The Great Australian Spelling Bee
| Company type | Television program |
|---|---|
| Industry | Television |
| Founded | August 3, 2015 |
| Defunct | September 17, 2016 |
| Headquarters | Sydney , Australia |
Key people | Grant Denyer (host), Chrissie Swan (host), Chris Edmund (pronouncer) |
| Products | Reality television program |
| Parent | Shine Australia |
The Great Australian Spelling Bee was a reality television program broadcast on Network Ten in Australia, hosted by Grant Denyer and Chrissie Swan and produced by Shine Australia. The series aired from 3 August 2015 until 17 September 2016, with Chris Edmund serving as the official pronouncer. It followed the traditional spelling bee competition format, where participants spelled words of increasing difficulty.
During the inaugural season, the champion was awarded a $50,000 scholarship for education, $10,000 worth of school supplies, a copy of the Macquarie Dictionary, a Sprout computer, and an HP Pro Slate 8 tablet. Additionally, five runners-up each received a $10,000 scholarship, an HP Pro Slate 8 tablet, and $1,000 in educational materials for their schools.
On 19 August 2015, the series was confirmed for a second season, which premiered on 17 July 2016. Production took place at Fox Studios Australia.
Dictionary Dash
Contestants race to locate a specified word in dictionaries; the first to find it gains priority in Speed Spell by selecting their preferred theme. Subsequent picks follow the order of Dictionary Dash winners.
Flash Cards
Participants receive colored tokens (red or blue) labeled alphabetically and line up accordingly. They must correctly spell a themed word on a tablet within ten seconds. Those who spell accurately proceed; incorrect responses risk elimination. If pairs remain tied after six rounds of correct spellings, a tiebreaker occurs where the fastest contestant showcasing their flash cards wins.
Letter By Letter Knock Out Mode
This follows standard Letter By Letter rules but with individual competition; any single error leads to immediate elimination from that round.
Show And Spell Individual Edition
Contestants earn points on an individual basis rather than as part of teams, adhering to normal Show And Spell rules.
Speed Spell
Spellers stand within a designated spell gate and attempt to spell as many words as possible within either 45 or 60 seconds. A single mistake ends their turn instantly. This challenge usually initiates elimination days, with top scorers securing immunity.
Spell Check
Contestants stand by buzzers as words appear on screen that may be spelled correctly or incorrectly. Buzzing first on a misspelled word allows an attempt to spell it correctly to gain safety. Incorrect attempts or buzzing on correctly spelled words result in lockout until another contestant secures safety. A predetermined number of spellers advance.
Spelling Bee
Remaining contestants compete under standard Spelling Bee rules; only two spellers earn immunity each round while others are eliminated.
Super Word
A nine-letter grid is displayed featuring letters including a mandatory center letter. Contestants find words containing at least four letters that include the center letter by buzzing in and spelling accurately to score points. Successfully spelling the nine-letter 'Superword' grants immediate immunity. A fixed number of spellers progress.
Team Challenges
Contestants select colored tokens to form teams. In each challenge, one or two teams either lose immunity or must compete in a spelling bee to maintain safety.
Laser Word
Four words appear on screen, one containing a misspelling. Competitors must identify and correctly spell the incorrect word to earn points for their team.
Letter By Letter
In this challenge, participants take turns articulating a single letter to form a word collectively. Should a player believe a mistake has occurred, they may say 'Next word' to proceed to the following term. Teams aim to correctly spell as many words as possible within a 90-second timeframe.
Show and Spell
Teams are tasked with identifying and spelling words using clues provided. Only the initial letter of each word is revealed, while the remaining letters are represented by underscores, all based on a specific themed vocabulary.
Speed Spell Relay/Speed Spell Duo
Under the Speed Spell format, teams sequentially spell words aloud. An incorrect spelling results in the immediate elimination of that speller, but the team's turn continues without ending.
Team Spelling Bee
The two final teams alternate in spelling words aloud. If a participant spells a word incorrectly, they are eliminated from the round. The team retaining members at the end secures immunity.
Team Super Word
This round follows the Super Word format, with participants competing as teams rather than individuals.
Season One
The inaugural season was broadcast from 3 August to 8 September 2015, hosted by Grant Denyer and Chrissie Swan. The champion, Anirudh, was awarded a $50,000 scholarship for education, $10,000 worth of school supplies, a Macquarie Dictionary, an Electriclefied book, a Sprout computer, and an HP Pro Slate 8 tablet.
Season Two
Season two debuted on 17 July 2016 with Denyer and Swan returning as hosts. Due to underwhelming ratings at the start, the program was shifted from its Sunday slot to a less prominent Saturday evening schedule beginning with episode five.
Viewership
| Season | Network | Episodes | Premiere | Finale | Ref | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Premiere date | Premiere ratings |
Rank | Finale date | Finale ratings (Grand final) |
Rank | Finale ratings (Winner announced) |
Rank | ||||
| One | Network Ten | 12 | 3 August 2015 | 0.921 | #7 | 8 September 2015 | 0.755 | #11 | 0.901 | #7 | [1][2] |
| Two | Network Ten (eps 1–6) Eleven (eps 7–10) |
10 | 17 July 2016 | 0.456 | #12 | 17 September 2016 | data-sort-value="" style="background: var(--background-color-interactive, #ececec); color: var(--color-base, inherit); vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-na" | — | [3] | |||
International adaptations
In 2016, a television series was created in Thailand.
A British version named The Big Spell was broadcast on Sky 1, bringing the original spelling contest concept to viewers in the United Kingdom.
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