Call My Bluff

Did You Know?

• The word queach was defined on the show as "a mini-jungle of mixed vegetation" — which was the true definition.
• A 1972 book titled Call my Bluff by Frank Muir and Patrick Campbell was published by Eyre Methuen, London.
• A special edition aired on 16 April 1994 for BBC Two's thirtieth birthday, with Joanna Lumley as a team captain opposite Frank Muir.
• Season 4 on BBC1 was due to premiere on 1 September 1997 but was postponed due to the death of Diana, Princess of Wales the night before.

Format

Two teams of three, a captain and two guests, competed for points by identifying the correct definitions of obscure words. Each team took turns offering three definitions, one true and two bluffs, while the opposing team tried to pick the correct one. A correct choice earned one point; an incorrect choice gave the bluffing team one point. Examples of words used include queach, strongle, ablewhacket, hickboo, jargoon, zurf, morepork, and jirble.

Broadcast history

Call My Bluff first appeared on BBC2 in October 1965 and ran until December 1988. Team captains were Robert Morley and Frank Muir, with Morley later replaced by Patrick Campbell, and Arthur Marshall taking over after Campbell’s death in 1981. Other guest captains included Kenneth Horne, Kenneth Williams, and Alan Melville. The original run ended following Marshall’s death, though changing broadcast styles may have also contributed. For most of this period, Robert Robinson hosted. The show returned as a BBC1 daytime series in May 1996, with Alan Coren and Sandi Toksvig captaining and Bob Holness as chairman. In 2003, Rod Liddle replaced Toksvig, and Fiona Bruce became host. The series concluded on 17 July 2005. A special aired during Comic Relief 2011’s 24 Hour Panel People, hosted by Angus Deayton.

References in other works

The early-80s LWT sketch show End of Part One spoofed it as Scrape My Barrel, where contestants guessed the meaning of the word "working class." Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie later did a sketch about the show and its host Robert Robinson on A Bit of Fry and Laurie. On QI's Europe episode, a segment called Call My Euro Bluff had the panel judging EU law stories as true or a "bløff," with Fry using his Robinson impression. In Doctor Who's "Bad Wolf," Call My Bluff is listed among the games in the game station. Harry Enfield and Paul Whitehouse parodied the show in 2014 on Harry and Paul's Story of the Twos, renaming it Speech Impediment and using the word "paedophile."