Big Break

Big Break is a British game show that aired on BBC1 from 30 April 1991 to 9 October 2002 and was hosted by Jim Davidson with John Virgo as referee. The programme focuses on teams consisting of a contestant and a professional snooker player competing in rounds that involve snooker, with the best team eventually seeing its player seeking to win prizes for their contestant.

History

The idea of a snooker-related television game show was first thought of by Roger Medcalf in 1987 who then collaborated with Mike Kemp. Kemp and Medcalf both produced a written format in 1987 where it was called The Big Break and it went through a number of versions, Kemp then proposed to Medcalf that they should try to get Terry Mardell interested, Mardell was an expert in relation to quiz shows, which was also during that year Mardell devised a successful bingo-related quiz show called Bob's Full House. Mardell agreed to meet Kemp and Medcalf in his office to discuss the snooker-related game that the two men came up with and showed Mardell their written format for the show, Mardell's immediate response was that it was far too complicated, would take far too long and would cost far too much, but he was willing to help them in a further meeting that would take place in his flat where the three men would further discuss and contribute various suggestions to the idea. That meeting produced a further version of the format and afterwards Kemp was left to retype the format where it was called "the June format". It was first practised at King's Cross Snooker Club where a week later, the three men met again to work out how the game could be improved with a view to a presentation to the BBC. They attended the presentation as well as Jim Moir and Kevin Bishop from the BBC where they were sufficiently interested to agree to have rehearsals at the BBC's Acton Studios in October.

Format

In each episode of the game show, three contestants are each paired up with a professional snooker player when a yellow ball, a blue ball or a red ball are drawn – while the contestant tackles questions given by the host, the player handles the snooker-based challenges in each round. Although a game show, Davidson and Virgo usually interject comedy into each episode, including a brief stand-up routine at the beginning of an episode before the introduction of the contestants and players. Although the first two rounds have their own rules, the last two stick to traditional regulation snooker rules regarding potting balls – colours being potted only after a red is potted – although with six red balls used in these rounds except the first round which has ten red balls. The snooker table on this game show has one colour on each pocket.
The programme features four rounds:Red Hot – Each contestant is given three questions, in which their answer denotes the amount of time their snooker player has to pot as many of the ten red balls on the snooker table as they possibly can. The player is allowed to break before time begins, meaning that any red balls that are potted in this period counts towards their final score. In early series, players were given 10 seconds, with each correct answer a contestant gave adding an additional 10 seconds. By later series, the format was changed, with the player having 40 seconds, minus five seconds to any incorrect answers the contestant gave. The team with the lowest score are eliminated at the end of the round.Virgo's Trick Shot – A mini-game styled round, in which the contestant eliminated in the first round is given the opportunity to win a consolation prize. Virgo demonstrates a type of trick shot, which the contestant must recreate themselves, in order to win the prize.Pocket Money – Each contestant's player tackles a traditional game of snooker, along standard rules of potting, getting as many balls as they can within 90 seconds. Each ball on the table is denoted with both a cash amount – based on their regulation point in Snooker – and a category of questions that Davidson can asks the contestants. If the player pots a ball in the same coloured pocket, the cash amount earned is doubled. If the player hits a ball but fails to pot it, they must stop and wait until their contestant answers a question correctly, based on the ball's connected subject, in order to resume, with the timer not stopped during this period. A coin toss decides which team begins first, with the team with the lowest score being eliminated at the end of the round.Make or Break – The final contestant is given 90 seconds to answer five questions correctly, after the player breaks the six reds on the table. Once all questions are answered, the timer is paused, with each correct answer allowing the player to remove one red ball from the table, leaving a minimum of one red left. Once their choices are made, if possible, the player begins potting balls in the remainder of the 90 seconds. Each coloured ball, when potted in order, offers the contestant a prize, with the grand prize won when the black is finally potted. However, the player must pot all the reds, before they can begin with the next colour in the sequence. If the black isn't potted, the contestant leaves with the money earned in Pocket Money, plus the red prize, and the highest coloured prize achieved when the time ran out.

