Blankety Blank

- Season 16

(2001)

Lily Savage returns with Blankety Blank after a 17-month absence from the screen - yet this time, it's with ITV. Lily welcomes five celebrities new to the quiz to usher in the change, with only Keith Duffy having appeared before.

Lily welcomes four celebrities brand new to the panel: Jayne Middlemiss, Billy Murray, Steve Penk and Stuart Miles. Among the contestants is Tom Roberts, a man who took part in the D-Day landings.

It seems as if Lily's finally starting to get the show's "gentle innuendo" format, noting that questions give the temptation to say "something rude". However, it's not long before she's telling the teatime audience of her inauspicious past

Lily deals with one contestant who lives in cemeteries, and another who got married in secret without letting her family know. Meanwhile, Sherrie Hewson decides she doesn't understand the programme, and declares she shouldn't be on it.

Lily introduces another edition of the quiz show, in which contestants include a jelly wrestler, and a girl who can fit her entire fist in her mouth.

Lily offers a star prize of a week's holiday in Sri Lanka, but can celebrity panellists including Leslie Grantham and Adele Silva help the contestants to win it?

Lily is in a particularly jaded mood as a game threatens to "take all night", and many of the quiz elements are revealed as ones she hates.

Dermot O'Leary makes his sole Blankety Blank appearance on a show full of pretend people: there's the stylised comic persona of Harry Hill, fictitious glamour model Gayle Tuesday, and, of course, the show is presented by Lily herself.

Kevin Woodford and Nadia Sawalha make their second appearances as panellists on the show, and are joined by four guests new to the programme - including Nadia's sister, Julia.

Chaos reigns when Liz Dawn and Donald Sinden can't understand the questions, and Bradley Walsh becomes obsessed with Lily's short skirt.

Lily introduces more contestants and celebrity panellists to the quiz, including the sole appearances of Troy Titus-Adams and David Easter.

Sherrie Hewson is having a nightmare with her answers, while Lily admits she's "not in the mood". However, elderly contestant George is on hand to make Lily laugh against her will.

Contestant Chris Keeble is in luck when he reveals one of his ambitions is to meet Gail Porter - Gail makes her sole appearance on the panel this week. Also making his only guest spot on the show is Sid Owen.

Giggly contestants and an emboldened panel help provide the fun in this edition of the show.

Junior Simpson, Kerry Katona, George Layton and Debra Stephenson all make their sole appearances on the panel. Louise Jameson, who had appeared twice in the Les Dawson era, also makes her only guest spot on Lily's version.

Lily has laughs with some lively contestants, including a girl who claims to be a relative of Mary Tyler Moore, and the elderly Nat Shine, who brings his own sense of fun to the show.

Making their sole appearances on the panel this episode are Fiona Dolman, Jane Cox and Derek Fowlds.

"Let's get this over with, we're not here to enjoy ourselves." So says Lily, introducing another edition of Blankety Blank, with a star prize of a trip to St. Lucia.

The penultimate episode of the series sees old hands in Roy Barraclough and June Whitfield joined by newcomers Sarah Cawood and Ed Bryne.

Lily sees out the series with some unruly contestants and the sole appearances of Michael Starke and Natasha Hamilton.