Shafted

Shafted

Company type	Television game show
Industry	Television entertainment
Founded	November 5, 2001 (2001-11-05)
Founder	Robert Kilroy-Silk (host)
Defunct	November 26, 2001 (2001-11-26)
Headquarters	United Kingdom
Area served	United Kingdom
Products	Game show broadcast on ITV

Shafted was a UK-based game show broadcast on ITV from 5 to 26 November 2001, with Robert Kilroy-Silk serving as the host.

Format

The competition commenced with six contestants participating across five rounds. In the initial round, each contestant secretly bid an amount up to £25,000; the individual who placed the highest bid was immediately eliminated without any prize money, while the remaining players received the amounts they had requested.

From rounds two through four, contestants wagered portions of their accumulated totals on questions. The host presented a question prompt, after which participants placed their bets before the complete question was disclosed. The player who wagered the most had 10 seconds to provide an answer; a correct response added the wagered sum to their total, whereas an incorrect one subtracted it. Following a series of questions equal to the number of remaining contestants, the leader had the authority to eliminate one opponent but could be convinced to reconsider this choice. Subsequently, all remaining players' totals were adjusted to match that of the leader.

Beginning in round three, each contestant was granted a single chance to "Shift" a question onto another player. If the targeted opponent answered correctly, the wagered amount transferred from the original player's total to theirs; if answered incorrectly, it was deducted from the opponent’s total.

Questions frequently featured misleading incomplete prompts before revealing unexpected full queries.

In the concluding round, two finalists engaged in a prisoner's dilemma involving a jackpot that could reach up to £2,500,000. After watching interviews conducted backstage, both players independently chose either to "share" or "shaft." Their selections were disclosed solely to viewers at home, followed by an opportunity for discussion and potential revision of their decisions. The final distribution of prizes depended on these choices:

• Both choose "share": jackpot divided equally.
• One chooses "shaft" while the other "share": the shafter claims the entire jackpot.
• Both choose "shaft": no prize money awarded.

Reception

After airing only four episodes in 2001, the show was cancelled and later labeled as the worst British TV program of the 2000s in the Penguin TV Companion (2006). On 26 March 2012, Richard Osman, co-host of Pointless, included Shafted among Britain's poorest game shows.

Australia

An Australian adaptation featuring Red Symons aired from 11 February to 5 April 2002 on the Nine Network. In its final stage, if one player opted to shaft while the other chose to share, the shafter took all combined winnings and earned the title "Master Shafter," allowing progression to subsequent games. Initially, this status was disclosed to other contestants, resulting in early eliminations of Masters Shafter; however, this information was later withheld until game end. Due to low viewership, the series was discontinued. Only once did two contestants both select share and secure substantial winnings.

Contestants could bid up to $500 during round one, with the highest bidder eliminated immediately. Unlike its UK counterpart, most questions were toss-ups. Starting from round two, the leader selected one of four categories for a set of questions. Players then bid how much money they risked per correct answer; ties were resolved by awarding priority to the quickest bidder, with subsequent bids decreasing by $5 increments to prevent duplicates.

During questioning phases, contestants buzzed in to respond; correct answers added their bid amount to their total while incorrect responses subtracted it. Players losing all funds were barred from answering further that round. Afterwards, half of a question was read aloud; players then bid for rights to answer upon full question reveal. The highest scorer gained power to eliminate a rival who had 30 seconds to attempt persuasion against elimination. The eliminator could confirm or overturn their choice; if reversed, elimination became final without appeal. At each round’s conclusion, all remaining players’ totals were equalized to match that of the leader.

Other adaptations

Pilot episodes for Shafted were developed across seven European nations—including Italy, Poland, Spain, Germany, and Sweden—as well as in the United States for CBS. However, only the Russian adaptations, Ставка and Искушение, along with the Dutch edition titled Deelt Iet of Deelt Iet Niet, were ultimately aired. The pilot structure involved ten contestants secretly selecting their initial cash stakes; immediately, the four highest bidders and the lowest bidder were eliminated. The remaining five participants then competed in a quiz segment akin to the UK version, culminating in two finalists who faced the decision to either share or shaft. These pilots were filmed in 2001 at the Miljoenenjacht studio in Aalsmeer, Netherlands—the original location of Deal or No Deal. Although the Polish edition was set to premiere a week prior to the UK launch, it was withdrawn before broadcast.

In the Dutch iteration, seven players competed instead of six, with both the top and bottom bidders eliminated at the outset. Across international pilots, ten contestants typically began each episode rather than six.

Country	Title	Local term for 'Share'	Local term for 'Shaft'	Host	Network	Air dates
Australia	Shafted	Share	Shaft	Red Symons	Nine Network	11 February 2002 – 5 April 2002
Germany	Shafted	Fifty Fifty	Alles	?	2001 (pilot not picked up)
Italy	Shafted	Share	Shaft	?	2001 (pilot not aired)
Netherlands	Deelt-ie't of Deelt-ie't Niet	Deelt	Deelt Niet	Piet Zoomers	SBS6	2002
Poland	Shafted	?	?	Andrzej Sołtysik	TVN	29 October 2001 (withdrawn before airing)
Russia	Ставка	Против	За	Vladimir Lebedev	Russia Channel	30 August 2002 – 20 December 2002
	Искушение			Irina Aleksimova	TVS	22 March 2003 – 19 June 2003
Spain	Que te den	Mitad	Todo	Juan y Medio	?	2001 (pilot not broadcast)
Sweden	Shafted	Share	Shaft	?	2001 (pilot declined)
United States	'Shafted'		CBS	2002 (pilot not commissioned)