was published in October 2015. The publishers, Faber and Faber, have also ordered a second book.[53]
  • Series 4 to 7 were released individually on DVD in Australia across July and August 2015.

Episodes

Series

Series Start date End date Number of episodes
Regular Christmas "Unseen bits" "Best bits"
1 16 June 2007 28 July 2007 6 0 0 0
2 11 July 2008 29 August 2008 8 0 1* 0
3 10 August 2009 28 September 2009 8 0 1* 0
4 23 July 2010 10 September 2010 8 0 1 0
5 9 September 2011 28 October 2011 8 0 1 0
6 13 April 2012 22 June 2012 8 0 1 0
7 3 May 2013 28 June 2013 8 1 1 0
8 12 September 2014 8 January 2015 8 1 1 0
9 31 July 2015 13 January 2016 8 1 1 0
10 2 September 2016 21 October 2016 8 1 1 0
11 20 November 2017 19 January 2018 8 1 1 0
12 12 October 2018 18 January 2019 8 1 1 1
13 18 October 2019 7 February 2020 9 1 2 0
14 8 January 2021 1 March 2021 9 1 1 1
15 7 January 2022 4 March 2022 9 1 1 1
16 6 January 2023 31 March 2023 9 1 2 0
17 29 December 2023 8 March 2024 9 1 2 0
  • Series 2 and 3 each combined "Best bits" and "Unseen bits" into a single episode.

Specials

Date Title
5 March 2011 24 Hour Panel People Comic Relief Special
18 November 2016 Children in Need: Children's Special

Appearances in other media

An additional 10-minute feature, entitled "Mam, Would I Lie To You?" was broadcast on the ITV show Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway on 13 March 2021. This edition was hosted by Ant and Dec and featured a team of Lee Mack, Stephen Mulhern and Michelle Visage playing two rounds of a slightly altered "This is My..." where the panellists had to guess which of the three children was the child of an audience member by the story given. Zeppotron and the BBC were thanked in the programme's credits for use of the WILTY brand and format.

International versions

Country Title Network Host(s) Date aired
 Australia Would I Lie to You? Network 10 Chrissie Swan 2022–2023
 Croatia Ma lažeš! RTL Rene Bitorajac 2021–2022
 Czech Republic Copak bych vám lhal? ČT1 Igor Bareš 2013
 Iceland Satt eða logið? Stöð 2 Logi Bergmann Eiðsson
Benedikt Valsson
2017–2018
 Malaysia Betul ke bohong? Astro Warna AC Mizal 2012
 Netherlands Sterke verhalen BNNVARA Sanne Wallis de Vries [nl] 2018–2019
 New Zealand Would I Lie to You? TV3 Paul Henry 2012
 Slovakia Klamal by som ti? Markíza Filip Tůma 2019
 Sweden Tror du jag ljuger? SVT 1 Anna Mannheimer 2016–2019
 United States Would I Lie to You? The CW Aasif Mandvi 2022

