Well, Deal or No Deal is 2 years old tomorrow... but were you there from show 1? Did the publicity of Noel's comeback draw you in, were you familiar with overseas versions already, or just happened to leave the TV on after watching the return of Countdown with Des Lynam in the chair?

Or were you like me and it passed you by at the time, only to catch it a couple of months later and become hooked? Or perhaps you're a real latecomer and didn't discover it until season 2 or even more recently than that?

I started watching in Dec 05 but I really started to get into it in January 06 so I went for that.

I started watching from show 1. I watched at first because I was intrigued about Noel coming back to be honest. In the summer of 2005, David Dickinson presented an antiques-related show on BBC 1 called Dickinson's Real Deal, so knowing nothing about the format of DOND, I saw the word "deal" and wondered if it was something to do with selling antiques. It is something to do with selling I suppose... but selling your box!

I can't believe it's 2 years already... although at the same time, games in April 2006 for example, seem aaaages away. I suppose it's because we're nearly at show 600 now, so have had a lot of DOND exposure! I've never watched so many episodes of a show, I don't think (I may have watched more episodes of Coronation Street, but certainly never watched anything with the loyalty I have for DOND! ).

I didn't really properly get into DOND until about February / March 2006, and I really got into it in a big way when I properly started posting on this forum in June 2006 (although I had been a member and posted a few times since February 2006). The forum has certainly helped my interest in the show... would I still be watching it now if I didn't post on the forum? I can't answer that question... but I do know that the forum has helped to sustain my interest in DOND as I find it very interesting being able to discuss all the many aspects of it - the spoilers, the contestant, the statistics, the show itself, Noel, gimmicks, banker behaviour.

Will we be here in a year's time celebarting DOND's 3rd anniversary? I think we probably will be... although I think the show has only probably got another year's shelf life in it - it may be a good idea if the show takes at least a 3 month break at some point - maybe between December 2008 and April 2009 (assuming it's still on at all!) just to make sure it keeps fresh!

I watched since show 1 coz it was Noel back on the box Never missed it since.

I started watching properly in April 2006 (probably Gary Owen's game), but I didn't really get hooked until Dave E's game. (I played a game online in December 2005 where I had an all-blue final 5 and won £22.)

I'd seen some games before, when I was bored and there was nothing else to watch. Among those were Maurice (I only saw the end and didn't know he had dealt, so when Noel said "All I want to see in this box is 50p", I thought he was a bit of a sadist! I also saw Germaine's game and Paula H's game.

I found this forum in on 20th June 2006 (Yvonne's game), and unfortunately the first post I saw was this one from Wakey...



From September to November last year my computer had broken down so I really got into DoND then...

Like all the proper fans since show 1! Mainly down to the return of Noel since House Party!

Watched it from show 1, knew of the overseas versions through Bother's Bar. Loved the concept, still do (as long as the 'storytelling' element is done well, which isn't always true).

I caught the end of a show in Nov 2005(ish), the first time the £250k came to the table. I think the girl had dealt for £20k or something. First show I remember watching all the way through was £57k Brenda's game. I started watching regularly around about the time Lucy was in the wings, as I wanted to know if she'd ever get her turn.

I never saw the first show but knew DOND existed due to Bother's Bar. I read the commentaries from the start (no More 4 in those days for those of us who have a full time job)

My first show watched would have been the first Saturday show.

i went for jan 06 because that was when i watched it regularly, i'd seen the odd few episodes in nov/dec though.

I watched odd episodes from around Xmas 05 to March 06, then the majority in March and April 06, then more or less every show since!

I think Saj's 50k and Kirsty's 75k were the games that really got me hooked, and also Fadil!!

Lynne's game in Nov06 was my baptism. I loved the show straight away but only got into watching it regularly in Jan07. I've watched more DOND than all other TV shows put together in the last 10 years lol.

I love the concept, the game, the whole show and think Noel is brilliant as host.

