Wheel of Fortune is a British television game show based on the American show of the same name created by Merv Griffin. Contestants compete to solve word puzzles, similar to those used in Hangman, to win cash and prizes. The title refers to the show's giant carnival wheel that contestants spin throughout the course of the game to determine their cash and/or prizes.
The programme was produced by Scottish Television Enterprises, and aired between 19 July 1988 and 21 December 2001 for ITV. It mostly follows the same general format from the original version of the programme from the United States, with a few minor differences.
On 27 June 2023, Whisper North, in association with Sony Pictures Television and Paramount Global Content Distribution, announced the production of a revival series for broadcast on ITV in 2024, with Graham Norton serving as presenter.
Gameplay Original series
Unlike the American version, where the numbers on the wheel correspond to the amount of money won by each contestant, the British version instead referred to these amounts as 'points'. These points have no cash value; their only purpose was to determine the grand finalist, or to choose a winner for a particular round. This was because, between 1960 and 1992, the Independent Broadcasting Authority and, for the last two years, its successor, the Independent Television Commission, imposed caps on the top prize game shows could give away per week, and standardising the prize on offer per episode ensured the programme did not breach the set limits.
Points earned from all players carried on to proceeding rounds, and only scores for the current round were susceptible to Bankrupts, meaning a winner could be crowned who had never solved a puzzle, but acquired a large number of points. This rule would encourage sacrificing a player's turn if he or she did not know the puzzle rather than risking his or her points by spinning again.
For the first three series, before the recording of each episode, each contestant spun the wheel; the contestant with the highest score would start the first round. In the programme proper, the contestant was asked a 50/50 trivia question, and if the contestant answered correctly, they spun the wheel. If the contestant landed on a number, they had to pick a letter. If the letter appeared on the puzzle board, the contestant earned the value multiplied by the number of times the letter appeared. A player was allowed to purchase a vowel for a flat rate of 250 points for any number of repetitions as long as that vowel appeared in the puzzle. The contestant would then spin the wheel again, but the contestant's turn would end if the contestant either (a) landed on a number but picked a letter that did not appear on the puzzle board, earning the contestant no points (but not deducting the number the contestant landed on); (b) bought a vowel that did not appear in the puzzle (still costing the 250 points); (c) landed on the "LOSE A TURN" space; (d) landed on the "BANKRUPT" space, losing the contestant's total score for that round (but not from previous rounds); or (e) attempting to solve the puzzle but giving an incorrect answer.
If the contestant landed on the "FREE SPIN", the contestant would be given a "FREE SPIN" token and would spin the wheel again. If the contestant landed on a number but picked a letter that did not appear on the puzzle board, or landed on the "LOSE A TURN" space or the "BANKRUPT" space, the contestant could give their "FREE SPIN" loop to the host and spin again. They could alternatively hand over play to the next contestant.
If the contestant answered the 50/50 trivia question incorrectly, they would not spin the wheel; play would move on to the next contestant.
In the speed round, the host would spin the wheel with the centre player's arrow determining the point value for each contestant. Vowels were worth nothing, and consonants were worth whatever the value spun. The left player would go first. No more 50/50 questions were asked.
From the fourth series onward, the 50/50 trivia individual questions were dropped. Instead, at the start of each round, the contestants would be asked a general knowledge question and the first contestant to buzz in and answer correctly would gain control of the wheel (this included the speed-up round).
Also from the fourth series onward, from Round 3 to the end, the points on the wheel were worth double (although the wheel did not show the values at double points).
The red, yellow or blue player's arrow determined the point value for each consonant in the speed-up round (and during the final spin both Walsh and Leslie employed the catchphrase "No more spinning, just winning!" while explaining how the speed-up round worked). Vowels were worth nothing, and consonants were worth the value spun. In case of a tie, each player tied for the lead spun the wheel and the player who spun the higher number went through. In the final series, this was replaced by a tie-break question on the buzzer, and whoever answered correctly first went into the final.
In the Grand Finale, the winning contestant chose from one of three bonus prizes to play for: a car, a luxury holiday, or a cash prize. The series in 1994 differed, in that the prize the contestant won for solving the puzzle was a car plus the cash prize of £10,000. In one episode in 1994, the prize was two cars and £10,000. From 1995 to 1998, the player chose one of two envelopes, one with the car and the other with £20,000. The prize chosen, the Grand Finale continued with the contestant choosing five consonants and a vowel. The contestant had 15 seconds to solve the puzzle to win the prize. Unlike other versions, the player could solve any one word individually, and then work on any other word in the puzzle. For example, if the puzzle was "A CUP OF TEA", the player could solve "OF", then "A", then "TEA", and finally "CUP" to complete the puzzle.
