Weakest Link (Australian game show)

The Weakest Link Australia
Company type	Television program
Industry	Television game show
Founded	February 5, 2001; 25 years ago
Defunct	February 1, 2022
Headquarters	South Melbourne, Australia
Products	Television game show

The Weakest Link—also referred to as The Weakest Link Australia—is a game show from Australia adapted from the original British series. It initially broadcast on the Seven Network between 5 February 2001 and 22 April 2002. The program, hosted by Cornelia Frances, featured nine participants vying for a top prize of $100,000. It was scheduled twice weekly during prime time: Mondays and Thursdays in Melbourne, Adelaide, and Perth (expanding nationwide after the 2001 AFL season), and Fridays in Sydney and Brisbane. The show garnered moderate viewership before its eventual cancellation. Production was based at Seven Network’s South Melbourne studios.

A reboot aired on the Nine Network from 25 May 2021 to 1 February 2022, with actress Magda Szubanski serving as host. This iteration was produced by BBC Studios Australia & New Zealand and was also shown on TVNZ 1 in New Zealand.

2001–02

The version aired on Seven Network closely mirrored the UK original, with minor adjustments to timing: the opening round lasted 2 minutes and 30 seconds (compared to the UK’s 3 minutes), with each following round decreasing by 10 seconds, culminating in an 80-second final triple stakes round. In round eight, any accumulated banked money was tripled (for example, $1,000 banked would become $3,000). The prize ladder was structured as follows:

Question	Prize
9	$10,000
8	$8,000
7	$6,000
6	$4,500
5	$3,000
4	$2,000
3	$1,000
2	$500
1	$200

Marcus Irvine served as the voice-over artist while Alan Mason fulfilled the roles of adjudicator and question researcher. Prize values were modeled after the British edition but increased tenfold and denominated in Australian currency.

2021–22

The Nine Network’s revival incorporated notable modifications inspired by the 2020 US version: the contestant pool was reduced to eight (from nine), with gameplay commencing with the player in the first position rather than using alphabetical order. The maximum prize escalated progressively throughout rounds, potentially reaching . Prior to vote reveals, players were questioned about their performance; tie votes were broken by the strongest link's decision. Following round six, gameplay advanced directly to the final stage; if the strongest link had been eliminated earlier, the second-strongest link determined who would receive the initial question.

Question	Prize
Question	1	2	3	4	5	6
8	$10,000	$15,000	$20,000	$30,000	$75,000	$100,000
7	$5,000	$7,500	$10,000	$15,000	$50,000	$75,000
6	$3,000	$5,000	$7,500	$10,000	$25,000	$50,000
5	$1,500	$3,000	$5,000	$7,500	$15,000	$25,000
4	$750	$1,500	$2,500	$5,000	$7,500	$10,000
3	$500	$1,000"	" $1,500"	" $2,500"	$5,000"		"
"2"	" $250"	" $500"	" $750"	" $1,000"	" $1,500"	" $2,500"
"1"	"\$100"	" $200 "	" $250 "	" $500 "	" $750 "	" $1,000 "

Enhancements included:

Each podium featured buzzers used both for banking accumulated funds (contestants needed to say "bank" and activate their buzzer) and for voting.
Touchscreen displays were introduced for visual question prompts and voting procedures.

Special Editions

Throughout its broadcast, the program presented multiple special episodes.

Seven Network version (2001–02)

On 11 March 2002, a unique installment featured contestants from the third season of the reality competition The Mole. The nine remaining participants competed on The Weakest Link as part of a challenge, with the victor receiving immunity alongside prize money added to The Mole's total funds. Bob Young triumphed over Thao Nguyen, securing $14,100—the smallest sum ever won in an Australian episode—but the prize was granted only after verifying there was no cheating behind the scenes. For The Mole, this amount was rounded up to $15,000. This episode attracted 1.312 million viewers, slightly fewer than Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? which drew 1.51 million that same evening.
On 9 August 2001, a special edition featuring cast members from Blue Heelers, including John Wood, Neil Pigot, and Paul Bishop, was broadcast. This episode was notable for having a round where no money was banked.
An All Saints themed special aired on 26 November 2001, showcasing actors such as Ben Tari, Georgie Parker, and Erik Thomson, with Thomson emerging as the winner.
A football-themed special took place on 27 September 2001, just two days before the 2001 AFL Grand Final. Contestants included AFL players Max Hudghton, Justin Leppitsch, David King, and Rodney Howe from Melbourne Storm. Howe won $46,300 and donated it to the Cancer Council of Victoria.
On 27 August 2001, a special edition featured participants from the inaugural season of Big Brother Australia. Gordon Sloan won $31,600 in this episode, which became the highest-rated show of that week.
Other celebrity contestants appearing included Ada Nicodemou, Andrew Denton, Scott McGregor, Kimberley Cooper, Tom Williams, Warwick Capper, Michael Caton, Monica Trapaga, and Shelley Craft.
The "Worst Loser Special" brought back previously eliminated contestants to compete again.
Two episodes showcased teams made up of former winners; in one titled "The Best of the Best," a record-breaking $72,900 was won. For comparison, the largest prize in a regular episode was $56,300 while the smallest was $14,800.

Nine Network version (2021–22)

The premiere episode on Nine resulted in a final bank of $14,300—the lowest total for a standard episode across both versions despite higher potential winnings. This record was later surpassed by a final bank of $10,750.
A Christmas special reunited unsuccessful contestants from previous episodes to compete against one another.

Notable contestants

Original series (Seven Network)

Brydon Coverdale – accumulated $307,000 on Million Dollar Minute and as of February 2024 serves as a Chaser on The Chase Australia, earning the nickname "The Shark".

Reception

Nine's version

The initial episode broadcast on Nine Network drew an audience of 423,000 viewers nationwide.

Awards

External links

Official Nine Network page