TV quiz fiasco 'may cover 14 weeks' - Feb 23 2007
Richard and Judy's phone quiz fiasco is likely to have affected all of last year's summer run and every episode of the current series, Channel 4 has said.

The broadcaster is investigating whether the problem also happened in previous years.

The You Say, We Pay competition was pulled last Friday after a newspaper claimed viewers were being urged to enter the £1-a-time contest even though potential winners had already been chosen.

Husband-and-wife presenters Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan urged viewers to call a special hotline if they entered the You Say, We Pay competition between June 19 and September 1 last year or between January 29 and February 15 this year.

They will be asked to send in a copy of their phone bill proving they called the show.

If Channel 4 discovers their call was not eligible for the contest, their £1 will be refunded.

The affected time period covers 14 weeks - or 70 programmes.

According to the Mail on Sunday, which first printed the story, 32,000 people who phoned the show in the week beginning February 5 had no chance of winning because the contestants had already been selected.

If the same number were cheated every week that the problem is said to have occurred, Channel 4 will have to refund £448,000.

A spokesman for the broadcaster said: "We cannot confirm any figures and we would caution against extrapolating them because the number of calls varies significantly from week to week."

Richard & Judy apologise for quiz fiasco - Feb 20 2007
Daytime TV hosts Richard and Judy have apologised to viewers who may have been cheated out of thousands of pounds in a phone-in competition.

Judy told viewers she was "shocked and also angry" after hearing about the You Say, We Pay fiasco.

It’s alleged that viewers, who pay £1 to enter the show’s You Say, We Pay competition, were encouraged to phone the premium rate number after the potential winners had been chosen.

Emails leaked to the Mail on Sunday reportedly showed more than 32,000 people phoned in the week beginning February 5 after they had no chance of winning. There was no evidence to suggest Richard and Judy had any previous knowledge of the alleged problem.

Judy apologised to viewers during the TV show last night.

"Richard and I knew absolutely nothing about this. We were very shocked and also angry on your behalf. We’re very sorry," she said.

Richard assured viewers a full investigation had been launched and vowed to "sort it out ASAP".

An average of 15,000 viewers per day are said to call the £1 a time premium rate number. Half the profits go to the phone provider, Eckoh, and after the prize money is taken out the rest is split between Channel 4 and the production firm Cactus TV.

TV quiz callers may be refunded - Feb 19 2007
Channel 4 is to refund callers to Richard and Judy’s You Say, We Pay competition if it’s found they have been cheated out of their cash, the broadcaster announced today.

They’ll get their money back if an investigation concludes they were encouraged to enter the competition without any prospect of winning.

Presenters Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan will apologise in tonight’s show and say they are "very shocked and also angry" about the allegations, which came to light in a Sunday newspaper.

The phone-in competition has been suspended.

An average of 15,000 viewers per day are said to call the £1 a time premium rate number.

... read more 12345next»