Snooker-player partners

Series 1 (1991)

Show 1 - Stephen Hendry, Mike Hallett, Joe Johnson
Show 2 - Stacey Hillyard, Willie Thorne, Dennis Taylor
Show 3 - Ray Reardon, Alex Higgins, John Campbell
Show 4 - Tony Knowles, Tony Meo, John Spencer
Show 5 - Allison Fisher, James Wattana, Silvino Francisco
Show 6 - Cliff Thorburn, Steve James, Neal Foulds
Show 7 - Alex Higgins, Ray Reardon, John Campbell
Show 8 - Stephen Hendry, Mike Hallett, Joe Johnson
Show 9 - Dennis Taylor, Tony Drago, Ray Reardon
Show 10 - Allison Fisher, Silvino Francisco, James Wattana
Show 11 - Cliff Thorburn, Steve James, Neal Foulds
Show 12 - Ray Reardon, Tony Drago, Dennis Taylor

Series 2 (1992)

Show 1 - Jimmy White, Warren King, Cliff Thorburn
Show 2 - Dennis Taylor, Tony Drago, Mike Hallett
Show 3 - Neal Foulds, Tony Knowles, David Taylor
Show 4 - Joe Johnson, Ray Reardon, Terry Griffiths
Show 5 - Allison Fisher, Willie Thorne, Steve James
Show 6 - Dean Reynolds, Dene O'Kane, Gary Wilkinson
Show 7 - Tony Knowles, John Spencer, Tony Meo
Show 8 - Cliff Thorburn, Warren King, Jimmy White
Show 9 - Dennis Taylor, Willie Thorne, Stacey Hillyard
Show 10 - Tony Knowles, Neal Foulds, David Taylor
Show 11 - Mike Hallett, Tony Drago, Dennis Taylor
Show 12 - Terry Griffiths, Ray Reardon, Joe Johnson
Show 13 - Allison Fisher, Steve James, Willie Thorne

Series 3 (1992)

Show 1 - Stephen Hendry, Peter Ebdon, Darren Morgan
Show 2 - Cliff Thorburn, Ken Doherty, Terry Griffiths
Show 3 - Tony Knowles, Stacey Hillyard, Ronnie O'Sullivan
Show 4 - Ray Reardon, Dene O'Kane, Mike Hallett
Show 5 - Paul Davies, Alan McManus, Steve James
Show 6 - Allison Fisher, Willie Thorne, Dennis Taylor
Show 7 - Karen Corr, Mark Johnston-Allen, Gary Wilkinson
Show 8 - Tony Knowles, Stacey Hillyard, Ronnie O'Sullivan
Show 9 - David Taylor, Joe Swail, Nigel Bond
Show 10 - Alan McManus, Paul Davies, Steve James
Show 11 - Dene O'Kane, Ray Reardon, Mike Hallett
Show 12 - Karen Corr, Mark Johnston-Allen, Gary Wilkinson
Show 13 - Stephen Hendry, Peter Ebdon, Darren Morgan
Show 14 - David Taylor, Nigel Bond, Joe Swail
Show 15 - Terry Griffiths, Ken Doherty, Cliff Thorburn

Series 4 (1993–94)

