The show is based on noughts and crosses. Inside each box is a celebrity. The host asks a celebrity a question, and if the contestant can correctly predict whether the celebrity got that question correct or wrong, then they'll win that square and a money value. If the contestant's prediction is wrong, the opposing contestant wins the square and no money is won. However, if the round is at game point, the opponent must put their nought or cross in the square themselves. If they get three in row vertically, horizontally, diagonally or five in total, then they'll win the round. Regular celebrities featured often with Willie Rushton occupying the centre square for the majority of editions. Pat Coombs was another regular participant and she and Monkhouse developed an ongoing repartee based on her response 'Hello Bobby' to his 'Hello Patty'. In the ATV run, each square and game was worth £10. In rounds two, four & five, one celebrity was designated as a "secret square". Contestants who picked this square and got the corresponding question right won a special prize, usually either a holiday or a weekend break to a location in Europe. In the Central and Reg Grundy Productions era of the show, each square in the first two rounds was worth £10 and winning a round was worth an extra £50. Also in this version, round two was the "secret square" round. For each round that neither player chose the secret square, the prize would be carried over to the next round, and the secret square would be re-positioned to a different celebrity. In the current version, each square in the first two rounds was worth £50 and winning a round was worth an extra £500. Also in this version, round two was a "Mystery Square" round. The ATV editions contained a segment where the public sent in questions for Monkhouse to answer, posed by the squares; if he can't answer them correctly, the writer earns £5, but if he can, he earns £10 for each and at the end of the round, it goes off to a member of the public in need of assistance. In the second part of the show in the Central and Reg Grundy Productions era, the prize value doubled in round three to £20 a square and £100 for a winning round. If there was enough time for a fourth round, the money was doubled again to £40 a square and £200 for a winning round. In the fifth game on the 2014 series and the third game on the 2015 series, the prizes were £100 a square and £1000 for the win. When exactly one minute of game play was left, a buzzer would sound, and the rest of the round currently in progress would be turned into a speed round, by getting through the questions at a much quicker pace. At the end of the penultimate round, the contestant with the most money went into the final round. In the final round, the contestant was given one question and had to give nine correct answers within 30 seconds. If the contestant did so, they win a star prize. In the ATV version, the winning contestant had a choice of playing for an additional £100, or risking their money and Secret Square prizes for a chance to augment their cash winnings to £1000. Failure to win the extra £100 earned £5 for each correct answer; going for the £1000 and losing earned nothing extra. In the Central version, winning the final round allowed the player to randomly choose of one of five cars on display. If a player lit seven or eight squares, their cash winnings were doubled as a consolation. From the second series in 1994, the choice of their car was selected prior to the final round and they got a pick of three different categories for their question. The five cars on offer for the star prize changed from series to series, but typically consisted of either a 4x4 Sports, Cabriolet, Mini, Saloon, and a Coupe. From the 1994 series, the player chose one of three subjects. In the Warwick Davis version, a cash prize of £20,000 is played for in the final with £1,000 per square. In the second series, it was increased to £25,000 in the jackpot round.
Transmissions
ATV
According to the BBC Four documentary The Secret Life of Bob Monkhouse, nearly every single one of the 138 episodes of the ATV era has been wiped from the archives but Monkhouse saved 40 episodes in his video cassette collection.
