Lotto Draw Moves to Primetime ITV Slot with New Host
Last Updated: Friday 13th April 2018, 11:05
The National Lottery is returning to television screens after more than a year away, in a new primetime slot on ITV1. Stephen Mulhern, who has previously featured in Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway and Britain’s Got More Talent, is due to host.
When is the new National Lottery draw on television?
From 14th April, Lotto results will now be revealed at 8.15pm on Saturday nights, in a 90-second slot during Britain’s Got Talent on ITV1. Mulhern, a former magician and children’s television presenter, said he was ‘privileged’ to be hosting the show.
‘The National Lottery is an iconic institution and I’m hugely excited to be part of its return to primetime Saturday night TV,’ he said. ‘I feel privileged to be bringing those lucky numbers to the nation but also being able to show players how the money they’ve helped raise has made a difference to communities across the UK.’
To date, more than £37 billion has been raised for National Lottery Good Causes, funding more than half a million charitable projects across the country, from art and sport to education and the environment. Twenty-eight pence from every £1 spent on National Lottery tickets goes into the Good Causes fund.
The Lotto draw can still be watched live on Youtube every Saturday at 7.45pm and every Wednesday at 8.30pm.
When did they stop showing the National Lottery draws on TV?
In January 2017, The National Lottery live draw was moved to BBC iPlayer after 22 years on television. The first ever lottery draw was shown on Saturday 19th November 1994 on BBC One, and was hosted by Noel Edmonds. In the hour-long show, 49 contestants competed to be the first person to start the draw. Similar game show formats have been common throughout the draw’s history.
At its peak, the National Lottery live draw attracted over 20 million viewers, but this has declined significantly in recent years, until viewing figures hit an all-time low of 3.2 million, triggering the decision to scrap the television show in favour of an online-only broadcast.
National Lottery shows through the years
Since their inception in 1994, lottery live draws have often taken place as part of a live studio game show, a tradition that won’t be replicated when the draw returns to ITV in its new 90-second slot. Below are some of the most notable game show formats that have accompanied the lottery over the years.
The National Lottery Big Ticket - 1998
Hosted by Patrick Kielty and Anthea Turner, Big Ticket paired contestants with celebrities and representatives from various charities, who then competed in several light-hearted games to try and win cash prizes. The show was linked to the lottery’s TV Dreams scratchcard, which was played alongside Big Ticket, and which offered players the chance to win a place as a contestant on a future show.
National Lottery Jet Set - 2001-2007
A luxury trip around the world was the prize on offer to Jet Set winners, and what’s more, every winner had the chance to play again the following week to keep their trip going. Players would compete in a fairly straightforward question-and-answer quiz, but in the final round, they would be up against the winner of last week’s show, who would be playing live from a glamorous location somewhere around the world. If the new contestant won, they would be the one to jet off, and the previous winner’s trip would come to an end.
National Lottery People’s Quiz - 2007
Hosted by Jamie Theakston, People’s Quiz auditioned aspiring quizzers from around the country and invited the best of them to take part in the television game show. Before reaching the studio, players faced an early audition, where they had to answer ten questions in a row correctly, and then a telephone qualifier and a quiz ‘boot camp.’ Contestant Stephanie Bruce won the title of People’s Quiz Champion and took home a prize of £200,700.
National Lottery Break the Safe - 2013-2014
In Break the Safe, teams of two contestants would answer questions to build up a prize fund, while competing to win it. A team’s overall quiz knowledge was tested, as they would only progress if each player answered questions correctly. In the final round, the last remaining team would try and unlock the ‘safe’ by hitting a button when a countdown clock (which they couldn’t see) hit zero. Nick Knowles, who would return for the National Lottery 5-Star Family Reunion, presented the show.
National Lottery 5-Star Family Reunion - 2015-2016
5-Star Family Reunion offered the chance for a UK family to reunite with relatives from around the world on a luxury holiday. The show featured a distinctive Newton’s Cradle prop, one ball of which was raised as questions were answered correctly, giving more time for later questions to be answered. Both sides of the participating family would take part – one side from a studio in the UK, the other from a location elsewhere in the world – and in the final round, they would try to answer five questions before the Newton’s Cradle stopped moving. Winners of the show would then jet off on holiday to meet their other family members.
Don’t forget to take part in this week’s Lotto
Joining an online syndicate will give you a great chance of winning a prize in this week’s Lotto. Don’t worry if you miss Saturdays results during Britain’s Got Talent, as you can check the winning numbers online straight after the draw.