What's My Line? (British game show)
British TV panel game show (1951–1996)
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What's My Line? is a panel game show based on the American version of the same name. It was originally aired on BBC Television Service from 16 July 1951 to 13 May 1963, hosted by Eamonn Andrews. It was revived by BBC2 from 23 August 1973 to 25 May 1974, hosted by David Jacobs, and then by ITV from 26 March 1984 to 31 August 1990. The ITV incarnation was first hosted by Eamonn Andrews from 1984 until his death in 1987, then by Penelope Keith for a part of 1988 before Angela Rippon took over until 1990. Two regional ITV stations, HTV and Meridian, revived it again from 19 September 1994 to 17 December 1996, when it was hosted by Emma Forbes.
Bill Todman
David Jacobs (1973–74)
Penelope Keith (1988)
Angela Rippon (1988–90)
Emma Forbes (1994–96)
| What's My Line? | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Panel game show |
| Created by | Mark Goodson Bill Todman |
| Presented by | Eamonn Andrews (1951–63; 1984–87) David Jacobs (1973–74) Penelope Keith (1988) Angela Rippon (1988–90) Emma Forbes (1994–96) |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 12 (BBC-tv) 2 (BBC2) 7 (ITV) 3 (HTV/Meridian) |
| No. of episodes | 413 (BBC-tv) 23 (BBC2) 160 (ITV) 42 (HTV/Meridian) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 30 minutes (inc. adverts) |
| Production companies | Thames in association with Mark Goodson Productions and Talbot Television (1984–90) Fremantle (UK) Productions (1994–96) |
| Original release | |
| Network | BBC Television Service |
| Release | 16 July 1951 – 13 May 1963 |
| Network | BBC2 |
| Release | 23 August 1973 – 25 May 1974 |
| Network | ITV |
| Release | 26 March 1984 – 31 August 1990 |
| Network | HTV/Meridian |
| Release | 19 September 1994 – 17 December 1996 |
| Related | |
| What's My Line? | |
Regular panelists on the original version were Jerry Desmonde, Gilbert Harding, David Nixon, Barbara Kelly and Isobel Barnett.
Transmissions
BBC Television Service
| Series | Start date | End date | Episodes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 16 July 1951[1] | 7 April 1952[2] | 39 |
| 2 | 18 August 1952[3] | 28 June 1953[4] | 46 |
| 3 | 1 November 1953[5] | 20 June 1954[6] | 34 |
| 4 | 26 September 1954[7] | 20 March 1955[8] | 26 |
| 5 | 24 October 1955[9] | 16 July 1956[10] | 39 |
| 6 | 30 September 1956[11] | 7 April 1957[12] | 28 |
| 7 | 5 October 1957[13] | 22 June 1958[14] | 38 |
| 8 | 28 September 1958[15] | 22 March 1959[16] | 26 |
| 9 | 30 August 1959[17] | 24 April 1960[18] | 35 |
| 10 | 18 September 1960[19] | 21 May 1961[20] | 34 |
| 11 | 1 October 1961[21] | 3 June 1962[22] | 35 |
| 12 | 1 October 1962[23] | 13 May 1963[24] | 33 |
BBC2
Series
Specials
| Date | Entitle |
|---|---|
| 25 December 1973[29] | Christmas Special |
Thames
Series
| Series | Start date | End date | Episodes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 26 March 1984 | 2 July 1984 | 14 |
| 2 | 18 February 1985 | 20 May 1985 | 14 |
| 3 | 31 March 1986 | 30 June 1986 | 13 |
| 4 | 6 April 1987 | 18 May 1987 | 7 |
| 5 | 22 February 1988 | 25 March 1988 | 40 |
| 15 August 1988 | 2 September 1988 | ||
| 6 | 13 December 1988 | 10 February 1989 | 38 |
| 15 March 1989 | 7 April 1989 | ||
| 7 | 10 July 1990 | 31 August 1990 | 32 |
Specials
| Date | Entitle |
|---|---|
| 24 December 1984 | Christmas Special |
| 30 December 1985 | Christmas Special |
HTV/Meridian
| Series | Start date | End date | Episodes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 19 September 1994 | 19 December 1994 | 14 |
| 2 | 18 September 1995 | 18 December 1995 | 14 |
| 3 | 17 September 1996 | 17 December 1996 | 14 |