Fifteen to One

Fifteen to One is a popular general knowledge quiz show on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom. Since its inception in 1988 it has been presented and produced by William G. Stewart. To date some 30,000 contestants have appeared on the show.

The format of the show, developed by John Lewis of Regent Productions originally involved 20 starting contestants but the figure cut down to 15 in order to fit a running time of just under 30 minutes. Most of John's Lewis's format remained unchanged when the show eventually aired.

Each series consists of a number of heats and a grand final. After the last heat the 15 winning players with the highest scores compete in the grand final.

The quiz itself consists of two phases. In the first phase contestants are eliminated from the competition until three remain. At this point the show is interrupted for a commercial break. Following the break two further contestants are eliminated to leave the competition winner.

The first phase

The first phase of the quiz involves reducing the number of contestants from fifteen to three. This takes place over three rounds of questioning.

The first two rounds of questioning

Fifteen numbered contestants begin the quiz with three lives. Each contestant in numerical order is asked a general knowledge question and given a period of five seconds to give a correct answer. If they fail to answer the question correctly they lose one of their three lives. After all of the 15 contestants have been asked a question, another round of questioning begins. If a player begins this second round of questioning with all of their lives intact and fails to give a correct answer to their second question they lose one of their three remaining lives; however, if a player lost a life in the first round and they fail to answer their second question correctly they lose both of their remaining two lives and are eliminated from the competition.

The third round of questioning

It should be noted that at the beginning of this stage that each contestant will have either 2 or 3 lives remaining. The third round of questioning begins with the lowest numbered contestant being asked a question. If the player fails to answer the question correctly the player loses a life and play passes to the next numbered player. Each player that gives a correct answer must nominate one of the remaining players to answer the next question. If a nominated player does not give a correct answer he loses a life and the player who made the nomination must nominate again (he may nominate the same player again). When a contestant loses their final life they are eliminated from the competition. When only three contestants remain the first phase of the quiz is over and the programme pauses for a commercial break.

The second phase

During the second phase 40 questions will be asked, each of which is worth 10 points. The three contestants are restored to the full set of 3 lives and the number of lives that each player had remaining at the end of the previous round becomes part of player's score. Thus those contestants who had 3 lives left will start the second phase with a score of 3 etc. The first question is open to all players to answer and the contenstants must press a buzzer in order to give their answer. If after buzzing they fail to answer the question correctly a life is lost and another question is asked on the buzzer. Once one of players has answered 3 questions correctly they are given the opportunity to answer the next question themselves or nominate one of the other two players to answer. From this point on, after each successfully answered question the host will ask - "Question or nominate?". If a nominated player fails to answer a question correctly, the player who made the nomination again has a choice of question or nominate?. If a player chooses to answer a question themselves and fails to answer it correctly the next question is asked on the buzzer. Once all 40 questions have been asked, or the last remaining player has lost all of his lives, any lives that remain are added to the surviving players' score with a value of 10 points each. The surviving player with the highest score is declared the winner. A maximum score of 433 can be achieved if a player starts the second phase with all three lives intact and correctly answers all 40 questions. The player scores 3 points for retaining 3 lives from the first phase, 400 points for answering 40 questions correctly and 30 points for retaining 3 lives from the end of the first phase. The maximum score has been achieved only once by Bill McKaig, a minister from Glasgow. The feat of answering all 40 third round questions correctly was also achieved by Daphne Fowler and Michael Penrice who both finished with a score of 432. If the winner of the show has a final score high enough, his name is placed on the finals board (possibly knocking another winning contestant off of the board).

At the end of the series those people whose names remain on the finals board compete in the grand final. All of players who won their heat are allowed to re-enter the contest in the following series whilst the other players are barred from re-entering for a number of years.

The grand final of the first series of 2003 saw the first ever tie in the shows history. No provision had been made for a tie breaker.

The series prize tends to be a classical artefact (for example a Greek vase), and is presented to the winning contestant by Laura Calland, the regular voice-over artist. Calland's voice-overs are occasionally provided by other presenters, usually Philip Lowrie, but only Calland is seen on screen, when she presents the prize.

Past winners of Fifteen to One

Series	Grand Final Winner	Top of the Finals Board	Score	Shown
1	Jon Goodwin	Peter Knott	270	1988
2	Mal Collier	Fred Gavin	290
3	Kevin Ashman	Mal Collier	261	1989
4	Andrew Francis	Thomas Dyer	202
5	Anthony Martin	Anthony Martin	251	1990
6	Mike Kirby	Mike Kirby	281
7	Thomas Dyer	Mike Kirby	263	1991
8	Anthony Martin	Katharine Heaney	242
9	Julian Allen	Barbara Thompson	252	1992
10	Barbara Thompson	Sheri Evans	231
11	Anthony Martin	Tim Goadby	242	1993
12	Glen Binnie	Andrew McGlennon	302
13	Stanley Miller	Peter Fillingham	251	1994
14	Leslie Booth	Lesley Webster	262
15	Leslie Booth	Christopher Cooke	292	1995
16	Ian Potts	Susan 'O Donoghue	231
17	Arnold O’ Hara	John Clarke	291	1996
18	Martin Riley	Martin Riley	333
19	Trevor Montague	Christopher Bostock	292	1997
20	Bill Francis	Rosemary Broome	311
21	Nick Terry	Christopher Bostock	272
22	Nick Terry	Bill McKaig	272	1998
23	Bill McKaig	Roy Smith	293
24	Paul Hillman	Michael Irwin	311
25	Nick Terry	Bill McKaig	433	1999
26	Nick Terry	Michael Penrice	321
27	Les Arnott	John Jenkins	303	2000
28	Dag Griffiths	Daphne Fowler	432
29	Matti Watton	Daphne Fowler	383
30	Daphne Fowler	Daphne Fowler	333	2001
31	Daphne Fowler	Martin Saunders	292
32	Matti Watton	Michael Penrice	423	2002
33	David Good	?	?
34	Jack Welsby David Stedman	Azeez Feshitan	?	2003