Call My Bluff Explained

Genre:	Panel game show
Creator:	Mark Goodson Bill Todman
Presenter:	Robin Ray (1965–66) Joe Melia (1966–67) Peter Wheeler (1967) Robert Robinson (1967–88, 1994) Bob Holness (1996–2002) Fiona Bruce (2003–04) Angus Deayton (2011)
Country:	United Kingdom
Language:	English
Num Series:	25 (BBC2) 12 (BBC1)
Num Episodes:	542 (BBC2) 469 (BBC1)
Location:	Pebble Mill Studios (1996–2004)^[1]
Runtime:	30 minutes
Company:	BBC Pebble Mill (1996–2004)
Network:	BBC Two (1965–94) BBC One (1996–2004)

Call My Bluff is a British panel game show based on the short-lived US version of the same name. It was originally hosted by Robin Ray and later, most notably, by Robert Robinson. Its most prominent panellist was Frank Muir. The theme music for the show was Ciccolino by Norrie Paramor.^[2]

Format

The game comprised two teams of three (a captain and two guests) who would compete to earn points by identifying the correct definitions of obscure words. The teams took turns to give three definitions, one true and two bluffs, while the other team attempted to determine which was correct. If the correct choice was made the team earned one point, if not, the bluffing team earned one point. Both teams took turns bluffing and determining definitions.

Examples of words used in the show, taken from a 1972 book published in connection with it, include queach, strongle, ablewhacket, hickboo, jargoon, zurf, morepork, and jirble. The word queach was defined by the contestants as "a malicious caricature", "a cross between a quince and a peach" and "a mini-jungle of mixed vegetation" (with the last definition being the true one).

Broadcast history

Call My Bluff originally aired on BBC2 from 17 October 1965 to 22 December 1988.

Robert Morley and Frank Muir captained the teams. Morley was later succeeded by Patrick Campbell, and Arthur Marshall took over in 1981 following Campbell's death. Various celebrities also stood in as team captains, including Kenneth Horne, Kenneth Williams and Alan Melville. The original series finished after Marshall's death, although a general change in the tone and atmosphere of broadcasting at the time may also have affected its temporary demise. For the majority of this run (from 1967 onwards) the host was Robert Robinson.

The show was resurrected in 1996 after an eight-year rest (apart from one special edition on 16 April 1994 for BBC Two's thirtieth birthday, which still featured Robert Robinson, but this time with Joanna Lumley as a team captain opposite Frank Muir), now as a daytime series on BBC1. It began airing on 13 May 1996 with Alan Coren and Sandi Toksvig as the team captains and Bob Holness replacing Robinson as chairman.

In 2003, Toksvig was replaced by the journalist Rod Liddle, and newsreader Fiona Bruce took the chair. The series finished again on 18 June 2004.

Call My Bluff returned for a special during the BBC's 24 Hour Panel People in aid of Comic Relief 2011, with Alex Horne, Roisin Conaty, Russell Tovey, Tim Key, Sarah Cawood and David Walliams participating. The host was Angus Deayton.

Transmissions

BBC2

Series	Start date	End date	Episodes
1	17 October 1965^[3]	29 June 1966^[4]	37
2	2 October 1966^[5]	14 April 1967^[6]	26
3	1 October 1967^[7]	7 July 1968^[8]	39
4	24 April 1969^[9]	28 May 1970^[10]	59
5	14 September 1970^[11]	25 January 1971^[12]	20
6	14 June 1971^[13]	7 February 1972^[14]	34
7	13 November 1972^[15]	7 May 1973^[16]	26
8	3 September 1973^[17]	28 January 1974^[18]	22
9	30 September 1974^[19]	24 March 1975^[20]	26
10	29 April 1976^[21]	12 August 1976^[22]	16
11	29 April 1977^[23]	12 August 1977^[24]	16
12	22 March 1978^[25]	2 August 1978^[26]	18
13	2 January 1979^[27]	15 May 1979^[28]	20
14	13 January 1980^[29]	30 March 1980^[30]	12
15	3 July 1980^[31]	4 September 1980^[32]	10
16	13 February 1981^[33]	26 July 1981^[34]	20
17	28 January 1982^[35]	17 June 1982^[36]	20
18	11 April 1983^[37]	4 September 1983^[38]	20
19	23 January 1984^[39]	20 August 1984^[40]	29
20	19 October 1984^[41]	21 December 1984^[42]	10
21	29 October 1985^[43]	31 December 1985^[44]	10
22	8 January 1987^[45]	28 May 1987^[46]	20
23	10 September 1987^[47]	10 December 1987^[48]	14
24	14 April 1988^[49]	16 June 1988^[50]	9
25	26 October 1988^[51]	22 December 1988^[52]	8
One-off	16 April 1994^[53]		1

