ITV Jeopardy! viewers vow 'never watching again' as they turn off 'boring' and 'awful' Stephen Fry quiz show

ITV Jeopardy! viewers vow 'never watching again' as they turn off 'boring' and 'awful' Stephen Fry quiz show

WATCH NOW: Stephen Fry introduces Final Jeopardy in ITV's Jeopardy! reboot

ITV
Alex Davies

By Alex Davies


Published: 03/01/2024

- 10:58

The popular US quiz show has made it to the UK

ITV's take on the popular US quiz show Jeopardy hasn't gone down well with viewers in the UK following its first few episodes on the channel.

Premiering on New Year's Day and continuing weekdays in the 4pm time slot, Stephen Fry is the host tasked with putting budding quizzers to the test.


The game sees three players presented with clues in the form of answers rather than facing brainteasers.

Each contestant then has to phrase their responses in the form of a question and that in itself becomes the answer.

Jeopardy! has become somewhat of an institution in the States but the format has failed to resonate with Britons previously, with the likes of Channel 4, ITV and Sky having all attempted renditions previously.

It's ITV who's decided to take another punt at the quiz show this time around but despite landing a big name in Fry to front the show, it's safe to say the first few episodes haven't hit the ground running.

Stephen Fry

Stephen Fry is the new host of Jeopardy! UK

ITV

Taking to X, formerly Twitter, to share their thoughts on the game show, several viewers were less than impressed.

"Let me be clear. Stephen Fry is a National Treasure. Let me also be clear. ITV’s Jeopardy is one of the most excruciating TV programmes I have ever seen in my life. #jeopardy #stephenfry," one person critiqued.

A second hit out: "This #jeopardy is a proper ITV 3pm daytime slot. Awful."

"Right b*****ks, am out. Bl**dy awful. #jeopardy," added a third while a fourth fumed: "I have just watched #Jeopardy on ITV and have made a new year resolution to never ever watch it again.

"What a terrible way to start the year. What on earth made Stephen Fry take that on?"

Meanwhile, a fifth slammed: "Good grief the @ITV version of #jeopardy was baaaad. Slow and super easy. Luckily, it was only on at my parents so I don’t have to watch it again… I hope you buy something nice with the shedload of money they gave you @stephenfry."

And a sixth echoed: "OMG, what is this c**p. It's soooo boring, talk about slow. I can't believe Stephen Fry agreed to this, what was he thinking? #Jeopardy."

However, there were some who jumped to the show's defence, including one fan who said amid the uproar: "I think I am the person who liked the uk version #jeopardy."

And a second similarly praised: "Can’t wait to watch #Jeopardy again tomorrow night on @ITV love the game show."

It also earned a famous fan in the form of former Pointless presenter Richard Osman who lauded: "I love how smart the contestants are on #Jeopardy." (sic)

While fans may have turned off since its premiere, Jeopardy! did prove a success for ITV when it came to viewing figures.

Approximately 2.2 million viewers tuned into the show's premiere on New Year's Day, making it the highest game show launch for the channel since Lingo in 2021.

ITV celebrated a successful New Year's Day overall, particularly with new drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office thumping BBC rival The Tourist in the 9pm slot.

The new series which depicts "the greatest miscarriage of justice" in British history has already gone down a hit with viewers, although some were left finding it hard to watch due to the "sickening" nature of the true-life scandal.

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