Surprise, Surprise
|
|
Surprise, Surprise was a British TV show hosted by Cilla Black, produced by London Weekend Television. It ran from 1984 to 1999. The production team overlapped with that of the earlier "Game For a Laugh" and the subsequent Blind Date
Surprise, Surprise involved surprising members of the public with long-held wishes and reuniting them with long-lost loved ones. The concept of the first series had been to film 'surprising' and often odd items of the type previously seen in "Game For a Laugh" - the format was not successful. However, the final item in the final show of the first series featured a successful 'surprise' reunion and executive producer Alan Boyd changed the format slightly, so all items in subsequent series involved 'surprises' rather than just being 'surprising'.
Christopher Biggins was the original co-host, a role later occupied by Bob Carolgees. In some seasons, Gordon Burns presented the 'SearchLine' segment, which advertised information of missing people.
Cilla introduced and closed each show by singing the theme song. The most notable song, written by Kate Robbins and often imitated by Cilla impersonators, began "The more the world is changing, the more is stays the same..." A different song was used for later seasons: "Reaching out! Holding hands, Reliving Memories... Life is Full, Full of Surprises...And the nicest surprise in my life, is you!"
Executive producer Alan Boyd had previously revived singer Cilla Black's career at the BBC and this was, in effect, a second Cilla revival masterminded by Boyd. He was also responsible for casting Cilla in LWT's Blind Date
Surprise, Surprise is also the name of an Australian Candid Camera type show that featured celebrities being caught up in elaborate practical jokes. It ran on the Nine Network for two seasons in 2001/2002. Hosted by Jay Laga'aia, it has no relation to the UK series.