They are the staples of our TV screens and keep many entertained of an evening.
But few of us actually take the plunge and apply to go on gameshows.
For those who do, however, it can be a life-changing experience.
After Kirkcaldy man Colin Brown won nearly £100,000 at the weekend, we take a look at six times people from across Tayside and Fife have succeeded on TV quiz shows.
Kirkcaldy dad’s £92,000 win on Michael McIntyre’s The Wheel
Colin Brown brought viewers and celebrities to tears when he won £92,000 on Michael McIntyre’s The Wheel on Saturday night.
Colin had to answer questions with the famous ‘experts’ on different topics before reaching the final round.
He asked for Richard Madeley’s help to pick the correct answer on a question about dinosaurs.
After winning the cash, Colin told The Courier how his boss had called to make sure he was going back to work on Monday.
Angus player’s £250,000 jackpot win on Deal or No Deal
One of the biggest wins in recent history for a player from Tayside and Fife came back in 2017, when Arbroath woman Vikki Heenan was a contestant on the popular Deal or No Deal.
She joined the show’s final airing in a special recording from Kelvingrove Art Gallery in Glasgow.
With the show being axed, host Noel Edmonds went on tour with special farewell editions at locations such as the Blackpool Tower, Longleat Safari Park – and even on board a Boeing 737 mid-flight.
The swansong tour culminated in 28-year-old Angus kennel worker Vikki becoming the ninth £250,000 jackpot winner in a nail-biting game against The Banker.
Kirkcaldy woman takes up The Chase – and wins
Winning must be in the air in Kirkcaldy – as earlier this year, another of the town’s residents took a huge sum on TV.
This time it was 49-year-old Lynn who scooped more than £31,000 when she was part of a winning duo on popular teatime quiz show The Chase.
While facing Chaser Anne ‘The Governess’ Hegerty, Lynn was offered the chance to play for minus-£5,000, £3,000 or £80,000.
Fellow contestant James tried to convince her to go for the low offer, with £60,000 already in the bank.
But Lynn said: “I can’t take a minus offer. I could not hold my head up in Kirkcaldy if I took that minus offer.”
The pair’s 18 points in the final round was enough to win the cash.
Carnoustie man reaches the Tipping Point
In January 2023, Carnoustie man Grant Wilson took on the coin dropping machine on Tipping Point and scooped the £10,000 jackpot.
The retired accountant banked £2,300 in the opening rounds of the ITV quiz show, using his general knowledge.
But he also had a huge slice of luck when, after just six attempts, he managed to move the star counter into the drop zone to take the top prize.
After his win, a tearful Grant threw his arms in the air and said he would use the money for a new car.
Asked how it felt, he said “It’s unbelievable. It’s wonderful, I’m speechless, I’m absolutely speechless.”
Not quite a millionaire, but still £16k richer
Dundee dental therapist Trish Riley put herself in the famous Who Wants to Be a Millionaire chair for a pop at the £1 million prize back in 2020.
She had always dreamt of appearing in the show – racking up huge phone bills trying to apply in the 1990s – before finally being given the chance to sit across the famous desk from host Jeremy Clarkson.
Due to filming during Covid, Trish was unable to take anyone with her – and there was no audience.
But she said: “Jeremy Clarkson was just lovely.
“He was really helpful and made me feel so relaxed and comfortable in the chair. He helped me a lot and you could tell he really wanted all of the contestants to do well.”
Trish answered nine questions correctly to walk away with £16,000.
Dundee couple prove their knowledge is anything but Pointless
A Dundee couple joined one of the longest-running modern gameshows back in 2015 when they appeared on Pointless.
But Glen Young and Kirsty Garnett proved their knowledge was anything but that, as they took £9,000 on the quiz show.
The win came after they correctly named moons of the solar system, having coincidentally researched them.
Glen, who worked at the city’s Grosvenor Casino at the time, said it was “pretty mental” when the option came up in the final cash prize round.
Kirsty said that studying moons was a hobby of hers, and she had just started a course a few weeks prior to the show.
Tayside’s own eight-time Countdown champion
No list about gameshow winners would be complete without mention of Countdown ‘octochamp’ Michael Macdonald-Cooper.
Michael, who was originally from Barnsley, lived in Kirriemuir for about 30 years before his death aged 75 in 2017.
He was an eight-time champion on Countdown in 2008.
Michael also reached the semi-finals of Mastermind in 1986, where his specialist subject was the poems of Rudyard Kipling.
His love of words came in handy elsewhere, too – as he was a renowned crossword compiler for several national newspapers.
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