How Blankety Blank's theme tune became TV's most iconic gameshow song
The series first aired in 1979 with Terry Wogan as host.
After a successful Christmas special, Bradley Walsh will return to host a full series of Blankety Blank.
Based on the American game show Match Game - which sees contestants trying to match answers given by celebrity panelists to fill-in-the-blank questions - the show first aired on the BBC in 1979.
Throughout its time on air, there have been many Blankety Blank presenters, from Terry Wogan, who was the first host of the show, to Paul O'Grady, who presented as his alter ego Lily Savage.
But, one of the things that's always remained the same, despite a few tweaks here and there, is the Blankety Blank theme tune.
Commissioned from Ronnie Hazlehurst when the first British series was produced in 1979, the catchy theme song - where the lyrics "Blankety Blank" are repeated before a round of applause - has become one of the most iconic gameshow tunes.
So, what exactly is it that makes the Blankety Blank theme tune so recognisable?
RadioTimes.com spoke to Charlie Irwin, the Director of Programmes at Thames (A Fremantle label) which produces Blankety Blank, and he revealed the history behind the theme tune, and how it came to be so "iconic".
"It’s such an iconic theme and it’s known by generation upon generation. We are thrilled to be able to bring it back once more and have an entire new audience enjoy not only the iconic theme tune, but the entire series," he said.
"The theme evokes an incredible sense of fun and joy when heard and it’s impossible not to sing along to. It does exactly what a theme tune should do, setting the tone for the rest of the show."
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Ronnie was the in-house BBC Light Entertainment musical director, composing themes such as Are You Being Served? Some Mothers Do Have’ Em, The Generation Game and Yes Minister, at the time when he created the tune for Blankety Blank.
Sadly, he passed away in 2007 at the age of 79. However, the theme tune has always remained the same, minus a few alterations to the festive special last year.
Speaking of the decision to keep most of the original tune for the reboot, Irwin continued: "We had it updated for our Christmas special last year which was by Marc Sylvan, but it was important that the tune remained the close to the original. In fact, very little of the entire show has changed," Irwin continued.
"The game is one of the simplest and strongest heritage formats so we wanted to keep the show as close to the original as we could."
The series will return to BBC One with a whole host of celebrity guests, including Judy Murray, Rickie Haywood-Williams, Shappi Khorsandi, Rob Beckett, Ellie Taylor and Peter Andre, who will all be hoping to win some brilliant prizes for contestants.
Blankety Blank starts on BBC One on Saturday, 2nd October at 9pm. If you’re looking for something to watch tonight, check out our TV Guide.
