The Metro today contained the news that athletics star Mo Farah became the first person to complete the game show The Cube. This is an impressive feat, as the current 5000m world champion took part in the game show for a special charity edition, and ended up completing it with 6 lives remaining.

In the past a number of contestants have managed to complete six levels and win themselves £100,000. However, Mo Farah managed to complete all seven levels and in doing so became the first person to beat The Cube!

So, we started reminiscing about all of our favourite TV game shows over the years, from the grainy offerings of old, to the futuristic and sometimes ridiculous (Golden Balls) shows we have today. Here are some of our favourites.

Bruce Forsyth’s Generation Game
This is most certainly one of the most fantastic game shows ever and since it was first broadcast in the early 1970s Brucey has become a favourite in homes up and down the country. The Generation Game has gone on to be hosted by Roy Castle, Larry Grayson, Jim Davidson and Graham Norton, but it just never lived up to the greatness of Bruce Forsyth’s Generation Game.

Catchphrase
Two contestants, one male and the other female, battle it out to identify the common catchphrase represented by a retro piece of animation… What is there not to like here? A classic show which even has some of its very own catchphrases. It warms the cockles of my heart to hear Roy Walker saying: ‘Say what you see’, ‘What’s Mr Chips doing there?’ and my personal favourite: ‘You can’t win if you don’t buzz in’. And what was with Roy telling all those awful jokes?

Who Wants to be a millionaire?
The first few series of this presented by Christ Tarrant were tense and dramatic throughout. It was different from most other game shows as only one contestant played at a time. This show had everything, drama, lifelines, controversy and a whopping great prize. It is almost impossible to talk about Who Wants to be a Millionaire? without mentioning British Army Major Charles Ingram, who managed to cheat his way to the million pound jackpot. Here is a clip from the American version where a contestant gets the first question wrong!

Deal or No Deal
The first format of this show was the Dutch version called Miljoenenjacht (Hunt For Millions) and it is now in many countries across the globe, however, most of you will know it as the show that resurrected Noel Edmunds’ career. This is most probably the least skilled gameshow ever, where contestants have to open boxes at random, hoping not to open a box with a large amount of money in it. This show is usually more fun if you want the contestants to lose, because more often than not it is greed which drives them to turn their nose up at substantial amounts of money. Noel is wacky throughout, like a crazy uncle you only see at Christmas and ‘the banker’ has to be one of the most unlikeable characters, which is strange considering you never see him. Here is a funny clip from the Australian version of the show were the contestant has the unluckiest opening round possible.

Takeshi’s Castle
This Japanese game show is a classic and since digital TV became mainstream it seems to be on all day. Watching a massive group of contestants trying to run through walls or acting as human bowling pins is surely one of the funniest things any game show has ever brought us, but Takeshi’s Castle went from the wonderfully funny to the plain strange at times and was also fantastically narrated by Craigh Charles. Oh, and I don’t think I have ever seen anyone win! Here are some of the funniest moments.

The Crystal Maze
When I think of the 90s a few things come to mind, Blur, Oasis, Adidas popper trousers, the ending of the Cold War and of course; The Crystal Maze. This show was quite frankly stunning. A great concept, a great presenter and some bonkers challenges for the usually bewildered contestants. I could watch hours of this show even today. I even had the Crystal Maze Choose Your Own Adventure style Gamebook. Oh and what a theme tune! Here is a funny moment where a contestant cannot see the obvious clue in front of them.

Part two is soon to come, so stay tuned…