See also

References

  1. ^ "Pre-registration for WOULD I LIE TO YOU? from SRO Audiences". Sroaudiences.com. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  2. ^ Parker, Robin (11 March 2009). "Brydon to host BBC1 quiz". Broadcastnow. Retrieved 11 March 2009.
  3. ^ As revealed by Lee Mack on Alan Carr: Chatty Man on 19 September 2014.
  4. ^ "TV Listings - Friday 19th September". Radio Times. 13–19 September 2008. p. 110.
  5. ^ "Would I Lie to You?". digiguide.tv.
  6. ^ "Would I Lie To You? - Episode 6.1. Episode One - British Comedy Guide". comedy.co.uk. Retrieved 28 March 2012.
  7. ^ "Would we lie to you? The show's returning". chortle.co.uk.
  8. ^ Tryhorn, Chris. (18 June 2007)."Tiswas does the business". The Guardian.
  9. ^ Plunkett, John. (14 July 2008). "TV ratings: Over a million cheer on Five's Superstars". The Guardian.
  10. ^ Holmwood, Leigh. (21 July 2008). "TV ratings: 3.6m see Belinda get Big Brother boot". The Guardian.
  11. ^ Holmwood, Leigh. (4 August 2008). "BBC2's Tudors bow to Big Brother". The Guardian.
  12. ^ Holmwood, Leigh. (18 August 2008.) "TV ratings: Poirot retains power over 4m viewers". The Guardian.
  13. ^ Plunkett, John. (1 September 2008.) "TV ratings: Superstars final watched by 900,000". The Guardian.
  14. ^ Holmwood, Leigh. (11 August 2009.) "TV ratings: On Tour with the Queen sets out with 1.7m". The Guardian.
  15. ^ Holmwood, Leigh. (29 September 2009.) "TV ratings: Channel Five's FlashForward debuts with 3.2m". The Guardian.
  16. ^ "Would I Lie To You? - Episode 4.1". comedy.co.uk.
  17. ^ "Digital Spy Forums - View Single Post - The Ratings Thread (Part 24)". digitalspy.co.uk. 10 September 2011.
  18. ^ John Plunkett (16 April 2012). "Have I Got News For You sees off Piers Morgan". The Guardian.
  19. ^ "Would I Lie To You?". comedy.co.uk.
  20. ^ "Would I Lie To You?". comedy.co.uk.
  21. ^ "The Comedy.co.uk Awards 2010". British Comedy Guide.
  22. ^ "The Comedy.co.uk Awards 2011". British Comedy Guide.
  23. ^ "The Comedy.co.uk Awards 2013". British Comedy Guide.
  24. ^ "The Comedy.co.uk Awards 2013". British Comedy Guide.
  25. ^ "The Comedy.co.uk Awards 2014". British Comedy Guide.
  26. ^ "Comedy.co.uk Awards 2015 results". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
  27. ^ "The Comedy.co.uk Awards 2016". British Comedy Guide. 23 January 2017. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  28. ^ "Inside No. 9 named Comedy Of The Year 2017". British Comedy Guide. 29 January 2018. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  29. ^ Guide, British Comedy. "Comedy.co.uk Awards 2018 results". British Comedy Guide.
  30. ^ Guide, British Comedy. "Comedy.co.uk Awards 2019 results". British Comedy Guide.
  31. ^ "Comedy.co.uk Awards 2020 winners revealed". British Comedy Guide. 8 February 2021. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  32. ^ "Miranda leads winners at British Comedy Awards 2010". British Comedy Guide. 23 January 2011.
  33. ^ "British Comedy Awards 2011 winners announced". British Comedy Guide. 16 December 2011.
  34. ^ "British Comedy Awards 2013 winners". British Comedy Guide. 12 December 2013.
  35. ^ "British Comedy Awards 2014 results". British Comedy Guide. 16 December 2014.
  36. ^ "Winners unveiled at National Comedy Awards for Stand Up To Cancer | Channel 4". Channel 4.
  37. ^ a b "Winners crowned at The National Comedy Awards for Stand Up To Cancer". Channel 4. 17 February 2023. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  38. ^ "2014 Television Comedy and Comedy Entertainment Programme". bafta.org.
  39. ^ "BAFTA TV awards 2015: Winners in full - BBC News". bbc.co.uk. 10 May 2015.
  40. ^ "BAFTA TV Awards 2016: Full nominations list". bbc.co.uk. 8 May 2016.
  41. ^ "Bafta TV Awards 2018: All the nominees and winners". BBC News. 4 April 2018.
  42. ^ a b c "Bafta TV awards 2019: full list of winners". The Guardian. 12 May 2019.
  43. ^ "2023 Television Comedy Entertainment Programme". bafta.org.
  44. ^ "2024 Television Comedy Entertainment Programme". bafta.org.
  45. ^ Kanter, Jake (31 July 2020). "BAFTA TV Awards Winners: Night Of Surprises, As 'Chernobyl' & 'The End Of The F***ing World' Take Two Prizes Each". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  46. ^ "Bafta TV Awards 2021: Winners and nominees in full". BBC News. 6 June 2021. Archived from the original on 6 June 2021. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
  47. ^ "Would I Lie To You - Series 4 [DVD]". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
  48. ^ "Would I Lie To You? Board Game". Endemol UK. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
  49. ^ Roberts, Katie (30 September 2011). "Esdevium grabs Would I Lie to You licence". ToyNews. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
  50. ^ "Would I Lie To You? (2nd Edition) (Puzzles and Board Games)". Game.co.uk. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
  51. ^ "Would I Lie To You - Series 5 3 DVD Box Set". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
  52. ^ "Would I lie To You Series 6 (As seen on BBC1) [3 DVD]". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
  53. ^ "Book Trade Announcements - Faber Acquire 2 Books From The Team Behind Would I Lie To You?". booktrade.info.
  54. ^ "New shows coming to TV3 in 2012". TV3 New Zealand. Archived from the original on 31 January 2012.
  55. ^ "Ma lažeš!". RTL Croatia (in Croatian). Archived from the original on 6 May 2021.
  56. ^ "Ma lažeš!". OHT Productions. Retrieved 26 October 2024.
  57. ^ "Copak bych vám lhal?". Czech Television (in Czech). Retrieved 26 October 2024.
  58. ^ Pálsson, Stefán Árni (13 March 2018). "Benedikt tekur við Satt eða logið". Vísir (in Icelandic).
  59. ^ "Satt eða logið?". Stöð 2 (in Icelandic). Archived from the original on 3 May 2018.
  60. ^ "Klamal by som ti?". Markíza (in Slovak). Retrieved 19 March 2019.
  61. ^ Knox, David. "Airdate: Would I Lie To You? Australia". TV Tonight. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
  62. ^ "Would I Lie to You? Australia coming to 10 and 10 Play in 2022". Mediaweek Australia. 20 October 2021. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
  63. ^ Knox, David (20 October 2021). "Upfronts 2022: 10". TV Tonight. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
  64. ^ Knox, David (6 October 2022). "2023 Upfronts: Paramount". TV Tonight.
  65. ^ "Would I Lie To You? | Elf Launch | Season Trailer". YouTube. Google, Inc. 15 March 2022.
  66. ^ Baysinger, Tim (8 March 2021). "The CW to Adapt British TV Series "Would I Lie to You" and "Killer Camp"". TheWrap.