Laura Becomes the FIRST £250,000 winner on Sunday 07/01/07
Read the full report here

With its tag-line of 'A quarter of a million pounds.... 22 identical sealed boxes.... and no questions.... Except one... DEAL or NO DEAL?' Deal or No Deal is becoming a VERY popular afternoon game show on Channel 4.

The game is very simple to play and provides the contestants the chance to win BIG money prizes, but the simplicity of the game and the high stakes provide a very dramatic and entertaining gameshow. Deal or No Deal also marks the return of TV entertainment 'legend' Noel Edmonds as the host.

Here at dond we provide somewhere for the growing number of fans AND contestants of the gameshow to chat about the show and express views, opinions and have a bit of fun.

Visit the DOND Forum
Discuss this amazing show with fellow fans and contestants from the show. Also read the LIVE daily reports of the shows.

Check out the Stats section where you can find a complete breakdown of every game of Deal or No Deal.

Visit Deal or No Deal Stats section by Clicking Here

The game starts with 22 numbered boxes each with an unknown value of between 1p and £250,000 contained in them, these are then randomly chosen by the 22 contestants. A contestant is then chosen to sit in the hot seat for that game with their chosen box. They then play a series of 'rounds' where they chose to eliminate the remaining boxes one by one - hopefully avoiding the boxes containing the big money.

Noel Talks to Banker

The twist comes in at the end of each round when the 'Banker' - a mysterious off-screen person offers the contestant a sum of money to 'buy' the box that the contestant has in front off of them and end the game. This sum of money is based on the amount of cash left in the remaining boxes.

In the first round the contestant has to open five boxes before the Banker makes his first offer. In following rounds the player only has to open three boxes before the banker makes his offer. According to the banker he bases his offers on a number of factors including what cash values remain and also how 'he' views the attitude and way the contestant is playing the game. You normally find the first round offers are below an 'average' value of the boxes remaining which encourages the player to carry on into further rounds and add to drama. Although occasionally a tempting offer is made which does make the contestant stop to think for a while.

The show is really a game of pure chance as no-one knows what each box contains, and all the contestants have the same chance of winning the jackpot as their are no questions to answer or games of skill to perform to win the prize. This provides a great arena for the player to interact with the host and their contestants and this creates a great atmosphere and makes the show really watchable.

The game format relies quite a lot on the host to build up the drama and add to the atmosphere and this is where Noel helps make the show with his interaction with the contestants and the chats with the Banker, although we only ever hear Noels side of the conversation. Noel is building up quite a collection of potential catchphrases during the show, and has most of them based around the ad breaks where he plays on the word break in his sentences.

There is also a chance for the viewers to win prize money on every show with the viewers daily play game. This gives you the chance to win £500, £1000, or £5,000, this money is doubled a couple of times a week - usually on a Wednesday and Saturday. At the end of the show a member of the audience is asked to pick a number between 1 & 3, this box is then opened to reveal how much a random chosen viewer has won. To enter the daily play game you can either phone in on a premium rate phone number or use the FREE entry on the Channel 4 website, to find out more and how to enter the competition CLICK HERE.