I was on Pointless – there’s a big secret behind getting the best answers
A FORMER Pointless contestant has revealed what goes on behind the scenes of the popular quizzing show.
The BBC show, fronted by Alexander Armstrong along with guest celebrities, following Richard Osman‘s departure in 2022, is a fan favourite, and one ex-player has lifted the veil on the show’s format.
Posted on a Reddit forum, that has started to recirculate, the contestant talked about Pointless‘ filming schedule, how the answers are sourced, and reshoots that take place during filming.
According to the quizzer, a member of the production crew sits down with all the hopefuls to explain the rules to make sure everything is clear and that everyone knows how the show runs.
Elaborating on how the questions are sourced, the player said: “For Pointless, it’s timed questionnaires online [completed by individuals who sign up] so they gave us the hint that longer answers were likely to have lower scores because people naturally think of the shortest correct answers first when faced with a speed test.”
This nugget of information could be handy for future players when confronted with a potential long-answer option.
They continued: “An example of one rule they gave us was that any answers that were a named person had to be the full name unless the person was more widely known by just one name like Madonna.”
Along with those pro tips, it was also revealed that four episodes were filmed each day during the show’s cycle, with contestants having to bring an additional outfit to make it seem like the second episode they filmed was on a different day.
The player said that it was better to film episodes two and three back-to-back as to save any overnight stays, so if you want to be in and out, try and request that set-up if it is an option.
They continued: “As far as filming was concerned, they pretty much film it exactly as it appears on air. Before filming started, the two hosts came out and spoke to each pair and wished us luck. Then they got straight into it.”
Adding: “Occasionally, they might re-film how a question was asked just to make sure it was clear. And between each round, there would be a short break while the production crew did stuff, in those breaks they would sometimes ask the hosts to re-film questions from a previous episode, and during one of those Richard Osman told the audience an anecdote about why it had to be re-filmed.”
The guest on the show also spotted the teleprompter telling the hosts to “ad-lib” at times, with which they divulged that “it felt like most of their stuff fell flat” and that only a few quips made it into the finalised episode.
From filming to airing, they said it took 12 months to see themselves on TV, with an email sent a fe weeks before to warn them of their screen time.
Although some of these methods might have changed since they were first posted, it is a helping hand for anyone wanting to try and win big on Pointless.
Pointless airs weekdays at 5.15pm on BBC One.