Best British Game Shows on BBC iPlayer and UK TV Stations – How to Get Them
There’s many, many quiz and games shows on British TV. You’ll find many of them have versions across the world too. Many of the best British Game shows and quiz shows will end up on US Tv and vice versa.
List of Game Show Options.
The Chase
Who doesn’t love a good game show? The Chase is one of my personal favourites. In this quiz show, contestants play against a professional quizzer, known as the “chaser”. If they answer enough questions correctly, they can win big money. But if they get caught by the chaser, they lose everything.
The Chase has been on TV since 2009 and is still going strong. It’s aired in over 50 countries and has been translated into multiple languages. And if that’s not impressive enough, the show has also won several awards.
I’m always excited to see a new episode of The Chase. It’s definitely one of my all-time favorite shows.
8 Out of 10 Cats
8 Out of 10 Cats is a British game show that originally aired on Channel 4. The show is hosted by Jimmy Carr and features the anagrams game. The show first aired in 2005 as a panel show but has since transitioned into a game show format.
Countdown
Countdown is a game show that first aired on Channel 4 in 1990. In fact it was actually the very first show broadcast on Channel 4. It’s had a variety of presenters and co-presenters over the years but is probably best remembered for the first one . The original host, Richard Whiteley, had to be unflappable, even with Gyles Brandreth in full flow. Contestants usually find Countdown stressful, but that can make it addictive too!
Pointless
Pointless is a British game show that first aired on BBC Two on 4 August 2009. The show was produced by Endemol UK for the BBC. It is presented by Alexander Armstrong and Richard Osman. Contestants try to score as few points as possible in a quiz where the obscurity of the answers increases the lower the points scored.
Mastermind
Mastermind is a British television game show for the BBC, first broadcast on 17 December 1972. The show was originally hosted by Magnus Magnusson, and later by John Humphreys. It is based on the original format created by Bill Wright, who was also its producer.
The show’s format is simple: there are two rounds. First each contestant has to answer questions from a particular specialist subject chosen by them, with each question worth one point. The second round consists of general knowledge questions with each contestant answering based on their score from the first round.
The show is quite serious and very much an intellectual quiz show. It does have a very famous catch phrase though created by the original host – “I’ve started so I’ll finish’
Beat the Chasers
Beat the Chasers is a show that pits contestants against each other in order to win money. In order to beat the chasers, you need to leave the game show. This can be done by either answering questions correctly or leaving the game show altogether. There are several ways to leave the game, and each contestant will have their own strategy for beating the chasers.
Some people might try to answer every question correctly in order to make it to the final round. Others might try to exit as quickly as possible, so they don’t have to answer any questions. Whatever strategy you choose, make sure you are confident in your abilities and ready to take on the chasers.
Would I Lie to You?
Would I Lie to You? is a British show that first aired in 2007. The show has a simple premise-two teams of celebrities try to guess whether the statements their opponents reading are are true or false. It’s hosted by Rob Brydon and Lee Mack and is currently in its eleventh season.
The episodes are short, usually only lasting about fifteen minutes, but they’re hilarious, nonetheless. Some of the best moments on the show come when Bob Mortimer is on, or when David Mitchell delivers one of his famous lines. The show is also full of surreal moments that will make you laugh out loud.
Would I Lie to You? is a great show to watch if you want to laugh your head off. You can watch the last couple of seasons for free on BBC iPlayer plus a few random episodes. Here’s the link for the home page of this well-loved game show – BBC iPlayer – Would I Lie to You?
Pointless & Pointless Celebrities
Pointless is a trivia game show with four teams of two. The team that answers the question the least, wins points for their team. Pointless is a quiz show which tasks contestants with finding obscure answers. It was later renamed to Pointless Celebrities, in which celebrities are asked trivia questions about themselves.
QI – Quite Interesting
QI is a panel game that contains lots of difficult questions and a large number of interesting facts. It was created in Great Britain by John Lloyd, the host for 8 Out Of 10 Cats Does Countdown.
However, in 2016 the format changed where now it has rotating guests instead of permanent ones. This was most likely done so that more people could have a chance to be on the show and to make it more interesting. The rotating guests are rewarded for giving interesting answers that make them stand out from other contestants, rather than being right.
Alan Davies is the permanent guest who has been with the show since 2003. He usually just sits at the desk and doesn’t say much but every now and then he will give an interesting answer and sometimes even win points for his team.
Where to Watch the Best British Game Shows?
This is just a small selection of the quiz and games shows on British TV. Like many countries the game show is a popular format with both audiences and the TV stations themselves. Most of them are relatively in-expensive to create even those with huge prizes like Who Wants to be a Millionaire.
