Whilst Noel is doing all the obvious stuff to make people feel guilty, etc. for dealing too early - there is something that I have noticed. At the end of a game, if a player has dealt, he says, "You did the right deal at the right time" if the player deals at the optimum point in the game and gets the maximum money available all game. However, what he doesn't say any more is "You did the right deal at the right time for you" - the "for you" bit being tacked on if they could've had more money - highlighting how there is no point in having regrets.

Nowadays, he rarely (if ever) does the latter, and in fact yesterday in Sheran's game, he described her deal as the right deal at the right time - despite the fact she could've dealt for £10,000 more, earlier on.

No doubt if it had been the other way round - i.e. if Sheran had dealt at £20,000 and gone on to have a hypothetical proveout offer of £30,000 - Noel would've been all "You could've had £10,000 more, you made a bad deal" etc... but as she no dealt £30,000 and later dealt at £20,000 - Noel made hardly any reference to the fact she could've got £10,000 extra by dealing earlier on in the game.

When the banker's offer increased after dealing, he used to simply say "Oh, you have gone one deal too soon" or if they dealt at a lower amount, he'd say "You have dealt one deal too late" - i.e. he used to be neutral.

Nowadays, he seems to go on and on if the player deals too soon - but if they deal too late, it's forgotten about, and like in yesterday's game, he even gave the impression she'd dealt at the right time (not the right time for her) - i.e. she conclusively beat the banker when she didn't.

That is completely brilliant and illustrates exactly the way this show has gone.

I would love it if one of the contestants who deals too soon says to Noel after his rant about dealing too soon - "Yes, but I dealt at the right time for me!".

He was gushing praise on "Harry Potter" Peter from october for dealing for a measly £3,500, when his box contained £500 - conveiently forgetting that it was a huge TBW and he'd turned down £15k - same with Rob from September - he missed out on £16,500 by dealing too late, but he didn't shut up about it being the right deal at the right time - it was like he'd been watching a different game to the one I had!

I think today's game is a perfect example of this. Not so long ago, Noel would've said at certain points after Steven dealt that he dealt at the right time for him - yet he seemed insistant on the fact that Steven shouldn't have dealt and that people were throwing things at the TV set when he dealt, etc...

Totally agree about today's show, it was the right deal for him, so why should Noel make him feel guilty for it.

There are times though when saying this isn't the right or appropriate thing to say, surely? How could he have said it in Donna's game, for example? What else was he supposed to say other than variations on "you blew it"? "You took a risk and it didn't pay off", or something like that?

I think it's a much finer line than you're making out. You seem to be suggesting that just saying "you did the right deal at the right time for you" when a player deals for an amount less than what they could have won will work in every case. Is this what you mean or am I misunderstanding you? Because, clearly, taking today as an example, I'm not sure Steven would have appreciated Noel saying that; certainly, after the event, he gave every indication that he believed he hadn't done the right deal at the right time. There are other examples of this too - take Donna, would it have been the right thing to say that £21,000 was the right deal at the right time for her? Perhaps that isn't a great example because her emotions clearly took over during the proveout, but you cant just be assuming that people will be happy with early deals that don't work out as OPWs, which, it seems to me, is what you're saying.

[I'm not trying to get at you here, just trying to understand where you're coming from. There are plenty of things going downhill with the show, the increased chanting being the worst example, but I feel you're perhaps being a bit harsh in this instance.]

On the other hand you are perfectly correct about the misuse of "right deal at the right time" when earlier offers have been larger. I'm beginning to think there's some sort of unwritten rule which means that the first two offers are completely forgotten about and no contestant is allowed to take them. At least, that's what it feels like.

I am simply highlighting how biased towards no delaing Noel is nowadays. He used to occasionally say "You've done the right deal at the right time for you" - ok, he may not have said it on every occasion when a player dealt too soon / late - but nowadays, he seems to never say it - suggesting he just wants everyone to no deal, and that there are no positives in dealing... I am simplying comparing it to the older days of the show.

And yes, there are times when a player perhaps does deserve to be criticised for dealing too early - but nowadays, when they seem to all be criticised in the same manner, it gets boring and I long for the days of the "for you" comment.

its gone to[or is heading for]the big TV trash can. And rightfully so.

because Noel has ruined it.

just like he was infact the one that ruined blobby, not bl0bby himself, and then that man getting killed in his show....i wonder how this show will come to its inevitable end? With noel finally saying "you did mthe right deal at the right time for you"??

Noel's job is to make a dramatic television programme, not to be all nicey nicey to the contestants. Is it heading to the big trash can? I don't see any evidence of that.

His job may not be to be all "nicey nicey" to the contestants - but at the same time, is it his place to clearly make them feel guilty and even upset them if they deal too soon? I can see why they are doing it - for added drama like you say, but is added drama really what is needed in a gameshow at 4:15pm in the afternoon? The show worked fine for many months without the need for any drama to be added into it - if I wanted to see such drama, then I'd watch something else - I don't see why DOND couldn't have remained a fairly unassuming show like it used to be - but then again, it is Endemol who is producing it, and the show has probably been a victim of its own success.

Just when you think it can't get any worse, it does! Noel even apologising to the viewers for Steven's early deal yesterday and suggesting that viewers were throwing things at the TV is outrageous! Steven won a healthy sum of money, £27,500 far above the average contestant win, and while he could have won about £50,000 - £66,000 there are numerous examples of contestants who have squandered a lot more than that, and plenty of examples of contestants that have ended up winning peanuts amounts when they could have won tens of thousands of pounds because they showed "courage". Third round deals don't spoil the entertainment for me at all, it makes it interesting to see if the proveout validates their decision, although as the proveout is pure luck it shouldn't even be the yardstick upon which to validate a contestant's decision, imo it should be based upon whether the offer was good for the board at the time or even whether it was the target amount for the player. Let's see the nicer Noel again please!

*Any* form of entertainment needs drama.

I watched Sarah's classic game today (first time I'd seen it, what a legend) and she said that she dealt at the right time for her, and not for the game.

yeah, umm its just a game