Jeopardy! UK TV show: release date of ITV1 revival with Stephen Fry as host, and how to play the game

Classic American game show Jeopardy! is once again coming to the UK with Stephen Fry hosting the series on ITV. The TV show debuted in the US in 1964 and has aired more than 8,000 episodes in the US format and had several UK versions over the years.

Jeopardy! first crossed the pond in 1983 when it was hosted by Derek Hobson on Channel 4 for one year. From 1990-1993 the series was revived by ITV with new presenter Chris Donat, and later Steve Jones, and from 1994-1995 Paul Ross presented the game show on Sky One.

For almost three decades Jeopardy! has been absent from UK TV screens, but now it is making a return with British quiz show royalty Stephen Fry set to helm the latest ITV incarnation.

How do you play Jeopardy!?

The rules for the UK version of Jeopardy! are broadly similar to the original US show - questions are given in the form of answers, and contestants must give their answers in the form of a question.

Contestants choose questions from six categories, with five different cash values in each category corresponding to the difficulty of the question. Three contestants play in each game, and the player with the highest jackpot by the end of all the rounds wins. The winner of the episode will stay on until they are eventually knocked out, building up their jackpot over every episode they participate in.

The key difference with the UK version is that there is an extra round which makes the episodes longer than the US game.

What has Stephen Fry said about hosting Jeopardy!?

Stephen Fry said: “I was fairly insistent from the outset that we shouldn't compromise on the standard or dicker about with the rules and procedures which are time-honoured and proven. Fortunately, ITV and Whisper, the production company behind the series, were in complete agreement.”

When is Jeopardy! on TV?

Jeopardy! Will premiere on ITV1 on Monday January 1 at 5.45pm. Later episodes will air nightly on weekdays at 4pm. All episodes will be available to watch on ITVX after they are first broadcast.