Going for Gold was originally broadcast on BBC1 from 12 October 1987 to 9 July 1996, usually, after the lunchtime broadcast of Australian soap opera Neighbours.
It was presented by Irish broadcaster Henry Kelly, and its defining concept was that it featured contestants from different European countries who competed against each other to answer questions (all in English) to win a prize.
The show was shown on BBC1 in the UK and on Super Channel (later NBC Super Channel) in Continental Europe and on BBC TV Europe (which carried a mix of BBC1 and BBC2 output up to its dissolution in early 1991). The 1987–1996 run of the quiz show each week had seven contestants that spoke English (each representing a different European country) who would compete against each other for a place in the finals.
The show followed a repechage format (now common, but then, unusual), whereby unsuccessful contestants from Monday's show would return on Tuesday, and so on throughout the week. Each episode lasted for 25 minutes, including four rounds.
There were ten series in total (two in 1992). The first five series were broadcast during the winter, and many of these were split in half by the Christmas break. The (second) 1992 and 1993 series went out in the autumn, the last three were broadcast during the summer.
The 1996 series featured competitors from the United Kingdom only.
Champions
- Series 1 –
: Daphne Hudson - Series 2 –
: Erik Matteson - Series 3 – : Howard Atkinson
- Series 4 –
: Luc Sucholtz - Series 5 –
: Soren Bergman - Series 6 –
: Christine Coslett - Series 7 – : James Deloz
- Series 8 –
: Mieke Poelman - Series 9 – : Sven Goll
- Series 10 – : Mike Ramsden
The prizes were always related in some way to gold. The prize in the first season were tickets for the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul (i.e. Gold Medals). A prize in a later year was a gold-mining trip to Australia.
On Five, the winner of each programme received £1,000 and returned to play against three new opponents; the series winner won £5,000.
Classic 80s TV, with just a hint of cringe- 7.5/10