Show 1 - Dennis Taylor, Tony Drago, Martin Clark
Show 2 - Terry Griffiths, Ken Doherty, Peter Ebdon
Show 3 - Mike Hallet, David Taylor, Ronnie O'Sullivan
Show 4 - Gary Wilkinson, Nigel Bond, Tony Drago
Show 5 - Stephen Hendry, Steve Davis, Alain Robidoux
Show 6 - Steve Lemmens, Alan McManus, Peter Ebdon
Show 7 - Ray Reardon, Joe Swail, Tony Knowles
Show 8 - Dennis Taylor, Paul Davies, David Roe
Show 9 - Jimmy White, Stacey Hillyard, Darren Morgan
Show 10 - Allison Fisher, Willie Thorne, Steve James
Show 11 - Terry Griffiths, David Roe, Mark Johnston-Allen
Show 12 - Ray Reardon, Ronnie O'Sullivan, Troy Shaw
Show 13 - Jimmy White, Dene O'Kane, Gary Wilkinson
Show 14 - Allison Fisher, Willie Thorne, Peter Ebdon
Show 15 - Cliff Wilson, Darren Morgan, Paul Davies
Show 16 - Steve Davis, Peter Ebdon, Terry Griffiths
Show 17 - John Parrott, Oliver King, David Roe
Show 18 - Jimmy White, Tony Meo, Tony Drago
Show 19 - Lynette Horsburgh, Allison Fisher, Karen Corr
Show 20 - Ken Doherty, Tony Knowles, Mike Hallett
Show 21 - Ray Reardon, Rex Williams, Ray Edmonds
Show 22 - Steve Davis, Dene O'Kane, Steve James
Show 23 - Mike Hallett, Silvino Francisco, Joe Swail
Show 24 - Jimmy White, Jonathan Birch, Neil Mosley
Show 25 - John Parrott, Ken Doherty, Steve Lemmens
Show 26 - Joe Johnson, Paul Davies, David Taylor
Show 27 - Ronnie O'Sullivan, Alan McManus, Joe Swail

Series 5 (1994-95)

Show 1 - Steve Davis, Steve James, Mark King
Show 2 - Peter Ebdon, Ken Doherty, Les Dodd
Show 3 - Willie Thorne, David Roe, Troy Shaw
Show 4 - Stephen Hendry, Terry Griffiths, Paul Davies
Show 5 - Dennis Taylor, Ronnie O'Sullivan, Allison Fisher
Show 6 - Ken Doherty, Darren Morgan, Oliver King
Show 7 - Karen Corr, Stacey Hillyard, Lynette Horsburgh
Show 8 - Tony Knowles, Neal Foulds, Fergal O'Brien
Show 9 - Willie Thorne, Surinder Gill, Paul Davies
Show 10 - Stephen Hendry, John Parrott, Andy Hicks
Show 11 - Peter Ebdon, Nigel Bond, Mike Hallett
Show 12 - Darren Morgan, Mark Davis, Neal Foulds
Show 13 - Allison Fisher, Martin Clark, Joe Swail
Show 14 - Dennis Taylor, John Higgins, David Roe
Show 15 - Jimmy White, Ray Reardon, Mark King
Show 16 - Willie Thorne, Gary Wilkinson, Billy Snaddon
Show 17 - John Parrott, Steve Davis, Hitesh Lakhani
Show 18 - Ken Doherty, Joe Swail, Paul Davies
Show 19 - Allison Fisher, Alan McManus, Mark Davis
Show 20 - Dennis Taylor, Tony Drago, David Roe
Show 21 - Ronnie O'Sullivan, Ray Reardon, Jason Ferguson
Show 22 - Peter Ebdon, Ken Doherty, Gerard Greene
Show 23 - Willie Thorne, Joe Swail, Oliver King
Show 24 - Jimmy White, Tony Drago, Les Dodd
Show 25 - Dennis Taylor, Terry Griffiths, Joe Johnson
Show 26 - Alan McManus, Peter Ebdon, Neal Foulds
Show 27 - Steve Davis, John Parrott, John Higgins

Series 6 (1995-96)