In the final series, "LOSE A TURN" was changed to "MISS A TURN", for reasons unknown, and a "500 Gamble" wedge was added. If a player landed on the latter wedge, they had the option of going for 500 points per letter or gambling their round score. If they chose to gamble their points and called a correct letter, their score would be doubled with 1,000 (2,000 starting in the third round) for each appearance of said consonant added to the sum; an incorrect letter was the same as Bankrupt.
In the rare event two or all three players were tied for first place, the host had each player spin the wheel once, and the highest number spun won the game. Spinning a "BANKRUPT," "LOSE A TURN/MISS A TURN," or "FREE SPIN" did not allow another spin and thus counted as a zero score.
Revival series The rules of the 2024 version are modelled after the current format of the U.S. version of the show; each episode consists of at least six standard puzzle rounds, which have clues, replacing the usual categories. Some puzzles may be shown as crossword puzzles, as in which the words are linked together and the contestant may solve it by saying all of the words in any order without repeating or adding anything. The wheel now contains money amounts from £100 to £2,000, along with two "Prize" tokens that award a prize to the contestant who claims it regardless of the puzzle's outcome, but do not count towards their score. Vowels cost £100 each.
Rounds of toss-up puzzles are played before the first, third, fourth, and sixth puzzles, in which a puzzle is automatically filled in one letter at a time. The first contestant to buzz in and solve the puzzle receives £500 during the first two rounds, or £1,000 during the last two rounds. Each toss-up round consists of three consecutive puzzles of the same clue, similarly to the "Triple Toss-Up" round played in the American version.
The contestant who solves the third puzzle plays a bonus round, in a similar fashion of the American version; after selecting one of three categories, the puzzle is displayed with all instances of R, S, T, L, N, and E revealed, and the contestant must choose three more consonants and another vowel. After all instances of the chosen letters are revealed, if the contestant can solve the puzzle within ten seconds, they win a bonus prize. In celebrity specials, the bonus prize is £5,000.
The final round is played in a "speed-up" format, with the amount spun on the host's final spin being the value of each consonant. Whoever has the highest total winnings after the final round is declared the winner, and plays a bonus round similar to earlier in the show. This time, the bonus round is played for cash, with the prize determined by spinning a smaller wheel, similar to that of the American version, containing 24 envelopes with values ranging from £10,000 to £50,000.
In the second series in 2025, some minor tweaks have been made. All toss-up puzzles are worth £500 in all four rounds, but if a contestant answers all three in one round, their winnings are doubled to £3,000. From round three, a "Wild Card" is added to the wheel, if the contestant lands on that space and gives a correct letter, they take the card and immediately earn an extra £500 to their round score, and the "Wild Card" allows them to pick an extra consonant at any time during the game, including the final bonus round should they get that far. Finally, from round four, the Prize tokens are replaced with a "Double or Nothing" gamble. If a contestant lands on one of those two spaces and gives a correct letter, they can decide whether to take the gamble or play on. If they choose to take the gamble and reveal a "Double", their entire round score is doubled immediately, but if they reveal a "Nothing", they are bankrupted immediately and lose control of the wheel.
In the third series in 2026, the "Wild Card" space is on the wheel from round one and a new "Bankrupt" shield has been added. Should the contestant land on that space and gives a correct letter, they can take the shield and should they land on a bankrupt space, they can decide whether or not to use the shield, allowing them to protect their current round score and keep control of the wheel. The "Bankrupt" shield can only be used once during the game if earned.
Prizes Original run Unlike the original American version, instead of cash prizes, successful spinners from each round were rewarded with a choice of three prizes which might contain household appliances, a holiday, etc. In 1988, the prizes for the final were a trip (an oriental furnished living room on 6 September and a luxury bathroom on 13 September), a new car (or sometimes a new boat), or a cash jackpot at £3,000 (£2,000 on the last two episodes of the first series). In 1989, the cash value increased to £4,000, from 1993 the cash value increased again to £5,000. On the celebrity specials, solving the final puzzle donated £5,000 to the celebrity's favourite charity. During the 1994 series, solving the final puzzle won both £10,000 and a new car. In some episodes in 1994 this was increased to two cars and £10,000. The prize was later increased to £20,000 or a car from 1995 to 1998, with the winning contestant randomly selecting his/her prize by choosing one of two sealed envelopes.
During the daytime series, winners of each round could choose from an array of prizes laid out on stage, (CD player, dishwasher, etc.) The cash prize for the final puzzle was dropped to £2,000. Players could also pick the same prize more than once and on some occasions, contestants made requests for an opponent who had won nothing to pick a prize, and Leslie always upheld the request.
All contestants in all series, win or lose, went home with a Wheel of Fortune watch (and sometimes other WoF-related merchandise).
In the final, the winning contestant had a free choice of five consonants and one vowel in order to help identify the answer within 15 seconds and win the prize.
Special prizes