Editing Bob Monkhouse (section)

== Game shows ==
In his later years, Monkhouse was probably better known for hosting television quiz shows than for being a comedian. One of his biggest successes was ''[[The Golden Shot]]'' from July 1967 until January 1972 and again from July 1974 to April 1975. This was broadcast live for 52 weeks a year and drew up to 17 million viewers.<ref name="Times obit" /> His first tenure ended with allegations, which he denied, that he had taken bribes to include branded goods on the programme as advertisements.<ref name="youtube1" /> He returned in 1974 after subsequent presenters and comedians [[Norman Vaughan (comedian)|Norman Vaughan]] and [[Charlie Williams (comedian)|Charlie Williams]] were found wanting.<ref name="youtube1" />

The dozens of other shows Monkhouse presented included ''[[Celebrity Squares]]'', ''[[Family Fortunes]]'' and ''[[Bob's Full House]]''. Audiences regularly topped 15 million.<ref name="Guardian obit" /> From 1987 to 1989, he hosted three series of the revival of the talent show ''[[Opportunity Knocks (British TV series)|Opportunity Knocks]]'', which aired as ''Bob Says Opportunity Knocks''. He then moved to ITV to front two more game shows, ''Bob's Your Uncle'' and ''The $64,000 Question'', neither of which was a popular success.

From 1996 to 1998, Monkhouse presented ''[[The National Lottery Draws|The National Lottery Live]]'' show on Saturday evenings on BBC1, for which he created the catchphrase: "I know I'm a sinner, but make me a winner!" The opening to each show would see him deliver several minutes of topical jokes and on one occasion, where his [[autocue]] failed, he improvised a new and topical routine. This talent was used in ''Bob Monkhouse On the Spot'', a return to pure television comedy, in which audience members suggested topics and Monkhouse came up with a routine. He was also at the helm when, on 30 November 1996, the lottery machine failed live on air, causing the draw to be delayed by 50 minutes until after that night's episode of ''[[Casualty (TV series)|Casualty]]'' aired.{{cn|date=June 2023}}

Monkhouse then returned to quizzes, taking over hosting duties on ''[[Wipeout (British game show)|Wipeout]]'' from [[Paul Daniels]] when its studio recordings moved from London to [[Manchester]] and the show moved from primetime to daytime. Monkhouse hosted ''Wipeout'' from 1998 until a few months before his death in 2003.