The Cube is a British television game show that aired on ITV from 22 August 2009 to 23 December 2021. It was hosted by Phillip Schofield.
The original series offered contestants the chance to win a top prize of £250,000 by completing challenges from within a 4m × 4m × 4m Perspex cube. The challenges involve physical and mental tasks including catching, throwing, estimation, reacting, memorisation, and balancing. Colin McFarlane provides the disembodied voice of The Cube, who explains the rules of the games.
The show ran from 2009 to 2015, before returning as The Million Pound Cube in 2020, and again under its original title in 2021.
Format Original series (2009–15) The game is played by a single contestant within a transparent Perspex cube that measures 4 metres along each edge. The goal is to complete a series of seven games, each of which awards an increasing amount of prize money, before failing a total of nine times. Games are selected for each individual contestant before the show to test their mental and physical faculties in various ways. A typical episode consists of two contestants' games; depending on how successful the contestants are and on editing, a contestant's game may split across two episodes.
The contestant begins with 9 lives and loses one for every unsuccessful attempt at a game. The contestant must repeat the game until they either complete it or run out of lives; in the latter case, the game ends and all money is forfeited. When a contestant succeeds, they are shown a preview of the next game and can decide to either stop playing and keep their winnings or continue and risk the money. During a preview, the game is named and described by a male voice (provided by McFarlane) and demonstrated by "The Body," a woman dressed in a full-body jumpsuit and featureless metal mask. Her name is not stated on camera or listed in the credits.
Schofield occasionally comments on the difficulty that past contestants have had with a game and notes the average number of lives lost while playing it, in order to help the contestant decide whether to continue or stop. Friends and family members in the audience may offer advice on decision-making and techniques for playing the games. Certain games have specific restrictions added to increase their difficulty, such as a time limit or allowing the use of only one hand. If the contestant violates any such restriction, they immediately lose a life.
The contestant is given two forms of assistance, each of which may be used once. "Simplify" reduces the difficulty of a game, and may be used after any unsuccessful attempt. The exact nature of the change, such as by allowing more time or increasing the size of a target zone, is not revealed until the contestant chooses to use Simplify. The change remains in effect until the contestant either completes that game or runs out of lives. "Trial Run" allows the contestant to make one practice attempt at a game with no lives or money at stake, then decide if they want to play or stop. This assistance becomes available after they complete the first game, and can only be used upon the introduction of a new one.
The seventh and final game is worth a jackpot of £250,000; contestants who complete this game are said to have "beaten the Cube". It is a more difficult version of one of the six games a contestant previously played. In the original format, seven contestants have reached this level, with six choosing to stop and keep their winnings of £100,000. The seventh is runner Mo Farah, who successfully completed the final game on an episode of a 2012 celebrity series in which British gold medallist athletes competed for charity.
On Season 5 Episode 6 a player pulled out due to injury.
On 25 October 2020, model Andrianna Christofi was revealed as the portrayer of the Body during the original run of the programme.
Revival (2020–21) On 15 June 2020, after five years off the air, The Cube reportedly would return with the jackpot being significantly increased. A month later, the return was confirmed, with the jackpot raised to £1,000,000 and Phillip Schofield returning as host.
The revival aired in 2020, renamed to The Million Pound Cube, with pairs of contestants taking part who have a pre-existing relationship. Some games involve only one contestant, while others involve both; in the former case, the team must decide which contestant will play the game once it is introduced. The "Trial Run" lifeline is replaced by a new one called "Swap," which allows the participant in a single-player game to swap places with their teammate. The seven-step money ladder is still used, with higher values at each step culminating in a top prize of £1 million. In the following series in 2021, the show returned to being known as simply The Cube, and the original money ladder was restored. Otherwise, the format remained the same as the previous series.
When a two-player game is introduced, it is demonstrated by two Bodies dressed in jumpsuits and masks as in the original version. While the original Body displayed collar-length brown hair behind her mask, however, these two wear hoods that cover the backs and sides of their heads so that all physical features except their hands are entirely hidden from view. In the revival format, a team have managed to beat the sixth game for the very first time, which became the eighth contestant to have a chance to attempt the jackpot but decided to walk away with £100,000.
In April 2022, ITV announced that The Cube was to be put on hiatus, with no immediate plans for a new series, but did not rule out future series being commissioned.
Filming Objective Productions first approached Channel 4 in 2008 with the format. It was made into a non-televised pilot by the channel, and was hosted by Justin Lee Collins. Channel 4 eventually decided not to commission the show because it would have been too expensive.
In February 2009, ITV purchased the rights to the show and filming began during April 2009 at Wembley's Fountain Studios. The Cube is one of the first shows to use the game freeze filming technique on a frequent basis, such as when a contestant jumps in celebration. The technique used is called "Bullet Time". Using specially designed cameras, it allows the viewer to see one side of the Cube before the action is frozen, spun to another face of the Cube, and then resumed. Slow-motion shots are again common to show action replays of the task a contestant just completed, or the critical moment of a game, to heighten the excitement of whether the contestant will succeed or fail.
The show makes extensive use of CGI to project images onto the walls and ceiling of the Cube, while a screen on the floor is also capable of showing images. These film techniques make the seemingly simple tasks that are put before the contestants seem much more exciting than they would normally be.
Prize money Originally, The Cube had a prize money structure starting at £1,000 and ending at the £250,000 jackpot; in the 2020 series, the jackpot was raised to £1,000,000.
Below is a breakdown of the prize money structure as used from Series 1–9, showing the game number and amount of prize money that can be won for successfully completing that game. If a player loses all their lives at any point, their game ends, and they leave with nothing. The only exception is for celebrities, playing for charity, in which £1,000 is awarded.
