Family Fortunes is a British television game show based on the American game show Family Feud. The programme ran on ITV from 6 January 1980 to 6 December 2002. A celebrity version, All Star Family Fortunes, followed from 2006 to 2015.
In 2020, the original version of the show returned after 17 years with Gino D'Acampo as host which ran until 2023. A third series of 10 episodes was planned for broadcast but was shelved in February 2025 following sexual misconduct allegations aimed towards D'Acampo on other ITV shows.
The game involves two families each consisting of five members providing answers to 'everyday questions' that were surveyed by 100 members of the British public before the show to win prizes (mainly cash). The top answers to the surveys are displayed on a large electronic board, christened by Bob Monkhouse as "Mr. Babbage".
Monkhouse was responsible for changing the name of the show to Family Fortunes as he felt that "feud" sounded too aggressive.
Hosts and presentation At first produced by ATV for ITV, Family Fortunes was first hosted by comedian Bob Monkhouse (1980–83), followed by singer and entertainer Max Bygraves (1983–85). The show returned on 27 June 1987 with Les Dennis as presenter and remained on air for the next 15 years. It was then moved to a daily daytime slot, hosted by Andy Collins.
The most well-known aspects of the show are the large computer screen (named "Mr Babbage" by original host Bob Monkhouse) and the famous computerised sound used when wrong answers are given. The computer screen name, "Mr Babbage", was in recognition of the English mathematician, philosopher, inventor and mechanical engineer Charles Babbage, who originated the concept of a programmable computer. During the Monkhouse and Bygraves era, the board was also used to show the closing credits at the end of the episode. In 1987, a completely different board was used for the first Dennis series, however a board similar to the original Mr Babbage one was used from the following year until its end in 2002. Both the All-Star and 2020 versions use a video wall for the board.
Format Two family teams, each consisting of five members, are asked to guess the results of surveys in which 100 people would be asked open-ended questions (e.g., "We asked 100 people to name any animal that lives wild in the United Kingdom" or "We asked 100 people to name a food you smell to be sure it's fresh"). Although rarely acknowledged during the programme, the 100 people surveyed are invariably audience members who have volunteered before the show or the families themselves who would be asked questions for the next series.Les Dennis, Fingers on Buzzers podcast, 30 October 2020
Each round begins with a member of each family (in rotation, meaning all players do this at least once) approaching the podium. As the question is read, the first of the two nominees to hit the buzzer gives an answer. If it is not the most popular answer, the other nominee is asked. If both nominees fail to give an answer that is on the board, the next members of each family are chosen to answer the question, starting in the same order as the first two nominees. The family with the more popular answer then chooses whether to "play" the question or "pass" control to the other family.
The host then passes down the line of the controlling team, asking for an answer from each member. After each answer, the board reveals whether it features. If not, or if they can't come up with an answer in time, the family loses a life; the family loses control of the board if they lose three lives in the round. If a family manages to come up with all the survey answers before losing three lives, they win the amount in pounds of the total number of people who had given the answers. Losing a life is marked with an X on the board accompanied by a buzzer.
If a family loses all three lives, the opponent is given the chance to "steal" by giving one of the correct missing answers. Only the head family member may give the answer after consulting the family. If the answer is present, this family wins the round and is said to have "stolen" the money. Otherwise, the family that played the board keeps the money.
On celebrity specials, each top answer adds a bonus of £200 (later £250) to that family's charity.
Double Money Following three rounds before a commercial break (two rounds in series 1), "Double Money" is played. Gameplay is the same as in the first rounds, but each answer is now worth £2 for each person who said it, and there are generally fewer possible answers. The family who passed £300 (£200 in series 1) first goes through to play "Big Money" (known in some overseas versions as "Fast Money") for the jackpot. On the 2020 revival, the fifth and sixth questions score double points (for the sixth question, each family nominates one person to answer the question from the podium) and the losing family receives £2 per point and a "Family Fortunes buzzer" doorbell. The winning family would be guaranteed ten times their winning score.
Big Money This involves two contestants (out of the five in the family team) answering five questions that fit with those given by the 100 people surveyed each within a narrow time limit. The first contestant answers the five questions within 15 seconds (20 in the 2020 revival). Then the second contestant (who was out of earshot) answers within 20 seconds (25 in the 2020 revival), the extra time being to allow for the likelihood of them repeating the first contestant's answer. If this happens, they are asked for another one. Each point gives the family £2 (£10 per point in the revival), up to £398 (£1,990 in the revival), and those points would be added to their earlier winnings. If they get 200 points or more from the ten answers, they then win the top cash prize.
From 1994 onwards, a bonus star prize was available for naming all five "top" (most popular) answers and scoring 200 points. The star prize couldn't be won if they failed to score at least 200 points even if all five top answers had been named.
In the 2020 revival, the top answers were not revealed until after the second contestant gave their answers and their point values were shown, an element that was previously seen in the All-Stars version of the show.
