Finding your next obsession
Finding your next obsession

3–2–1 was a popular British game show that was made by Yorkshire Television for ITV. It ran for ten years, between 29 July 1978 and 24 December 1988, with former Butlins Redcoat Ted Rogers as the host. It was based on a Spanish gameshow called Un, dos, tres... responda otra vez and was three shows in one, a quiz show, a variety show and a game show. The show was a huge success consistently pulling in large ratings. The first series, though, intended as a summer filler, attracted up to 16.5 million viewers and subsequent years never failed to peak below 12 million. The show occupied a Saturday early evening slot for most of its run. The final Christmas special attracted 12.5 million viewers, so, it is to this day unclear why an eleventh series was not commissioned in 1989. Ted Rogers claimed in a 1996 interview that "The Oxbridge lot got control of TV and they didn't really want it. It was too downmarket for them. We were still getting 12 million viewers when they took it off after ten years. These days if a show gets nine million everyone does a lap of honour.".
LUXEN Decision Guide
A focused series choice with a clear genre identity and enough story commitment to reward a viewer who wants more than a one-off watch.
Best fit
Who it is for
A good fit when you want a series you can spend some time with and already know the broad kind of story you want.
Commitment
Long-form commitment · 10 seasons
Use the season and episode count to judge how much time you want to invest.
Start here
Read the synopsis.
Read the synopsis first, then decide whether the longer arc is worth the commitment.
The series
14 episodes
1978
16 episodes
1979
15 episodes
1981
14 episodes
1982
14 episodes
1983
15 episodes
1983
17 episodes
1984
17 episodes
1985
12 episodes
1986
24 episodes
1987
Cast
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