Are You Smarter than a 10 Year Old? (British game show)
Adult contestants face primary-school questions for cash prizes.
Sky 1 aired a British quiz show from 2007 to 2010 where adults answered ten questions plus a bonus question drawn from primary school material for ages six through ten. Based on an American format, the primetime version offered a top prize of £250,000, later rising to £500,000, while the daytime edition capped winnings at £50,000. Noel Edmonds hosted the weekly primetime show, with Dick and Dom, then Damian Williams, hosting the daily version.
Quick Facts
- Creator
- Mark Burnett
- Presenter
- Primetime
- Noel Edmonds
- Daytime
- Dick and Dom (2007–2009)
- Damian Williams (2009–2010)
- Voices
- Dave Kelly
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Language
- English
- Series
- 3 (primetime), 3 (daytime)
- Episodes
- 66 (primetime), 120 (daytime)
- Runtime
- 60 minutes (inc. adverts)
Facts from the source article.
Format
Each game asks an adult contestant up to eleven questions drawn from textbooks for children aged 6 to 10. There are two questions per age level, covering ten subjects such as history, maths or science. The player chooses the order of questions, and each correct answer increases their winnings. After five correct answers the contestant reaches a safe point, guaranteeing that amount. After ten questions a jackpot question is offered for the top prize.
Classmates
The contestant is assisted by a classmate, one of five ten-year-old children. The classmate is chosen for two questions at a time and writes their answer on a virtual blackboard hidden from the adult. The player picks a child to stand beside them, and both answer simultaneously. After locking in their answer, the adult may copy the child's answer or peek at it. If the adult answers incorrectly but the child is correct, the adult is saved. Before the show, the children receive workbooks containing material that may appear in the questions. The children are not guaranteed to be correct and sometimes enter wrong answers. For the first two series, specific groups of children were hired: Group A included Louis, Lizzie, Reece Darlington-Delaire, Qasim Ali, and Katie Bilsborough; Group B included Kaya, Luisa, Richard Linnell, Kieran Potts, and Lewis Holmes; Group C included Lloyd Donovan, Rhiannon Obinyah, Meisha Kelly, Jack Roberts, and Jonathan Danciger. Additional children served as reserves and could appear in any group, including Lisa Hardin, Kieran, Ryan, Mae, and many others from various locations across the UK.
Cheats
Contestants have three aids, each usable once per game (but not on the final question). Peek shows the classmate's answer, and the player may choose to use it or not. Copy makes the player use the classmate's answer regardless of its correctness. Save is used after the player answers incorrectly; if the classmate is correct, the game continues. Once all three cheats are used, the children no longer participate. No cheats are available for the final question.
Jackpot question
For the jackpot question, the player is shown only the subject before deciding to continue or drop out. The question is always for a ten-year-old regardless of subject. If the player chooses to see the question, they cannot drop out and must answer without any classmate assistance. An incorrect answer drops the contestant back to the prize for five questions. If any answer is wrong and not saved, the contestant flunks out; flunking out within the first five questions loses all winnings, while after the safe point the player drops to that amount. The player may drop out at any time and keep accumulated winnings. Upon dropping out or flunking out, the contestant must say, 'I am not smarter than a/my 10 year old.' If the final question is answered correctly, the contestant may say, 'I am smarter than a/my 10 year old.'
More in British Television Series Based on American Television Series
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