What is Bullseye and how does it work? Rules behind Freddie Flintoff show explained
The classic darts gameshow is being given a revamp with famous faces coming along for the ride.
Bullseye is back with a new presenter, new set, but still the classic points-win-prizes game people know and love.
First launching in 1981, the beloved British gameshow became a massive hit for audiences at home, and ran for 14 years before its cancellation with Jim Bowen at the helm.
After a brief return in 2006, ITV now has its hands on the classic darts-inspired show, and is bringing Freddie Flintoff on board as the host of proceedings for this Christmas special.
But how exactly does Bullseye work? For the uninitiated, here's everything you need to know about the upcoming special, from the rules to those all-important prizes.
How does Bullseye work?
Bullseye sees three teams, consisting of an amateur darts player and a quiz-loving partner, play against each other in a bid to win a series of prizes.
The game is played in four rounds.
Bully's Category Board
In the first round, the teams throw darts at Bully's Category Board, with each segment representing a different specialist area the quizzer has to then answer questions on.
The quiz partner announces the category they want ahead of the dart player throwing their arrow, and the team earn money if it lands where they want. Each correct answer also earns them some cash, with a bonus for every time they hit the bullseye.
Pounds for Points
In Pounds for Points, each darts player throws three darts at a standard board, with the highest scorer earning a question for their partner to answer.
If they get it right, then the team earn £1 for every point on the dart board. If they get the question wrong, it is passed to the next highest-ranking team, giving them the opportunity to nab the cash.
After this round, the highest-earning team are sent through to Bully's Prize Board.
The other teams go home with the money they've accumulated from their time on the show, as well as consolation prizes that include a beloved "Bendy Bully" toy of the show's mascot.
Bully's Prize Board
In this all-important round, the remaining team face a board divided into eight red and black segments of differing sizes, with a bullseye in the middle.
Given nine darts, the team both have to play the board, with the darts player throwing the first three and the quiz whizz throwing the next three, before the darts player takes over for the final three shots.
The aim is to land on as many of the red segments as possible, with each one representing a different prize. But they need to be careful and stay out of the black, which earn them nothing. Plus, if they land on a segment twice then the prize is lost unless they hit it for a third time.
If they land on the bullseye, they automatically win Bully's Special Prize which usually has a large monetary value.
Bully's Star Prize Gamble
After throwing their nine darts, the contestants can either go home with the prizes they've won, or gamble it all for the chance of winning a mystery reward hidden behind a screen in the studio.
The prize is not revealed until the game is played but have previously included a holiday, a speedboat, or Bully's Treasure Chest containing a cash prize.
If they agree to go for it, both members of the team are given three darts each, and need to score over 101 in order to win the prize, as well as keep all the other prizes they've earned throughout the show.
But if they lose, they lose everything, and only go home with the consolation prizes that every team get for appearing on the show (Bendy Bully included).
If the winning team decide not to gamble, then the second highest-earning team are brought back and offered the chance. If they say no, it's passed to team three.
What celebrities will appear on Bullseye?
During this Christmas special, Freddie Flintoff will be joined by darts extraordinaire Luke 'The Nuke' Littler, a 17-year-old professional darts player who shot to fame after he reached the PDC World Darts Championship final at the beginning of this year and has gone from strength to strength since.
He will be the show's celebrity guest thrower – a section that sees celebs and pro darts players earn money for a charity of their choice.
Throwing darts at the matchplay board, Luke will earn money for his chosen charity for however many points he earns.
Bullseye airs Sunday 22nd December at 6pm on ITV1 and ITVX.
Check out more of our Entertainment coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what else is on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Authors
Tilly Pearce is a freelance TV journalist whose coverage ranges from reality shows like Love Is Blind to sci-fi shows like Fallout. She is an NCTJ Gold Standard accredited journalist, who has previously worked as Deputy TV Editor (maternity cover) at Digital Spy, and Deputy TV & Showbiz Editor at Daily Express US.
