Editing Round Britain Quiz

{{Short description|British BBC Radio 4 panel game (since 1947)}}
{{italic title}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2019}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2019}}
{{Infobox radio show
| name          = Round Britain Quiz
| image         = 
| image_size    = 
| alt           = 
| caption       = 
| other_names   = RBQ
| format        = {{ubl|[[Panel show]]|General knowledge quiz}}
| runtime       = 30 mins
| country       = United Kingdom
| language      = English
| home_station  = [[BBC Radio 4]]
| presenter     = [[Kirsty Lang]] {{small|(2022{{endash}} )}}
| creator       = 
| writer        = 
| producer      = Paul Bajoria
| rec_location  = 
| rem_location  = 
| oth_location  = 
| first_aired   = {{Start date|1947|11|02|df=y}}
| last_aired    = <!-- {{End date|YYYY|MM|DD}} -->
| num_series    = 
| num_episodes  = 
| audio_format  = 
| opentheme     = ''Tangled'' by Philip Guyler
| website       = {{Official URL}}
| podcast       = {{URL|https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02nrw21/episodes/downloads}}
}}

'''''Round Britain Quiz''''' ('''''RBQ''''') is a [[panel game]] that has been broadcast on [[BBC Radio]] since 1947, making it the oldest quiz still broadcast on British radio. It was based on a format called ''Transatlantic Quiz'', a contest between American and British teams on which [[Alistair Cooke]] was an early participant.

The format of the quiz is that teams from various regions around the United Kingdom play in a tournament of head-to-head battles. In a half-hour programme, each team is given four multi-part cryptic questions, each worth up to six points, to be awarded on the host's judgement. The parts of the question are generally centred on a common theme, and a degree of lateral thinking is necessary to score full marks.

One question for each team has a music or sound component, and at least one other is submitted by listeners. Points are awarded to each team by the host. Team members may ask questions, to narrow the field; but the more they ask, or the more clues the host supplies to assist them, the fewer marks the team will score.

Until 1995, there was a "resident London team" which was challenged by teams from other parts of the UK (and sometimes Ireland). There were two hosts, one with each team.  In the 1950s, the hosts were [[Gilbert Harding]] and [[Lionel Hale]]. Later hosts, in various combinations, included [[Roy Plomley]], [[Jack Longland]], [[Anthony Quinton, Baron Quinton|Anthony Quinton]], Louis Allen, and [[Gordon Clough]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Round Britain Quiz |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/comedy/rbq_about.shtml |access-date=2024-05-24 |website=[[BBC Radio 4]] |publisher=[[BBC]]}}</ref>

The programme was formally taken out of production after the death of Gordon Clough in 1996, but was revived a year later with a single chairman and a new format of six teams playing four matches each. From 1997 it was hosted by broadcaster [[Nick Clarke]] until his death in 2006. He was succeeded at the start of the 2007 series by [[Tom Sutcliffe (broadcaster)|Tom Sutcliffe]]. [[Kirsty Lang]] took over hosting in March 2022.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Kirsty Lang to host Radio 4's Round Britain Quiz |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/2022/kirsty-lang-host-radio-4-round-britain-quiz |access-date=2024-08-25 |website=BBC Media Centre |publisher=[[BBC]]}}</ref>

Regional contestants have included [[Irene Thomas]], [[John Julius Norwich]], [[Fred Housego]], [[Polly Devlin]], [[Brian J. Ford]], [[Antonia Fraser]], [[Patrick Hannan (presenter)|Patrick Hannan]], [[Patrick Nuttgens]] and [[Philippa Gregory]]. Current contestants include [[Marcus Berkmann]], [[Cariad Lloyd]], [[Jenny Ryan]], [[Stuart Maconie]], [[Val McDermid]], [[Paul Sinha]], Stephen Maddock and Frankie Fanko.

The original theme tune was ''Radioscopie'' by [[Georges Delerue]] and then, until the end of the 2023 series, ''Scherzo and Trio'' performed by the [[Penguin Cafe Orchestra]]. For the 2024 series the theme tune is the [[Production music|library music]] track "Tangled" by Philip Guyler. <ref>{{cite web|url = https://www.audionetwork.com/browse/m/track/tangled_122585|title = Tangled – 'sprightly piano & cello melody with a pulsing rhythm & homemade percussion'|publisher = Audio Networks |accessdate =24 March 2024}}</ref>

Puzzles like those in ''Round Britain Quiz'' (a series of cryptic clues linked by a common theme) have appeared in written form in publications such as ''[[BBC MindGames Magazine]]''.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
*{{BBC programme}}
*[http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/comedy/rbq_about.shtml Brief history]
*[http://www.ukgameshows.com/ukgs/Round_Britain_Quiz UK Game Shows - Round Britain Quiz]

{{BBC Radio 4}}

[[Category:1947 radio programme debuts]]
[[Category:BBC Radio 4 programmes]]
[[Category:British radio game shows]]
[[Category:1940s British game shows]]
[[Category:1950s British game shows]]
[[Category:1960s British game shows]]
[[Category:1970s British game shows]]
[[Category:1980s British game shows]]
[[Category:1990s British game shows]]
[[Category:2000s British game shows]]
[[Category:2010s British game shows]]
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[[Category:1940s British radio programmes]]
[[Category:1950s British radio programmes]]
[[Category:1960s British radio programmes]]
[[Category:1970s British radio programmes]]
[[Category:1980s British radio programmes]]
[[Category:1990s British radio programmes]]
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[[Category:2010s British radio programmes]]
[[Category:2020s British radio programmes]]