A different game is played at each of the first six levels; the seventh and final level was a game which contestants played before, but at a much higher difficulty level, such as decreased time or a smaller target area.
StageGame value Series 1–9, 11 Series 10 Game 1 £1,000£2,000 Game 2 £2,000£5,000 Game 3 £10,000£10,000 Game 4 £20,000£25,000 Game 5 £50,000£100,000 Game 6 £100,000£250,000 Game 7 £250,000£1,000,000
Transmissions Series Start date End date Episodes 1 22 August 2009 3 October 2009 7 2 19 September 2010 2 January 2011 12 3 3 April 2011 11 June 2011 9 4 30 October 2011 31 December 2011 9 5 14 April 2012 21 July 2012 8 6 23 December 2012 13 April 2013 8 7 20 April 2013 22 February 2014 8 8 1 March 2014 7 July 2014 9 9 3 June 2015 8 August 2015 8 10 17 October 2020 20 December 2020 8 11 28 August 2021 23 December 2021 9
Ratings
Series 1 Episodeno. Airdate Viewers ITV weeklyranking 1 22 August 2009 5.85 11 2 29 August 2009 5.12 11 3 5 September 2009 5.26 15 4 12 September 2009 5.06 15 5 19 September 2009 4.83 17 6 26 September 2009 4.81 20 7 3 October 2009 4.71 19
Series 2 Episodeno. Airdate Viewers ITV weeklyranking 1 19 September 2010 4.98 15 2 26 September 2010 5.09 16 3 3 October 2010 5.78 16 4 10 October 2010 5.19 18 5 17 October 2010 5.21 20 6 24 October 2010 5.51 17 7 31 October 2010 5.21 18 8 7 November 2010 5.51 17 9 14 November 2010 5.53 19 10 21 November 2010 5.42 22 11 18 December 2010 3.92 22 12 2 January 2011 4.18 20
Series 3 Episodeno. Airdate Viewers ITV weeklyranking 1 3 April 2011 3.64 22 2 10 April 2011 3.31 24 3 17 April 2011 3.32 23 4 24 April 2011 2.77 27 5 1 May 2011 3.50 24 6 8 May 2011 3.94 18 7 15 May 2011 4.02 17 8 22 May 2011 3.96 18 9 11 June 2011 3.35 22
Series 4 Episodeno. Airdate Viewers ITV weeklyranking 1 30 October 2011 3.96 20 2 6 November 2011 4.00 20 3 13 November 2011 4.08 26 4 20 November 2011 4.06 23 5 27 November 2011 4.08 20 6 4 December 2011 4.09 21 7 11 December 2011 3.19 25 8 24 December 2011 4.96 16 9 31 December 2011 2.87 29
Series 5 Episodeno. Airdate Viewers ITV weeklyranking 1 14 April 2012 3.99 14 2 21 April 2012 2.78 28 3 28 April 2012 2.82 25 4 5 May 2012 3.14 24 5 12 May 2012 3.00 30 6 2 June 2012 7 14 July 2012 3.07 24 8 21 July 2012
Series 6 Episodeno. Airdate Viewers ITV weeklyranking 1 23 December 2012 3.01 25 2 2 March 2013 4.09 20 3 9 March 2013 4.08 18 4 16 March 2013 4.04 14 5 23 March 2013 4.71 14 6 30 March 2013 3.78 18 7 6 April 2013 3.95 17 8 13 April 2013 3.49 21
Series 7 Episodeno. Airdate Viewers ITV weeklyranking 1 20 April 2013 3.15 25 2 27 April 2013 3.21 20 3 4 May 2013 2.97 27 4 11 May 2013 3.16 25 5 18 May 2013 3.27 20 6 30 June 2013 2.87 23 7 28 December 2013 3.96 20 8 22 February 2014
Series 8 Episodeno. Airdate Viewers ITV weeklyranking 1 1 March 2014 3.67 19 2 8 March 2014 3.34 19 3 15 March 2014 3.64 17 4 22 March 2014 3.79 16 5 29 March 2014 3.42 17 6 5 April 2014 3.22 20 7 11 April 2014 2.95 26 8 28 June 2014 9 7 July 2014 2.23 27
Series 9 Episodeno. Airdate Viewers ITV weeklyranking 1 3 June 2015 3.02 16 2 10 June 2015 2.63 17 3 17 June 2015 2.66 16 4 24 June 2015 2.57 19 5 1 July 2015 2.87 17 6 8 July 2015 2.79 16 7 1 August 2015 8 8 August 2015 2.32 21
Awards Year Group Award Result2010 Broadcast Awards Best New Programme Rose d'Or Best Game Show 2011 RTS Awards Best Entertainment Show Broadcast Awards Best Entertainment Programme BAFTA Best Entertainment Craft Team Best Entertainment Programme 2012 Best Entertainment Craft Team National Reality TV Awards Best Game Show TV Choice Awards Rose d'Or National Television Awards Best Entertainment Programme 2013 2014
International versions The format has been sold to international broadcasters. In the case of the Greek, Turkish and U.S. versions from 2010, only a pilot was ever made.
Below is a breakdown of the countries that have created their own versions along with other information including the Jackpot available and broadcast dates.
Most versions of The Cube aired until 2017 used a version of the British intro, for example in the Arab World, Chinese, German, Italian, Russian, Saudi Arabian, and Ukrainian versions, whilst the French and Spanish versions used custom-composed cues whilst maintaining the British music for the games. When the original British version returned, the Australian and Dutch versions also used the new intro, with the Dutch version adding new sound effects.
Legend: Currently airing No longer airing Non-broadcast pilot