Cash and prizes The top cash prize in "Big Money" during the first series (1980) was £1,000. From the second series (1981), the prize started at £1,000, then rose by £500 weekly if no one won, to a limit of £3,000 (£2,500 from 1981 to 1982), which it could stay at for more than one week if it still was not won. Once the prize was won, it reverted to £1,000 for the next edition. In the 1987 series, it started at £1,000 and, if not won, rose by £1,000 per week to a maximum of £3,000. From the 1988 series, the prize was fixed at £3,000. After the abolition of the IBA's prize limits, the top prize rose to £5,000 from 1996. The money had to be shared out between contestants.
The bonus star prize was always a family car between 1994 and 1998. From 1998 to 2002, contestants had the choice of either a car or a holiday for up to twelve people. The car suppliers were Honda in 1994, SEAT in 1995 and Daewoo between 1996 and 2002. On the all-star specials, 200 points along with all five top responses donated £5,000 to both teams.
During the programme's brief daytime run in 2002, the prize values were reduced significantly. If the contestants scored over 200 points, they won £1,000 and if they found five top answers, it was increased to £3,000. As with the previous prizes, the £3,000 could only be won if the family scored 200+ points.
In the 2020 revival, the top cash prize is £10,000, which would be tripled to £30,000 if one or both contestants named all of the top answers.
From the second series in 1981 onward, spot prizes were available in the main game, turning up seemingly at random when certain answers were found. These ranged from household appliances like washing machines, vacuum cleaners and toasters, to home entertainment goods such as televisions, video cassette recorders and camcorders. During the two series hosted by Bygraves, if a contestant won a music prize such as a record player, he would usually throw in one of his own LP's as a bonus. In later series, when prize limits were lifted, some of the spot prizes on offer included short weekend breaks away or shopping vouchers.
Transmissions Original
Series Start date End date Episodes Recorded Presenter 1 6 January 1980 13 July 1980 26 1979–1980 Bob Monkhouse 2 9 January 1981 11 July 1981 1980 3 12 December 1981 4 September 1982 30 1981 4 31 December 1982 24 June 1983 26 1982–1983 5 14 October 1983 8 April 1984 24 1983 Max Bygraves 6 18 January 1985 31 May 1985 18 1984 7 27 June 1987 29 August 1987 26 1987 Les Dennis 10 April 1988 31 July 1988 8 23 September 1988 16 December 1988 26 1988 9 April 1989 2 July 1989 9 1 September 1989 22 December 1989 17 1989 10 31 August 1990 28 December 1990 18 1990 11 29 November 1991 18 April 1992 20 1991 12 10 July 1992 1 January 1993 21 1992 13 10 September 1993 31 December 1993 17 1993 14 1 October 1994 15 April 1995 22 1994 15 1 September 1995 26 January 1996 1995 16 31 August 1996 8 March 1997 26 1996 17 13 September 1997 21 February 1998 21 1997 18 31 August 1998 25 June 1999 26 1998 19 25 September 1999 11 July 2000 1999 20 16 September 2000 13 January 2002 24 2000 21 20 January 2002 31 August 2002 10 2001 22 2 September 2002 6 December 2002 70 2002 Andy Collins
Revival Series Start date End date Episodes Recorded Presenter 1 20 September 2020 3 January 2021 10 2020 Gino D'Acampo 2 12 September 2021 27 December 2021 20 2021 23 October 2022 20 November 2022 16 April 2023 4 June 2023
Ratings
Series 18 Episode no. Air date Viewers ITV weeklyranking 1 31 August 1998 2 7 September 1998 3 21 September 1998 5.95 28 4 28 September 1998 6.47 29 5 3 October 1998 7.05 23 6 10 October 1998 7.17 25 7 17 October 1998 7.08 27 8 24 October 1998 7.38 29 9 31 October 1998 7.30 29 10 7 November 1998 7.34 27 11 28 November 1998 7.54 27 12 5 December 1998 8.23 26 13 12 December 1998 7.27 27 14 19 December 1998 7.20 29 15 23 January 1999 7.47 25 16 30 January 1999 7.71 29 17 6 February 1999 7.70 30 18 13 February 1999 7.87 30 19 20 February 1999 7.52 25 20 27 February 1999 8.04 25 21 11 May 1999 7.87 18 22 24 May 1999 7.97 13 23 31 May 1999 6.40 25 24 11 June 1999 25 18 June 1999 6.17 21 26 25 June 1999 5.40 27
Series 20 Episode no. Air date Viewers ITV weeklyranking 1 16 September 2000 6.23 23 2 23 September 2000 6.41 24 3 30 September 2000 6.24 26 4 7 October 2000 6.67 25 5 14 October 2000 6.88 27 6 20 November 2000 8.50 19 7 23 December 2000 6.64 26 8 30 December 2000 7.17 24 9 1 January 2001 9.70 16 10 15 March 2001 7.93 21 11 10 May 2001 6.47 16 12 17 May 2001 7.35 15 13 13 July 2001 5.93 24 14 20 July 2001 6.58 18 15 27 July 2001 5.99 14 16 3 August 2001 6.31 14 17 9 August 2001 18 21 August 2001 6.26 13 19 8 September 2001 20 15 September 2001 21 22 September 2001 22 29 September 2001 23 27 December 2001 24 13 January 2002
All Star Family Fortunes
A celebrity revival of the show presented by Vernon Kay began airing on 28 October 2006 and ended on 14 June 2015 after its eleventh series.
Format