Has anybody else picked up on the fact that the Contestant's on Deal or no Deal seemed to be picked from the poorest in the society. There are no Doctor's, Lawyers, Academics or anyone from Upper or Middle Classes as Contestants on the programme and it seems that a pre-condition is that you must either have a pile of debt, be a single parent, or looking for a deposit for a house, or be unemployed before you are allowed on. (perm any 2 from 4).

I can't figure out if the programme is designed to give the poor an opportunity to win some money, or is it patronizing them ?. In the history of the game only 2 people have won the £250k Jackpot (and one of them had it practically forced upon them) so I don't know if the chain of thought is "as long as they are poor they will accept a lesser sum rather than risk going for the Jackpot" thus saving Channel 4 from paying out to much in prize money. Yes, now that I think of it, it is patronizing.

Could be interesting

The contestants have to be able to spare about 3 weeks of filming time, so it's not surprising that a lot of them are either unemployed, pensioners or students! People who "need" the money are probably more likely to apply for game shows in any case.

When it first started some of the offers were extremely generous, but they've come to realise how cheaply they can get people, e.g. on a 1p/£250k coin-flip most people will probably take £40k or even less. It's the best of both worlds for the producers as they have an attractive top prize but also the knowledge that it's very rare for anyone to even get close to it so it doesn't actually cost them that much on average.

Saw a bit of Millionaire recently as well and it struck me how much harder the early questions had become, e.g. questions for £2,000 which I thought would be well into the five-figure prize standard in the past. Again, cost-cutting and an almost unattainable top prize!

Isn't it more likely that because it is filmed I think in Norwich where the contestants stay in a hotel, and the contestants have to appear on the show quite a few times, usually weeks, in the sidelines before they actualy get on, that it is more likely to be someone who can spare the time to do it (like the unemployed or retired), than someone who would have to use their holiday time to appear on the show?

And of course it is patronising, they try to make out that a game of almost complete luck (some skill if you know about risk weighted probabilities perhaps), requires skill.

Still love watching it though

Just a few thoughts like

It's not just this show, it's all of the shows like it. They all prey on those people who are willing to make a fool of themselves or make good TV. That's why Big Brother contestants are never made up of "normal" 30-something accountants. That's what classes as entertainment nowadays. See this thread for FISOers moaning about the sort of people who TV show producers target.

Accountants aren't "normal"

I doubt doctors, solicitors etc. are in the position where winning £10k is worth the hassle. When the prize is money, its natural that you'll get poor people applying.

I believe they film 3 shows a day so you'd expect to be on within a week (unless you're a 'character' who they like cutting to for dramatic reactions when the big box is opened!).

Anyone watched it today? No spoilers then why would you open the thread but almost seemed like a set up to boost ratings together with the 250k winner last week who kept getting the perfect boxes.Her other half wasn't exactly the voice of reason.I guess the atmosphere encourages you to take such risks.

Greed encourages them to take such risks!

I thought she was brave on tonights show but foolish. £140K is a ridiculous amount to gamble for anything other than a multi millionaire.

Am reading this on my phone and didn't realise it was an old thread, found myself heartily agreeing with this post (apart from the bit about Norwich, think it has moved to Bristol), and then realised it was me!

It'd be funnier if you'd started criticizing your own post without realizing it was yours.

Yes, it's filmed in Bristol.

I know someone who has been a contestant on it (I used to work with her) . She is married (I play cricket with her husband) and has a couple of kids and does come from a good family etc. The nice thing about her win though was two fold.

A) she wasn't too greedy and accepted a £20k offer - it always amuses me when other people get greedier and greedier and blow it all.
B) She has a serverely handicapped son and with some of the money she took him to Disneyworld. I would have loved to have seen his face

But I do agree, in MOST cases the show is aimed at the lowest common denominator.

I bet we could catch Groomy out if one was to copy one of his posts and post it as their own. In fact, you could probably get a 3 page thread of him arguing with himself.

Anyone care to try