Show 1 - Ken Doherty, Mike Hallett, Darren Morgan
Show 2 - Jimmy White, David Roe, Tony Meo
Show 3 - John Parrott, Peter Ebdon, Paul Davies
Show 4 - Stephen Hendry, Jimmy Chambers, Mark Johnston-Allen
Show 5 - Willie Thorne, Terry Griffiths, Gerard Greene
Show 6 - Nigel Bond, Tony Knowles, Mark King
Show 7 - Steve Davis, Ronnie O'Sullivan, Mark Davis
Show 8 - Jimmy White, Paul Davies, Dean Reynolds
Show 9 - Allison Fisher, Karen Corr, Lynette Horsburgh
Show 10 - Mike Hallett, Gary Wilkinson, Stephen O'Connor
Show 11 - Dieter Jones, John Parrott, Stephen Murphy
Show 12 - Willie Thorne, Joe Johnson, Mark Davis
Show 13 - Ronnie O'Sullivan, Billy Snaddon, Tony Knowles
Show 14 - Steve Davis, Lee Richardson, Mark Johnston-Allen
Show 15 - Stephen Hendry, Peter Ebdon, Oliver King
Show 16 - John Parrott, Gary Wilkinson, Drew Henry
Show 17 - Tony Knowles, Mark Williams, Neal Foulds
Show 18 - Dennis Taylor, David Roe, Jason Ferguson
Show 19 - Stephen Hendry, Mario Geudens, Terry Griffiths
Show 20 - Joe Swail, Dave Harold, Joe Johnson
Show 21 - Ray Edmonds, David Taylor, Ray Reardon
Show 22 - Jimmy White, Chris Small, Nigel Bond
Show 23 - Dennis Taylor, Andy Hicks, Jimmy Michie
Show 24 - Steve Davis, Neal Foulds, Les Dodd
Show 25 - Willie Thorne, Martin Clark, Ronnie O'Sullivan
Show 26 - Allison Fisher, John Higgins, Ken Doherty
Show 27 - Dennis Taylor, Joe Swail, Anthony Hamilton

Series 7 (1997)

Show 1 - John Parrott, Paul Davies, Mark Bennett
Show 2 - Peter Ebdon, Gary Wilkinson, Mark King
Show 3 - Ray Reardon, Jason Ferguson, Mick Price
Show 4 - Willie Thorne, Andy Hicks, Les Dodd
Show 5 - Dennis Taylor, Mark Davis, John Virgo, Billy Snaddon
Show 6 - Ronnie O'Sullivan, Paul Davies, Darren Morgan
Show 7 - Jimmy White, Gary Wilkinson, Rod Lawler
Show 8 - Stephen Hendry, Mark Davis, Mark Williams
Show 9 - Terry Griffiths, Shokat Ali, Lee Richardson
Show 10 - Alex Higgins, Joe Swail, Stephen Murphy
Show 11 - Tony Knowles, John Parrott, David Taylor
Show 12 - Paul Hunter, Paul Davies, Peter Ebdon
Show 13 - Steve Davis, David Roe, Alain Robidoux
Show 14 - Stephen Hendry, Mark Johnston-Allen, Gerard Greene
Show 15 - Jimmy White, Matthew Stevens, Darren Morgan
Show 16 - Alex Higgins, Ray Reardon, David Roe
Show 17 - Rex Williams, John Spencer, Graham Miles
Show 18 - Dennis Taylor, Dave Harold, Oliver King
Show 19 - Steve Davis, Martin Clark, Mark Davis
Show 20 - Peter Ebdon, Joe Johnson, Ken Doherty
Show 21 - Jimmy White, Andy Hicks, Nigel Bond
Show 22 - Willie Thorne, Lee Richardson, David Roe
Show 23 - Dennis Taylor, Neal Foulds, Gerard Greene
Show 24 - Dieter Jones, Craig MacGillivray, Steve Davis
Show 25 - John Parrott, Ken Doherty, Joe Johnson
Show 26 - Mike Hallet, Nick Pearce, Terry Griffiths
Show 27 - Tony Knowles, Alain Robidoux, David Taylor
Show 28 - Stephen Hendry, Neal Foulds, Anthony Davies

Series 8 (1997)

