SW
Of course, they did later do it with another presenter, because the entire format was later remade as Celebrities Under Pressure, and they got three series out of it - http://www.ukgameshows.com/ukgs/Celebrities_Under_Pressure Although all anyone remembers about that now was it being used for John Fashanu's Undercover on Saturday Night Takeaway.
But yes, it was deliberately launched to find a new format for Cilla. Up until 1998, Blind Date had always returned in September, but that year it was shoved back to November so they could show Moment of Truth in its place, clearly an attempt to eventually replace it. But it never caught on even though they did it for four years, it felt like it wasn't the done thing to axe Cilla, much like how when Surprise Surprise ended as a regular series they kept bringing it back as specials.
I was a bit older at the time, but I too remember laughing hysterically at the first ever You've Been Framed and our whole family thinking it was the funniest thing we'd ever seen. I know it sounds idiotic these days. They did two specials before the first series proper, you may recall.
Initially there was a need to have a studio, though, because there wasn't enough content to fill out an entire show otherwise. Also it didn't seem the done thing just to string clips together, like Alright on the Night.
Here is a Christmas Special episode of The Moment of Truth with the revamped set which was used for second series. The reason the show wasn't successful was because it wasn't a suitable format for Cilla Black. Had it got a right host it might had been a success but importing Moment of Truth was born out of LWT looking for the new format for Cilla after Surprise Surprise ran its course and Blind Date going off the boil.
Of course, they did later do it with another presenter, because the entire format was later remade as Celebrities Under Pressure, and they got three series out of it - http://www.ukgameshows.com/ukgs/Celebrities_Under_Pressure Although all anyone remembers about that now was it being used for John Fashanu's Undercover on Saturday Night Takeaway.
But yes, it was deliberately launched to find a new format for Cilla. Up until 1998, Blind Date had always returned in September, but that year it was shoved back to November so they could show Moment of Truth in its place, clearly an attempt to eventually replace it. But it never caught on even though they did it for four years, it felt like it wasn't the done thing to axe Cilla, much like how when Surprise Surprise ended as a regular series they kept bringing it back as specials.
I remember someone taping that episode and me watching it over and over again because I thought it was the funniest show ever made (I was 4...).
I was a bit older at the time, but I too remember laughing hysterically at the first ever You've Been Framed and our whole family thinking it was the funniest thing we'd ever seen. I know it sounds idiotic these days. They did two specials before the first series proper, you may recall.
Seems crazy now that a programme like You've Been Framed had a studio. It adds so little to the programme.
Initially there was a need to have a studio, though, because there wasn't enough content to fill out an entire show otherwise. Also it didn't seem the done thing just to string clips together, like Alright on the Night.