Fortunately, it’s also quite easy to get access to these even though they’re rarely released on DVDs or other formats. Most of the UK television stations have extensive online channels, so you can get access to these shows from their respective websites.
Here are the TV sites you’ll need to subscribe to for the best British Game shows.
BBC iPlayer
So, what exactly is BBC iPlayer? BBC iPlayer is provided from the UK’s national broadcaster service. It offers one of the best videos on demand services available anywhere in the world and what’s more it’s entirely free of charge. The service is available on a wide range of devices, including mobile phones and tablets, personal computers and smart televisions. iPlayer services delivered to UK-based viewers feature no commercial advertising.
BBC iPlayer is a streaming service offered by the BBC. It allows users to watch live and on-demand content from the BBC’s channels. This includes TV shows, movies, sports, and news.
iPlayer has been around for over a decade and has undergone several changes. The most recent change was in 2016 when it was updated to be more user-friendly. The update introduced a new design and added new features such as personalized recommendations and an integrated Chromecast function. The BBC iPlayer app is available on a range of devices, including smartphones, tablets, smart TVs, gaming consoles, and set-top boxes. It can also be streamed through a web browser.
It currently has eleven live channels most of which stream 24 hours a day and a huge archive of programmes. Most BBC programmes (depending on rights) are available for twelve months on the BBC iPlayer archive. You can stream these shows directly or download to watch offline.
ITV Hub
ITV Hub is the online streaming service that is accessible through the main ITV website. It used to be known as ITV Player but changed to ITV Hub during a recent rebrand. The service offers a mix of British programming, acquisitions and content from all of the different ITV stations. It’s basically a platform to access all of the ITV channels live and an archive of older programmes which you can watch on demand.
The site is run by advertising, so you’ll have commercial breaks unlike the BBC. However, there is a ‘premium option’ which removes the adverts if you prefer. Remember the site is geo-blocked so you can’t subscribe to the premium service without a UK VPN connection and a UK form of payment. For most of the older shows, it might be worth checking out Britbox which has thousands of older UK TV programmes and is available in many more countries through subscription.
All Four
All 4 is another huge free-view channel available online in the United Kingdom. On here you can watch all your favourite programmes online, from Channel 4, E4, All4 and Walter Presents. You can live stream or watch from the archive. All 4 is financed through advertising although it’s owned and licensed by the UK Government. Some of the most famous shows include Derry Girls, Holly Oaks and Made in Chelsea. It also has hundreds of syndicated shows from all over the world including the US. For example, you can enjoy the first twelve series of Big Bang on All 4 completely free of charge.
Channel 4 also has many great documentaries and covers more art and music than the other mainstream channels.
British TV Games Show and Quiz Shows
Virtually every channel has some sort of game or quiz shows. They’re a favorite with producers because they offer good value for money. You’ll find the type of shows vary depending on the channel though. The BBC has more knowledge-based shows like Mastermind, University Challenge and Pointless. Whereas you’ll find more fun and light-hearted quiz shows on Channel 4 and 5.
Of course, there’s plenty more, if you like drama check out this post on the best British detective shows too.
UK Only Access to these Television Shows
The UK based channels have a huge number of shows and programmes available entirely free of charge online. The problem is that they are only accessible to those based in the UK. More specifically those who have a UK IP address when they connect to the site. Fortunately, there’s a fix for this, which works for UK based TV stations and those all over the world too.
The technology involved is called geo-targeting and is used (or abused) by many of the world biggest sites to control access. All the UK TV sites use this technology to restrict access to anyone with a non-UK IP address. It’s not just the UK sites virtually every large media site across the world does exactly the same, certainly all the large US sites do. Although they restrict access to US IP addresses of course.
It’s simple to bypass though, as many UK expats have been doing for decades! Just check out this video.
How to Watch Online from Outside the UK
If you’re looking to watch your favourite UK TV shows online and you’re based outside of the UK then you’re going to need a VPN. Using a VPN with a UK connection you can get unlimited access to BBC iPlayer and watch all your favourite British shows. You can watch British TV from Germany, France, USA or anywhere without having to worry about geo-restrictions. It doesn’t matter where you actually are, the VPN will make it look like you’re in the UK. So, you can enjoy BBC iPlayer in India or the US or anywhere!
Whether you’re a fan of BBC game shows, comedies, or dramas or just want to watch Match of the Day once a week – British TV really has something for everyone. And best of all, it’s free to use! So don’t miss out on any of the best British TV – grab yourself a decent VPN like NordVPN and start streaming today.