Bullseye is a British darts-themed television game show created by Andrew Wood. The show is currently presented by Andrew Flintoff and scorer/referee Richard Ashdown.
The original series aired on the ITV network and was produced by ATV in 1981, then by Central from 1982 until 1995. Jim Bowen presented the show during its initial 14-year run. A revival produced by Granada Yorkshire for the Challenge TV network, hosted by Dave Spikey, aired in 2006. A Christmas special, hosted by Flintoff, aired on ITV1 on 22 December 2024, with a full series following in 2025.
The show sports an animated mascot named Bully, an anthropomorphic large brown bull who wears a red and white striped shirt and blue trousers. Bullseye attracted audiences of up to 20 million viewers at its peak.
History Bullseye was created and owned by Andrew Wood, who came up with the idea after research into aspects of game shows with mass appeal. Programme associates on the show were Mickey Brennan and Roger Edwards.
The series was centred on darts. Three teams of contestants, each consisting of one amateur darts player and one trivia/quizzing expert, competed against one another to win cash and prizes. Available items ranged from major prizes such as new cars, caravans and luxury holidays to consolation prizes that included sets of darts, tankards/goblets (for male and female contestants respectively) and "Bendy Bully" rubber dolls of the show's mascot.
The show originally aired on Monday nights in September 1981 and was produced by ATV. In 1982, Bullseye was moved to Sunday afternoons under the production of Central Television, and a new co-host, Tony Green, a professional darts referee and commentator, was brought in to keep track of the scores, at first out of vision, but in later years Green was promoted to an on-screen presence and from 1989 announced the subject scores. Nick Owen announced the contestants for the first two series of the show. During its run, viewing figures swelled to around 17 million viewers.
Bullseye was moved from Sunday afternoons to Saturday afternoons from 1993 to 1995. A 15th series was planned in 1996, however this was cancelled after Andrew Wood deemed that various changes and additions that Carlton and the ITV network centre were pressing for to update and 'modernise' the show to be unsuitable for the series and he believed it would lose its appeal as a result. At the end of its original run, Bullseye was still attracting audiences of up to 10 million viewers. After an eleven-year hiatus, Bullseye was revived for a new series, which was recorded for the digital channel Challenge. It was produced by Granada at Yorkshire Television in the Leeds Studios, and was hosted by Dave Spikey. Tony Green also returned to the show as co-host, reprising his role from the original series.
On screen, the show evolved as follows:
The first three series had the players throwing (from the point of view of the viewers and the audience) towards the right for the first round and to the left for all subsequent rounds. From the fourth series, all three boards in use rotated on a single pillar, and all throws were to the audience's right. The first four series featured opening titles of Bully jumping out of a sign and walking into a pub to play darts; this was shortened from series 2 onwards, with new theme music and musical beds from series 4. The opening credits of series 1, much longer than the version used from series 2 onwards, although containing numerous elements of what would become the show's familiar theme, feature a noticeably different arrangement of the theme tune.
From series 5, the entire set was essentially inverted. The studio audience would now be seen in shot throughout the show, and the viewers would see all darts being thrown to the left. From the studio audience's point of view, everybody continued to throw to the right. Series 5 also saw Bully driving the team bus in the opening titles and ejecting himself from the driver's seat to ride a flying dart. These titles also featured cartoon depictions of Bowen at the front of the coach, and Eric Bristow, John Lowe, Dave Whitcombe, Keith Deller, Cliff Lazarenko, Bob Anderson, Jocky Wilson and Mike Gregory at the back.Episode 12 of series 9 of Bullseye, mentioned in Jim Bowen's opening remarks This same title sequence was used for the revived series, but featuring depictions of presenter Dave Spikey at the front of the coach and professional darts players of the 2000s at the back.
A new set was introduced in the 11th series, with Bowen – who since the second series had opened the show by coming through the audience – now making his entrance through the opening that would then drop a panel behind which the star prize would be hidden. Once the show moved to Saturday afternoons, the opening titles consisted of Bully jumping out of the logo at the back of the studio and charging about to cause chaos on the set, introduced in the 13th series.
For Comic Relief in March 1993, a special crossover between Bullseye and the BBC's snooker-based game show Big Break (the creation of which had been partly influenced by Bullseye) was planned, with guest comedians as contestants, and with Bowen and Big Break host Jim Davidson, along with scorers Tony Green and Big Break'''s John Virgo, effectively taking their counterpart's role within the game for humorous effect. Bowen and Davidson were both very enthusiastic about the idea; however the proposal never came to fruition, reportedly after ITV wanted the rights to repeat broadcasts as a self-contained programme, to which the BBC declined.
Bowen once described Bullseye as "the second-best darts-based game-show on television". There were no others at the time.
