great show today!! Well done Ann!

A brutal day for rampant greed on television game shows; £35,000 earned through recklessness on Channel 4 (well, £10,000 really - a sensible player would've got £25,000 today, or maybe £14,500) and £77,000 won on the Prisoners' Dilemma on ITV1.

We're supposed to be in a recession!

Still, that's the type of game that people do remember, like it or not (and I'm one who doesn't) - I'm very glad it came while a statman was on the wings too as that should prevent a Wakeyistic spiral for the rest of the week, because there'll always be someone providing a well-informed reality check.

I think we all know why you saved to the end too, Clare!

ooh!!! why do u think???!!!

10 reds (including 5 power 5 amounts) and 3 blues up to today's show - not that previous box amounts have any relevance to what is in your box on any future day.

hahaha 100k twice and 35k twice and 75k so far. but i did have the 1p twice!! as u can imagine tho, after steves game i was scared to open my box!!!

im sorry, i made a mistake in the above message, the 1p once it should have read xx

Yep. This site's sister site is very good for keeping a track of people's box amounts. For example

http://ilovedealornodeal.co.uk/contesta ... re-Louise/

oh yea, ive seen that, its good isnt it? - its a bit of a red list isnt it??!!!

Yep. You're safe until Noel starts remarking about all the high numbers you've had though.

How great would that be???!!!

Yes... I think harmless (you decide...) fun is the way to describe today's game - great entertainment and a bold determined attitude by Ann, who seemed unstoppable and undeterred by setbacks along the way in the pursuit of the big money. I don't think any advice from the wings of a probability sense would have been considered, because Ann had pretty much made up her mind from the outset she was going to the end.

And that's perfectly fine, of course... as a one-off. Don't get me wrong, I want the big wins as much as anyone, but I also want some vaguely good board/ offer reading along the way. That's where the skill and interest in the game really lies (in my opinion), in manipulating the banker to give you higher offers. But then having extracted decent offers, she promptly decided to toss a coin at the end. Ok, it may have been quite exciting, but only in a 'roulette-wheel' sense and not in any 'gameplay' sense.

I'm just saying it sets a dangerous precedent for future games if the entire premise of the game is going to be abandoned in the face of the green-eyed monster. (Although hopefully it won't be, as there's a statsman in the wings...)

StatsMan has nailed it. This game's drama never came from the offers, only the boxes... you may as well just have had Noel say 'Ann, you are NOT going away with... this much'.

This game was nothing more than a big reveal interspersed with occasional efforts to maintain the original game. That's categorically not harmless fun in my book, certainly not when Noel advocates it... and even he knew it today (someone's told him there's a recession on?).

I totally agree with StatsMan - Daniel being on the wings now could be nothing short of the saviour of the show, certainly in the short run.

I must admit i did find Ann's attitude a little reckless to put it mildly, and she turned down some perfectly sound offers to get to two box.

However it worked out for her on this occasion and while i don't necessarily applaud the way she got there i will say congratulations on winning £35,000

I enjoyed Ann's game today. It's nice to have a game like that once in a while. I liked her positive attitude. I'd have played her game a little more cautiously, especially since her offers were pretty generous. Anyway, well done to her on the £35k.

You hate all power 5 wins don't you KP? Either they're forced by the banker offering low or they're reckless when they no-deal good offers! They can't win!

Today's offers I thought were good but not all obvious deals (they were nothing like Jan 07 generosity!) - unlike Steve's game I wouldn't have minded TOO much if Ann had won a blue, as I prefer them to be by taking risks....but very happy for her she got 35k, even though she seemed a bit too detached from reality really. She seemed so sure she had a big number in her box it could have all ended it tears if she'd had a blue (think Matty and Angela from last spring!!) , but luckily not.

I'm more pleased for the waiting contestants, many of whom i really like. I had an awful feeling Steve's game would trigger a period of over-caution (as people couldn;t have thought they could leave it a one-box game by 5-box due to forcing offers). But a power 5 win today will pick them up again. Kudos to the production team for picking a bold player today then!

Sorry, KP, but I can't agree with this. Ann's attitude seemed to be to go along there and throw caution to the wind, so she could experience all of the ups and downs the game would provide her. Despite her slightly conservative appearance, she was there for the thrill of the ride! Despite that though, the generous offers did genuinely test her, and I found it fascinating (and exciting!) seeing how she coped with her conflicting desires -- on the one hand to be sensible and take the money, and on the other to experience the thrill of throwing responsibility to one side for once in her life and simply enjoying the rollercoaster ride some more!

KP, was it you that previously said that the only bad decision is an ill-informed one? Well, I think that Ann's decisions were very well-informed and well-considered, and were clearly the right ones for her. You could tell that by the way she and her husband smiled contentedly at each other as she turned down the final £12k offer. The fact that luck was on her side and she went away with the higher amount was merely the icing on the cake.

Personally, I found that far more exciting to watch than a big win caused by being forced to the end with low offers.

Yes, I really liked her husband for just supporting whatever she wanted to do - unlike some spouses, mostly wives) who i can think of!

Interesting response.

It feels to me as though Ann had no intent of considering the offers. But if she had a basicasic-esque 'I came with nothing and the game is just something I'll enjoy' approach, fair enough.

Just don't expect me to sympathise with that. Or, for that matter, the millions of recession-hit viewers.

Morris taking £101,000 would have been one I'd have really enjoyed - in fact I'd have been quite happy with that ending with £250k!

I enjoy big wins, but a lot of the really big ones leave me with a bad taste in my mouth. I'm probably just too uncomfortable, on some fundamental level, with the show's focus on gambling (especially the way it's been increasingly emphasised over the show's lifespan - witness the changes in emphasis from 'timing' to 'courage', the guilt trips, et multiple cetera. Some of them may have improved, but I gave up on the televised edit long before then!).

Power5 told me once by PM that I must find the show uncomfortable to watch because I'm 'clearly anti-gambling'. He's probably got a better point than I ever knew!