Fun House (British game show)
A messy game show with go-karts and a Fun House.
Fun House is a British children's game show that aired on ITV from 24 February 1989 to 29 December 1999. Based on the American show of the same name, it was hosted by Pat Sharp with assistance from twin cheerleaders Melanie and Martina Grant. The programme is notable for its messy games, go-kart Grand Prix, and a planned but unaired adult spin-off.
Quick Facts
- Genre
- Game show
- Creator
- Bob Synes
- Presenter
- Pat Sharp
- Starring
- Melanie and Martina Grant
- Announcer
- Gary King
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Language
- English
- Series
- 11
Facts from the source article.
Format
Two teams, each made up of one boy and one girl from different UK schools, competed in every episode. Each show had three rounds. The first games, worth 25 points each, were messy challenges that usually involved gunge instead of food. One game was for the boys only, another for the girls only, and a third for all four players, though the order changed from episode to episode. In the first seven series, contestants often played some messy games barefoot, but this stopped from series eight onward. One of the three games was a key game, where the losing team got the same number of points they scored in that game. After each game, a question worth 25 points was asked. The Grand Prix used red and yellow go-karts, initially for two laps, later three. Teams drove around a track collecting tokens to boost their score, switching drivers each lap. The first lap had tokens worth 10 points, the second lap had tokens worth 25 points, and the winning team got an extra 25 points. Any tokens that fell to the floor didn't count. By 1995, the race had three laps, tokens were replaced with silver ones with a blue stripe all worth 25 points, the winner got 50 points, and drivers no longer swapped after the second lap. The original format came back in late 1995, but kept the third lap as a speed lap worth 25 points, and the higher-value tokens were collected first. In 1996, tokens were swapped for buttons worth 10 or 25 points, pressed on alternate laps. Points were shown as columns of lights for each button value and added to the team's total.
Fun House designs
The Fun House went through several designs. The earliest version was much smaller but more colourful than later ones and was almost entirely different from later versions. A later version was much larger and featured a recurring theme of a bully, including an inflatable figurine of such a person that was the same size as the Fun House. The bully element was later removed, and the space previously occupied by the large bully figure incorporated flashing coloured lights and fake windows to emphasise the house feel, accompanied by colourful flashing studio lamps. The Fun House was then completely rebuilt, based on the 1993–1997 version, but with the big leap changed from a tube slide to giant steps. This version was coloured only red and yellow instead of multi-coloured. The front entrance area was completely redesigned, removing the Fun House logo hanging above the entrance and the two car-wash style spirals, replaced by two stacks with blocks on top, each with a Fun House logo. This Fun House seemed larger than previous incarnations, and certain parts were completely redesigned, such as the Snake Pit becoming a more traditional snake basket. When Pat Sharp introduced the Fun House, there were more explosions and firework bangs, along with smoke machines and sound effects throughout the teams' run. A wall of stacked boxes was added at the entrance, and the first player would plough through it when Pat said GO. The final version included a change to the Big Leap from a tall fire fighter's pole to a zip-line seat that carried the player from the top of the Fun House to the bottom ball pool.
Fun House obstacles
In Series 1, the top floor included Punch the Panels (a window of panels), a rotating tunnel called Tube, a Volcano climbing wall, a Rope Bridge, a Weather Box containing snow released by three levers, and a Balloon Tree of silver helium balloons. The middle floor had Pots of Gold, a Bridge, a Lava Pool (red ball pool), Pumping Pistons, and a Snow Drift (white ball pool). The bottom floor contained an Engine Room, a Balloon Tunnel, and a Lava Swamp of foam letters spelling 'FUN'. Series 2 replaced Punch the Panels with Box of Tricks (a computer panel), the Balloon Tree and Weather Box with Cloud 9, the Bridge with Tied Up In Nets (a net tunnel), renamed the middle ball pool to Lava Flow and the bottom ball pool to Lava Pool, updated Pumping Pistons to Lava Cleaner, made the Lava Swamp letters inflatable, and added Cog Wheels. Series 3 introduced The Temple (three skulls that revealed creatures), The Python (a snake wrapped around the tube), Temple Doors (four levers, one opening the doors), an Aztec Wall, a Net Maze update, The Masher update, and Test Tubes added to the lava pool. Series 4 saw a major redesign that became the most used layout, with many additional ladders and slides. The entrance led straight into a ball pit with three possible routes: left to the balloon tunnel, right to the monster maze, or straight ahead to a raised middle platform.
Wacky Warehouse version
In 2015, Fayre & Square and Wacky Warehouse launched a one-off revival of Fun House. The format changed dramatically: each team included a kid and a parent, there were four teams (red, yellow, blue, and green), and the Wacky Warehouse soft play area served as the fun house. The go-kart round was replaced by a build-a-burger relay round where kids found burger parts in the fun house for their parents to assemble. The go-karts were brought to the Wacky but were never set up due to rainy weather. The show was watered down to a quiz show, and parents of losing teams were gunged. Pat Sharp hosted with Melanie and Martina Grant.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who created Fun House (British game show)?
Fun House was created by Bob Synes.
How many episodes of Fun House (British game show) are there?
Fun House has 145 episodes across 11 seasons.
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