I'd first heard about the show when a review of the Australian version was posted on Bother's Bar in the Summer of 2005. There were lots of rumours about the forthcoming UK version over the next few months, one being that it was coming to ITV under the name 'The Big Call' (that turned out to be a different show entirely), then there was the idea that it could be a BBC1 National Lottery show with 49 boxes, then when it did become a Channel 4 show, there were stories about it being from 50p to £100,000 with Les Dennis as the host, and that they'd have one set of contestants for two weeks and then dump them all and have a new set after that, etc.

A few months earlier I'd recorded Richard Whiteley's last Countdown on video (as well as the two tribute programmes either side), and decided to record Des Lynam's first Countdown on the same tape. I did, but then I kept the tape running for this new Noel Edmonds show - I figured I might as well, and if the show turns out to be a failure I can just tape over it later on. No chance. I was hooked. So many things drew me in, the contestants wishing Lynn good luck, the audience cheering her on, Noel being good - really really good - and the tension, the drama, the entertainment, and how nervous and excited I was getting about a show consisting of people opening boxes. I was absolutely, absolutely hooked and kept watching...and I still have that tape!

That was two years ago, I was 17. To think that in those two years I've made over a thousand posts on this forum, met over 40 contestants, been to see three episodes filmed, opened a blue box on it in front of millions of viewers, got Noel Edmonds' autograph and amassed a collection of hundreds of episodes and counting...if you'd have said that to me two years ago I'd have reported you to the nuthouse! But despite the absolute saddo I am, I don't care. Because Deal or No Deal is the greatest gameshow ever invented in the world and long, long, long may it continue!

I only started watching the show after I read some stuff about it in the paper and how DOND broke the record for biggest pay-out in a daytime show. Reading that intruiged me and so I watched an episode to see what it was like, that was in November 05.

At first i'll admit I wasn't sure about the show as it was new and I needed to watch a few more shows before I became a fan. The things I noticed first was the size of the studio and how they keep the same contestants till they play and then there was Noel talking to the Banker on the phone, I at first wondered if he was actually talking to anyone at all.

By January 06 I had become 'addicted' to the show by watching/taping every show. The show by this stage had become more polished and Noel had relaxed into the role and we started to get to know more about the Banker and how he works.

I was hooked on the show all year long, so much so that I would get really annoyed if I missed an episode as unlike other shows DOND episodes merge together. If you had missed an exciting show the day before Noel would mention that through-out the next person's game.

Eventually I became so 'addicted' I even started my own "stats book" last year where I would write down who played and how much they won and all the box contents but in the end I stopped doing that due to time constraints.

Earlier this year my 'addiciton' calmed down a bit and I thought perhaps I was losing interest in the show and even missed a couple of episodes here and there and it didn't bother me. But after that short phase I have now become totally addicted to the show again and have again started up my own "stats book" since October 07 so that I can reference any show I want straight away.

My dream for next year is to become a pilgrim and see the show recorded live. If I lived nearer to Bristol I would be in there everyday but as I live quite far away getting the public transport there is bit of a hassle and not cheap.

I seem to have rambled on so if you read all that well done

In terms to the "format". I've been watching it since early 2004, thanks to an Aussie friend sending me episodes from their version. Which lead me to see other incarnations before it arrived here.

For the UK version. I have been watching it since show 1 as I knew the show would work here. Originally, I was concerned if a small channel (Channel 4) could pull it off by offering bigger than the average daytime cash prize. Obvivously, I was proved wrong.

When I heard Noel Edmonds was making a return to the telly, I tuned in to see what Deal or No Deal was going to be about.

Must have been deja vu but I found it looking very familiar. But with him presenting, I really liked it - we had never seen a serious side to Noel before.

I've watched it from the very start. And I don't think I'll ever not watch it - especially since I found out I wasn't the only nutter who loves it.

I started watching in December 2005, and immediately became hooked on the programme, and have watched it ever since.

Well it was ever since, DOND's 1st birthday that I started watching it

I started watching around the end of Nov 05 - I think Andy K was the first show I saw!

I started watching from Show 1 and have been hooked ever since.