Shafted - Series 1, Episode 1 (2001)

Robert Kilroy-Silk presents the big-money psychological quiz show that confronts players with a moral dilemma - should they share or ‘shaft’? Players are whittled down to a final two, who must gamble their chance to win the prize money.
20 episodes were produced, but only 4 episodes aired as it was dropped. It was also listed as the worst British television show of the 2000s in the Penguin TV Companion of 2006.
Original airdate: 5th November 2001

[@stevepotts80]

This show had limitless potential.

[@hakc97again]

This is like discovering a mythical legend that's only talked about by scholars and historians, mostly discussing what a waste of space Kilroy is.

[@mclarenguy22]

It was an interesting quiz which looked ahead of its time, but it looked and felt like a Millionaire/Weakest Link mash-up gone wrong, and without some of the tension. It was 2001 and the aforementioned shows were both overexposed by then, airing 3 and 5 times per week respectively. Around this time, a lot of new game shows looked like and tried to emulate Millionaire. You can sense it from the blue, 'metallic' set and graphics. On top of all that, I don’t think they could have appointed a weirder, stiffer, ghastlier presenter in Kilroy. Was he trying to be a male version of Anne Robinson, or trying to act like a sober, demon headmaster? Either way, he was wooden and lacked edge. The competition was silly as well. Players picking on each other was not good telly. It wasn’t worth people’s time. There was a unique format in there, but the whole presentation was just a total howler.

[@robertbrighton9797]

The fact he articulated shaft with his fist though 😅😂

[@minor4500]

Thank you for this finding!❤

[@davidfearis7335]

😲WOW WHAT A UNBELIEVABLE UPLOAD HERE!!!🤗

[@jamesmitchell8922]

The only happy ending in Shafted

[@guypalmer7961]

At least for now.
There were, as I said before, about roughly 20 episodes in the series but only four of them were transmitted. The programme got removed from the schedules to make way for other programming that was due for transmission in 2001 and has not returned since, despite plans for an uninterrupted run during early 2002.

[@jamesmitchell8922]

@@guypalmer7961 Fingers crossed for the future

[@eIucidate]

​@@guypalmer7961At least for now, you say? Maybe another 22 years?

[@evolgarlichere]

Good concept, good set, good theme song, not quite good host.
I mean kiloy (is it right spell?) Tried to make the show fast and excited but the tone of the voice can't match up.
At least the show Is kinda better than most of the modern day tv show ever combined.

[@97channel]

This show was way better than legend has it. I remember liking it at the time. I can't understand the decision to bin the remaining sixteen shows, Endemol must have lost millions in the production and I can't believe they never so much as aired in graveyard slots after being dropped from primetime. The bad press it was getting must have been seriously damaging ITV, for them to completely discontinue it with a massive sixteen recorded editions dumped. I'd hardly say that it was the greatest show ever, or anywhere close to it, it did have issues. Kilroy wasn't a natural at hosting a quiz show. Not bad, but he looked out of his comfort zone. And the show really hinged entirely on the endgame. Everything before it was just padding it out until it got there. They should have constructed the lead-up rounds to better tie in with the Share Or Shaft conclusion. This is where I think that Golden Balls was the superior take on the format. It all progressed in a more relevant way, with the focus being entirely upon reading the characters throughout the show, the gameplay being all about trust and dishonesty. No questions, just pure psychological battle. Shafted was, at worst, an okay show. But the Share Or Shaft gesture that Kilroy did. I tried to not mention it, but I have to. That was either a stroke of genius or a stroke of madness. Probably both, actually.

[@mclarenguy22]

It was pulled because it fell out of ITV’s top 30 by Episode 4 and the low ratings also affected Cold Feet which followed Shafted in the schedules. Reception was extremely negative ane one player was actively (and unfortunately) upset after being shafted out of £120,000 in one of the pulled recordings.
The Colour of Money in 2008 had a similar fate: ratings were low and the last episode was never broadcast.

[@97channel]

With the money involved in a production like this, I'm amazed that so many editions were just completely pulled. After it was abruptly cancelled from its primetime slot, I would have thought that the remaining shows would be of at least some value, to recoup as much of the loss as possible, in perhaps a daytime slot some months down the line.
The Colour Of Money was an odd format, in that there wasn't really any skill involved. It was more of a faux-skill, where pure guesswork was dressed up as having some sort of system to it. Although Deal Or No Deal was much the same in that regard, it did at least have decision making and gambling. And Noel Edmonds was very convincing, in selling random outcomes as being influenceable by belief, positive energy, and spirituality. But The Colour Of Money was just people begging a machine for cash. "Come on, blue. Keep going. Keep going.". There's no entertainment in that.

[@eIucidate]

The Colour of Money was one of the biggest piles of turd in UK gameshow history. Did they really think having Tarrant host it lend it any credibility?

[@jamesmitchell8922]

Is there ever a chance of finding the lost unaired episodes in the future?

[@joyjoJ4ever]

Hope so

[@TheWestonator89]

I very much doubt it, unless you went to ITV and purchase the licence for them which could cost thousands 😀

[@Spanner1971B]

Osman says this video doesnt exist!
And this is "mum says we've got Goldenballs at home".

[@danwoodvine5900]

Thanks for this

[@BrynBuck]

This would have been completely forgotten but for HIGNFY making it a meme.

[@bespontovyi_pirozhok]

In Russia this show named «Bet».

[@MultiVince95]

Monday 5th November 2001

[@yasminx16]

Omg I remember this 😂 I remember Harry hill taking the mick out of Kilroy on tv burp 😂😂😂 Kilroy was odd though - very intense 😂 thanks for uploading. Do you have Guilty! With Carole malone?

[@OtakuLogan2017]

If this show had a better host than Silk this could've took off.

[@derpylemon852]

Nice

[@tomsnapper9733]

Shafted has been found!, to be more honest, shafted went down as in my opinion, the absolute worst game show ever made.

[@Carmine_Lupertazzi]

Bootleg Golden Balls

[@eIucidate]

Well, Shafted came first so...

[@Carmine_Lupertazzi]

@@eIucidate fair play

[@jamesmitchell8922]

Good gameshow but bad choice of presenter.

[@beng1603]

Red Symons did a much better job of hosting the Australian version (and that's saying something)!

[@clarkejoseph49]

They could have stuck with their original choice and had Richard Madeley host instead.

[@RossTurner94]

Claire was a bit of a misandrist. "Us WoMeN sHoUlD sTiCk ToGeThEr. " 🙄

[@xmanval2]

3:11

[@xmanval2]

8:09