BBC1

Series	Start date	End date	Episodes
1	13 May 1996^[54]	31 May 1996^[55]	14
2	2 September 1996^[56]	10 January 1997^[57]	80
3	1 April 1997^[58]	17 July 1997^[59]	58
4	1 September 1997^[60]	3 April 1998^[61]	143
5	4 January 1999^[62]	1 April 1999^[63]	64
6	6 September 1999^[64]	17 December 1999^[65]	75
7	22 May 2000^[66]	12 July 2000^[67]	20
8	4 September 2000^[68]	14 September 2000^[69]	9
9	3 January 2001^[70]	19 January 2001^[71]	13
10	4 February 2002^[72]	31 May 2002^[73]	40
11	19 May 2003^[74]	1 July 2003^[75]	30
12	1 June 2004^[76]	18 June 2004^[77]	9

Book

• Call my Bluff by Frank Muir and Patrick Campbell, published by Eyre Methuen, London, 1972.

References in other works

• On the musical episode of Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps Donna Henshaw and Janet Keogh (played by Natalie Casey and Sheridan Smith) sang:

Smith: "Skankarific's not a word!"

Casey: "It means terrifically skankified, it was on Call My Bluff"

• An episode of the early-'80s LWT sketch-comedy series End of Part One parodied the show as Scrape My Barrel, where panelists had to figure out the meaning of the word working class.
• The show (and in particular its host, Robert Robinson) was the subject of a sketch by Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie in the second series of A Bit of Fry and Laurie.
• In the "Europe" episode of QI (series E), a segment was featured entitled "Call My Euro Bluff", featuring stories about laws in the EU. The panel then had to decide whether each story was true or a "bløff" (Stephen Fry pronounced it "blerff"). Fry frequently drops into the impersonation of Robinson that he used in the sketch from A Bit of Fry and Laurie.
• In the Doctor Who episode "Bad Wolf" Call My Bluff is mentioned as one of the games hosted in the game station.
• In May 2014 the quirks of the show were lampooned by Harry Enfield and Paul Whitehouse in BBC Two's satirical Harry and Paul's Story of the Twos, where the show was given the name "Speech Impediment" and the word chosen for the panel was paedophile.^[78]

