IMO, the concept of the BG is a very good twist when it comes to keeping the game exciting, and in some cases it can make for some very tense decisions (whether or not it's unique to the UK version I don't know). However, I do have a couple of problems with the way it's handled on the show.

First of all, there's the matter of when it's appropriate to use the BG. Generally if the BG is offered, it should be in such a way that the banker would have stuck had the player carried on to that point. However, this is sometimes clearly not the case. Recently, Mary dealt 2k on a 4 blues/20k final five, and after an all-blue round was offered the BG. Now, on a board with £1/£20,000, you'd expect an offer more along the lines of 4 or 5k, not 2k surely? While certain BGs have made for some very interesting scenarios indeed (Jess' 40k for £100 or £250,000, Phyllis' £10,000 for 1p or £50,000 etc.), others are made where the offer would be either derisory or ludicrously generous for the board at hand. For example, there have been various cases where someone has dealt something like £14,000, had a finish of £1/£35,000 and been offered the BG. Surely anyone who would accept the gamble at that point wouldn't have dealt in the first place (and IMO would deserve to lose it tbqh)? It just seems like a bit of a waste of time. And it can swing the other way as well, such as with David with 3k on £100 or £35,000, though amazingly enough he turned down the gamble (and IMO deserved to have 35k in his box)... Wouldn't the gamble be best used in scenarios where it isn't a clear deal/no deal? Seeing stuff like 1k on £50 vs £10,000 is frankly quite embarassing...

And another thing... why do they always have to wait until two-box to offer it? In some cases, someone would deal at 8-box, have a 5-box board that would produce a similar offer, but not get offered it, with the banker instead simply saying he would have stuck. Haz's game is a prime example of this. He dealt 12k at 8-box, and received the banker's gamble at 2-box. While in its own right it was well-pitched, they could have easily done it on the previous round as well rather than giving a hypothetical offer that was the same as his deal figure.

All in all, I think that it's a good twist to use, but it should only be used in scenarios where it's appropriate to do so. It shouldn't simply be used just for the sake of it; the board needs to justify using it as well.

I think the Banker's Gamble has to be used at 2 box because any earlier would remove the dramatic effect it has.

Indeed, just look at Alice's game

Actually, that one wasn't as much of a no-brainer as it appeared. Yes, 17.5k on a 1p/£250,000 finish is statistically a horrible offer. But we aren't computers, and thus can't make our decisions 100% based on statistics. £17,500 is a lot of money to potentially lose all of it on a coin flip, especially if you're in your 20s as Alice was, so even though the potential reward was massive, you still have to stop and think, even if just for a moment or two.

But when the offer for the board is derisory AND not massively significant, there's no excuse not to take it. £2,000 is still a lot of money, but for most people it would basically be a nice holiday and maybe some jewelry. £17,500 is life-enhancing, and if you're in a lower class perhaps even life-changing. Risking £2,000 to potentially win ten times that is much easier than risking £17,500 for a similar reward (actually it's fourteen and a bit times that, but you get the picture...)

So ultimately the BG in Alice's game wasn't that badly pitched at all. Yes, it may have looked a bit like a fix, but don't forget that such interventions to try and get big wins have failed before (PJ's game is especially notable, as is Bel's recently)

I agree, it was a lot of money to lose and I'm sure a lot of players wouldn't have taken the gamble for various reasons. I've often wondered what an average player would be offered if the 1p and £250k were left at the end in live play. I know we got the 1p/£250k finish with Corinne, but her single-mindedness meant that she wasn't really an average player.

Well 1000th show Lisa got £50k on a £100/£250k finish.