John Cooper appearance In 1989, John Cooper appeared on the show. He was later convicted of multiple burglaries, armed robberies, and, in 2011, following advances in forensic science, two double murders, one rape, and another sexual assault. Footage of his appearance on the show was later used by the prosecution to match him to witness reports at the time.John William Cooper Gets Four Life Sentences For Double Murders After Cops Use Bullseye Footage Sky News Article, 26 May 2011
Rounds
Bully's Category Board A dartboard divided into 10 sectors was used, each representing a different category and further subdivided into outer, middle and inner areas. Three rounds were played, with every team receiving one turn in each and playing in the same order. On a team's turn, the darts player threw one dart and attempted to hit either the bullseye or a category chosen by their partner. Doing so awarded a cash bonus to the team and allowed the partner to answer a question in the chosen category. However, if the dart hit a different category that was still in play, no bonus was awarded and the partner had to answer a question in that category instead. Hitting a category that was out of play or failing to hit the board at all forfeited the team's turn. Questions were worth £30 each in Round 1, £50 in Round 2, and £100 in Round 3. The values on the board (working inward from the edge) were £30, £50, and £100; the bullseye awarded £200 and was always in play. Categories were removed from play after one question had been asked.
In the first series, the board values were £20, £10, and £30, working inward from the edge. The result of each throw determined the category and value of the question to be asked; no bonus was awarded for hitting the bullseye or the category chosen by the non-darts player. A bullseye allowed that contestant to select any question value and awarded £50 for a correct answer.
Starting in series 3, if the contestant in control missed the question, the first opponent to buzz-in could answer and attempt to steal the money. In early series, the opponents could silently buzz-in during the question and/or while the contestant was thinking, but were only asked for a response if the contestant missed. Later, they could only buzz-in after a miss, triggering an audible signal. If neither opponent buzzed-in, or if the first to do so also missed, the host gave the correct answer and the game continued.
For the first seven series, the lowest-scoring team was eliminated from the game after the first round. In the event of a tie for low score, the darts players for the tied teams each threw three darts at a standard matchplay board and the high scorer's team advanced. From series 8 on, all three teams continued to the next portion of the game.
Categories used during this round, in alphabetical order:
Affairs Art Bible Books Britain Faces Food History Myths Places Pot Luck Science Showbiz Spelling Sport Words World
Pounds for Points Each darts player threw three darts at a standard matchplay board, and the one who achieved the highest score won control of a question for their partner. Starting in series 2, an incorrect response passed the question to the team with the second-highest score, then the third if necessary; the first team to respond correctly won £1 per point scored by their darts player.
Initially, if two or more darts players achieved the same total, a re-throw was held and the high scorer won control of the question, for the value of the original throw. Later, the re-throw was eliminated and the question was played on the buzzer by the tied partners.
During the first series, the partner of the highest-scoring darts player in each round could choose to answer a question worth £25, £50, or £101. In the event of a tie, the darts players each threw one dart at a board divided into concentric circles, and the one who hit closer to the centre won control of the question.
After three questions, the team with the highest cash total from the first two games went through to play Bully's Prize Board. In the first series alone, the team who won the most money in the Pounds for Points game alone went through to Bully's Prize Board.
All three teams received their accumulated cash totals, as well as show-themed souvenirs that included darts, pens, key rings, patches, tankards (or goblets for female contestants), and "Bendy Bully" rubber dolls in the likeness of the show's mascot.
Charity interlude At the beginning of part two, a professional darts player (or occasionally a celebrity in series 3-4 and the 2006 revival) would throw nine darts at the matchplay board. The show donated £1 per point scored to a charity of the winning team's choice, or £2 per point if the total was 301 or higher. Celebrity players often performed badly and would contribute some of their own money to the donation.
One episode of series four originally broadcast on 2 December 1984, featured comedienne Carol Lee Scott as the celebrity guest darts thrower. Bowen and Scott had known each other for many years prior after both having appeared on the same bill at various working clubs. However, as mentioned in Bowen's 1998 biography From a Bundle of Rags: Autobiography of Jim Bowen, the pair had a backstage exchange after filming of the episode, with Bowen commenting on Scott's performance which led to the pair trading several offhand comments, after which they refused to ever speak again.
Bronze Bully Trophy During series 5 through 13 (1985 to 1994), the professional who recorded the highest score in the charity interlude over the course of an individual series won a Bronze Bully Trophy. The winners:
1985–86: John Lowe 1986–87: Lionel Smith 1987–88: Ray Farrell 1988–89: Mike Gregory 1989–90: Eric Bristow 1990–91: Bob Anderson 1991–92: Mandy Solomons 1992–93: Mike Gregory 1994: Kevin Painter
Bully's Prize Board