Show 1 - Ken Doherty, Joe Swail, Oliver King
Show 2 - Peter Ebdon, Darren Morgan, Dennis Taylor
Show 3 - Tony Drago, Stephen Murphy, Willie Thorne
Show 4 - Nigel Bond, Andy Hicks, John Higgins
Show 5 - David Taylor, Ray Reardon, Rex Williams
Show 6 - Mark Davis, John Higgins, Gary Wilkinson
Show 7 - John Parrott, Darren Morgan, Lee Walker
Show 8 - Tony Drago, John Higgins, Mark King
Show 9 - Steve Davis, Neal Foulds, Paul Hunter
Show 10 - John Parrott, Martin Clark, Lee Richardson
Show 11 - Tony Drago, Ray Reardon, Dennis Taylor
Show 12 - Ken Doherty, Nick Pearce, David Roe
Show 13 - Jonathan Birch, Mike Hallett, Jimmy Michie
Show 14 - Andy Hicks, Dennis Taylor, Willie Thorne
Show 15 - Tony Chappel, John Parrott, Matthew Stevens
Show 16 - Steve Davis, David Roe, Jamie Woodman
Show 17 - Joe Johnson, Dene O'Kane, Lee Richardson
Show 18 - Mark Davis, Tony Knowles, Jimmy White
Show 19 - Peter Ebdon, Stephen Hendry, Mark King
Show 20 - Mark Davis, Jason Ferguson, Ronnie O'Sullivan
Show 21 - Nigel Bond, Stephen Hendry, Terry Murphy
Show 22 - Peter Ebdon, Mark Davis, Jimmy White
Show 23 - Paul Davies, Gerard Greene, Stephen Hendry
Show 24 - Terry Griffiths, Ronnie O'Sullivan, Jimmy White
Show 25 - Gerard Greene, Terry Griffiths, Mark Williams
Show 26 - Joe Johnson, Mark Williams, Jimmy White

Series 9 (1998)

Show 1 - Joe Johnson, Peter Ebdon, John Parrott
Show 2 - John Higgins, David Roe, Joe Swail
Show 3 - Lee Richardson, Mark King, John Parrott
Show 4 - Joe Johnson, Paul Davies, Dennis Taylor
Show 5 - David Taylor, Rex Williams, Ray Reardon
Show 6 - Oliver King, Peter Ebdon, Steve James
Show 7 - Quinten Hann, Brian Morgan, John Higgins
Show 8 - Darren Morgan, Andy Hicks, Lee Richardson
Show 9 - Steve Davis, Paul Hunter, David Roe
Show 10 - Ken Doherty, Mark Davis, Nigel Bond
Show 11 - John Higgins, Tony Drago, Graeme Dott
Show 12 - Steve Davis, Matthew Stevens, Dean Reynolds
Show 13 - Paul Wykes, Ray Reardon, Dennis Taylor
Show 14 - Darren Morgan, Willie Thorne, Anthony Davies
Show 15 - Peter Ebdon, Tony Drago, Alfie Burden
Show 16 - Gerard Greene, Willie Thorne, Andy Hicks
Show 17 - Jimmy White, Mark Davis, Matthew Stevens
Show 18 - Ken Doherty, Terry Griffiths, Gerard Greene
Show 19 - Dominic Dale, Tony Drago, Joe Swail
Show 20 - Gary Wilkinson, Anthony Hamilton, John Parrott
Show 21 - Ken Doherty, Bradley Jones, Gerard Greene
Show 22 - Steve Davis, Dave Harold, Craig MacGillivray
Show 23 - Peter Ebdon, Mark King, Karen Corr
Show 24 - Ken Doherty, Neal Foulds, Terry Griffiths
Show 25 - Dennis Taylor, Paul Hunter, Martin Clark

Series 10 (2001)

Show 1 - Ken Doherty, Stephen Hendry, Ronnie O'Sullivan
Show 2 - Tony Drago, David Roe, Joe Johnson
Show 3 - Steve Davis, David Gray, Joe Perry
Show 4 - Dave Harold, Mark King, John Parrott
Show 5 - Ken Doherty, Fergal O'Brien, Jimmy White
Show 6 - Nigel Bond, Peter Ebdon, Darren Morgan
Show 7 - Tony Drago, David Roe, Joe Johnson
Show 8 - Anthony Hamilton, Matthew Stevens, Willie Thorne
Show 9 - Ryan Day, Ronnie O'Sullivan, Ray Reardon
Show 10 - Kelly Fisher, Paul Hunter, Steve Davis
Show 11 - Bradley Jones, Shaun Murphy, John Parrott
Show 12 - Paul Hunter, Stephen Lee, Jimmy Michie
Show 13 - Stephen Hendry, Ray Reardon, Jimmy White
Show 14 - Michael Judge, Tony Knowles, Willie Thorne
Show 15 - Dominic Dale, Stephen Lee, Lee Richardson
Show 16 - Peter Ebdon, Matthew Stevens, Ali Carter