Difference between revisions of "Car Park Catchphrase"

Latest revision as of 18:33, 7 September 2014

Car Park Catchphrase was a feature on The Chris Moyles Show, co-presented by Chris Moyles and the voice of Roy Walker. The game was usually played at around 9:50am Monday to Thursday (Monday to Friday before The Golden Hour was introduced in 2007).

Background

The feature was based on the popular ITV game show Catchphrase, also presented by Roy Walker, which used animated graphics and a character called Mr. Chips. Contestants were asked to guess what the phrase was from the clue on screen.

Pre-Game

On the Chris Moyles Show version, as with the TV version, two contestants played the game. One would usually be a winner from the previous game and one would be a new player, although occasionally both callers would be invited back to play the game the following day. If a winner couldn't make the next show, then two new contestants would be chosen.

After a brief chat with Roy Walker (using pre-recorded clips), Chris would introduce the contestants by saying "Hello, line one/two, what's your name and where do you come from?" The contestants would then answer by saying "My name is 'x' and I'm from 'y'". The rest of the team would then cheer. After a brief chat with the contestants, the game would begin.

The Game

Roy began the game by saying "Horns at the ready, fingers steady, it's time to play Car Park Catchphrase!"

Chris would read a clue to a well known phrase, often featuring the character Mr. Fish (a parody of the TV version's 'Mr. Chips'), and the contestants had to 'buzz' in, using the horn from their car. If they got it correct, they won a point. If they got it wrong, the other caller got a chance to answer. The first to get two correct answers was declared the winner. If the show was running out of time and the scores were level at 1-1, a klaxon would sound and both contestants would return on the following show.

Prizes

Before the BBC competition rigging scandal, the winning contestant received a mug with the face of a team member of their choice. After competitions were banned on the BBC, the winner received nothing. In the early days of the competition, one of the prizes was a Chris Moyles Car Park Catchphrase Crook Lock; originally conceived as a joke prize because of the tongue-twisting nature of the phrase.

Chris often asked the losing contestant if they wanted to give a 'shout out' to anybody, but cut them off before they had the chance to say anything, an often-used trademark of his. Roy Walker said at the end of every game: "Say goodbye, Mr. Fish. He's waving!".

Notable moments

In 2006, Chris accidentally swore at a caller whilst arguing about Coldplay singer Chris Martin. He told her that she had "three kids from some f*ckin'..." and apologised profusely. Hear the clip here (contains strong language, obviously).

On the Marathon Show in March 2011, celebrity chef Gino D'Campo played the game in the studio along with a caller.