External links

• • • Call My Bluff at BFI

Notes and References

1. Web site: rest of britain. 4 July 2021.
2. Web site: Call My Bluff . 2019-06-12 . UKGameshows.
3. Web site: Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 17 October 1965 . . 17 April 2015.
4. Web site: Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 29 June 1966 . . 17 April 2015.
5. Web site: Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 2 October 1966 . . 17 April 2015.
6. Web site: Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 14 April 1967 . . 17 April 2015.
7. Web site: Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 1 October 1967 . . 17 April 2015.
8. Web site: Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 7 July 1968 . . 17 April 2015.
9. Web site: Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 24 April 1969 . . 17 April 2015.
10. Web site: Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 28 May 1970 . . 17 April 2015.
11. Web site: Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 14 September 1970 . . 17 April 2015.
12. Web site: Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 25 January 1971 . . 17 April 2015.
13. Web site: Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 14 June 1971 . . 17 April 2015.
14. Web site: Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 7 February 1972 . . 17 April 2015.
15. Web site: Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 13 November 1972 . . 17 April 2015.
16. Web site: Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 7 May 1973 . . 17 April 2015.
17. Web site: Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 3 September 1973 . . 17 April 2015.
18. Web site: Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 28 January 1974 . . 17 April 2015.
19. Web site: Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 30 September 1974 . . 17 April 2015.
20. Web site: Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 24 March 1975 . . 17 April 2015.
21. Web site: Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 29 April 1976 . . 17 April 2015.
22. Web site: Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 12 August 1976 . . 17 April 2015.
23. Web site: Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 29 April 1977 . . 17 April 2015.
24. Web site: Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 12 August 1977 . . 17 April 2015.
25. Web site: Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 22 March 1978 . . 17 April 2015.
26. Web site: Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 2 August 1978 . . 17 April 2015.
27. Web site: Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 2 January 1979 . . 17 April 2015.
28. Web site: Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 15 May 1979 . . 17 April 2015.
29. Web site: Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 13 January 1980 . . 17 April 2015.
30. Web site: Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 30 March 1980 . . 17 April 2015.
31. Web site: Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 3 July 1980 . . 17 April 2015.
32. Web site: Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 4 September 1980 . . 17 April 2015.
33. Web site: Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 13 February 1981 . . 17 April 2015.
34. Web site: Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 26 July 1981 . . 17 April 2015.
35. Web site: Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 28 January 1982 . . 17 April 2015.
36. Web site: Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 17 June 1982 . . 17 April 2015.
37. Web site: Evening Times . 17 April 2015.
38. Web site: Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 4 September 1983 . . 17 April 2015.
39. Web site: Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 23 January 1984 . . 17 April 2015.
40. Web site: Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 21 December 1984 . . 17 April 2015.
41. Web site: Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 19 October 1984 . . 17 April 2015.
42. Web site: Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 21 December 1984 . . 17 April 2015.
43. Web site: Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 29 October 1985 . . 17 April 2015.
44. Web site: Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 31 December 1985 . . 17 April 2015.
45. Web site: Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 8 January 1987 . . 17 April 2015.
46. Web site: Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 28 May 1987 . . 17 April 2015.
47. Web site: Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 10 September 1987 . . 17 April 2015.
48. Web site: Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 10 December 1987 . . 17 April 2015.
49. Web site: Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 14 April 1988 . . 17 April 2015.
50. Web site: Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 16 June 1988 . . 17 April 2015.
51. Web site: Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 26 October 1988 . . 17 April 2015.
52. Web site: Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 22 December 1988 . . 17 April 2015.
53. Web site: Call My Bluff – BBC Two England – 16 April 1994 . . 17 April 2015.
54. Web site: Call My Bluff – BBC One London – 13 May 1996 . . 17 April 2015.
55. Web site: Call My Bluff – BBC One London – 31 May 1996 . . 17 April 2015.
56. Web site: Call My Bluff – BBC One London – 2 September 1996 . . 17 April 2015.
57. Web site: Call My Bluff – BBC One London – 10 January 1997 . . 17 April 2015.
58. Web site: Call My Bluff – BBC One London – 1 April 1997 . . 17 April 2015.
59. Web site: Call My Bluff – BBC One London – 17 July 1997 . . 17 April 2015.
60. Web site: Call My Bluff – BBC One London – 1 September 1997 . . 17 April 2015.
61. Web site: Call My Bluff – BBC One London – 3 April 1998 . . 17 April 2015.
62. Web site: Call My Bluff – BBC One London – 4 January 1999 . . 17 April 2015.
63. Web site: Call My Bluff – BBC One London – 1 April 1999 . . 17 April 2015.
64. Web site: Call My Bluff – BBC One London – 6 September 1999 . . 17 April 2015.
65. Web site: Call My Bluff – BBC One London – 17 December 1999 . . 17 April 2015.
66. Web site: Call My Bluff – BBC One London – 22 May 2000 . . 17 April 2015.
67. Web site: Call My Bluff – BBC One London – 12 July 2000 . . 17 April 2015.
68. Web site: Call My Bluff – BBC One London – 4 September 2000 . . 17 April 2015.
69. Web site: Call My Bluff – BBC One London – 14 September 2000 . . 17 April 2015.
70. Web site: Call My Bluff – BBC One London – 3 January 2001 . . 17 April 2015.
71. Web site: Call My Bluff – BBC One London – 19 January 2001 . . 17 April 2015.
72. Web site: Call My Bluff – BBC One London – 4 February 2002 . . 17 April 2015.
73. Web site: Call My Bluff – BBC One London – 31 May 2002 . . 17 April 2015.
74. Web site: Call My Bluff – BBC One London – 19 May 2003 . . 17 April 2015.
75. Web site: Call My Bluff – BBC One London – 1 July 2003 . . 17 April 2015.
76. Web site: Call My Bluff – BBC One London – 1 June 2004 . . 17 April 2015.
77. Web site: Call My Bluff – BBC One London – 18 June 2004 . . 17 April 2015.
78. Web site: Harry And Paul's Story of the 2s press clippings . British Comedy Guide . en-GB . 2019-06-12.