National Lottery - 15 Years

I suppose the only upside to the new lottery balls is that they are far more bouncy than the old ones and I'm sure the drum rotates faster too. Theoretically the mixing is better since more balls are flying around during the draw but it sure as heck isn't any quieter than the previous machine. Plus it's been obvious for years now that that "starter" button in the middle of the studio does sweet naff all. Why they insist on having it is anybody's guess.

They mentioned 16 game shows that has been used with the lottery, with Jet Set, In It to Win It and Winning Lines as the most popular. The three shows are also the longest running lottery shows with In It to Win It still in comission after 7 & 1/2 years.

There was one clip I expected to see for certain in last nights show - and it didn't even get a mention - the night when it all went wrong!

As for now - the canned applause isn't necessary, but the music desperately needs changing too. It used to be quite effective and in the past would have worked fine without any extra applause, but the music used now just has you heading for the mute button.

I would disagree about the music, I think it's quite good how all the different draws all have a different sting and bed.

It must be one of the easiest programmes that Endemol make, I'm surprised the BBC or even the 'National Lottery Commission' as it is credited, don't do it in-house.

I don't honestly know how the Lottery is allowed to "can" the applause quite so blatantly in the current BBC era of Safeguarding Trust where absolutely everything has to be above board and in no way deceiving of the audience. It's expressley forbidden to pretend something is live (or exists in the case of an audience) when it isn't. It annoys me similarly how Strictly are allowed to record their special guest interval act (you can tell because of the way it's introduced and backreffed without a long shot of the studio and in different lighting setups!) and include it in the programme as-live. A long standing television practice I agree and one that in my opinion makes no difference to the audience anyway, but all I'm saying is that by pretending there's an audience and pretending Dame Shirley Bassey is in the studio when she was there an hour earlier, isn't technically allowed anymore.

That would mean that the National Lottery Commission would need to set up their own TV production arm, far easier to contract it out to a company that does that already.

Why it's not a BBC production any more though I have no idea, I assume it's been taken out of their hands for good reason

After watching some of the archive highlights last night, I can't help but feel they've tried to make the current set look a lot larger and grand in this new revamp. It seems reminiscent of the late 90's sets, still it's a shame it's lacking the production and entertainment from that era.

Think the National Lottery people wanted a consistent show all year round - and by basing that show at the BFBS studio base (where Arqiva have studios) - which is effectively an Army base, they have much better security than they had at TVC for an audience show. (Fathers for Justice et al.)

The BBC may have also wanted to farm-out that show to an indy 52 weeks of the year, rather than something that is more "interesting" to make?

Don't forget the BBC can't chose to make everything in-house. 25% has to be made by independents, and these days a further 25% of output is competed for by in-house depts and independents with only 50% of output guaranteed to in-house departments.

Probably Endemol could make it cheaper than the BBC anyway. Do Endemol make any of the lottery quiz shows other than 1 vs 100?

Which is odd because people like Brucie, only did it about once!

I think it was Endemol and 12 Yard (now part of ITV Studios) who made a lot of the gameshow type games.

Horribly awkward at the end with Westlife having to grin while the "audience" applauded.

This show would feel much less tacky if they changed the music and ditched the fake clapping! Surely no one is actually taken in by it.