the concept of the first series had been to film surprising and often unusual moments similar to those previously seen on "game for a laugh", but the format was not successful. however, the final item in the last episode of the first series featured a successful surprise reunion, which led executive producer alan boyd to change the format slightly so that all items in subsequent series involved surprises, rather than just being surprising. although including many pre-filmed inserts, the first series and some early episodes of the second series were televised live in their entirety, however, thereafter, all episodes were pre-recorded.