The Golden Shot

1 9 6 7 - 1 9 7 5 (UK)

This long-running Saturday night game show was originally hosted by genial Canadian singer Jackie Rae, but most famously by Bob Monkhouse (pictured at right) with the assistance of The Golden Girls - Carol Dilworth, Andrea Lloyd and Anita Richardson initially, all easily out-shone by regular helper Anne Aston, who thought that one and one made eleven, even though she had a maths A-level.

The show originated from Switzerland and featured contestants selected from home viewers and the studio audience. 

The contestants had to guide a blindfolded cameraman on the studio 'tele-bow' (pictured below) and instruct him when to fire at picture targets. 

Home viewers did so by telephone in view of their TV set and studio contestants from a phone booth in the ATV studio watching a monitor.

A typical game would commence with the immortal words from Bob, "Bernie, the bolt!". The following inexact instructions from the contestant to the blindfolded cameraman would follow; "Up a bit . . . left a bit . . . right a bit . . .up a bit . . . up a bit . . . down a bit . . .FIRE!"

The show became extremely popular in 1968 when it settled into its regular Sunday tea-time slot and attracted 17 million viewers. "We did it live 52 weeks a year", said Monkhouse, "and something went wrong on every show. Everything that could go wrong did and everything that couldn't possibly go wrong did"

Bob Monkhouse stayed with the show until 1971 when Norman Vaughan took over before being succeeded by Charlie Williams, who looked as comfortable as a hedgehog crossing the M1. It wrecked Williams' career and Monkhouse was asked back in 1974 to give The Golden Shot a final boost.

Interestingly, the original Bernie the Bolt's full name was . . . Derek Young. The first host, Jackie Rae, had to repeat one line eight times in each show - the word of instruction to the technician to load the dangerous tele-bow and simultaneously warn the studio of the fact that the weapon was armed. 

"Heinz, the bolt!" was the original command. When Bob Monkhouse took over in 1967 he increased the number of times to load the tele-bow from eight to fifteen. But a lucky chance saved Bob from finding 57 ways of saying 'Heinz'. Heinz went home. 

He stayed long enough to train an ATV technician (Derek Young). "Grand", Bob said. "Derek, the bolt - that sounds lousy. Lets make it alliterative. What's funny and begins with B?" .

Colin Clews, the producer, favoured "Basil", while Mr Monkhouse himself liked "Bartholomew". But they were reckoning without the man himself. Derek liked "Derek". "Well you think of a name that begins with B and won't embarrass you" said Bob. And Bernie it became.

When the now successful series was moved from ATV's Borehamwood studios to Birmingham it meant that Derek Young had to train a Midlands-based technician. "What name are you going to call the armourer now?" asked Derek. 

'Well, Bernie, of course. We can't change the catchphrase.' 'But I'm Bernie the Bolt.' . . . He gave in with a shrug and said, 'Well, that's show business.'"