Trivia / Brainteaser

• Adored by the Network: Not by Channel 5, but by their production company Endemol. They even went as far as to pay for short 1-minute phone-in slots whenever the network was airing a movie on weekdays.
• Blooper: Being a show presented live, this isn't uncommon.
  • One example came from a 2004 episode. Before the two contestants can even play the game, one of the contestants forgets to turn off his mobile phone, and it ends up ringing to his embarrassment. Craig Stevens, the host that day, ends up having to answer it.
  Craig: But he's made of-
  Contestant: (Notices his phone is ringing) Oh my god, somebody's-
  Craig: Have you got a PHONE?!
  Contestant: Uh, I'm just on TV now, goodbye-
  Craig: Give it here! (Craig takes the phone away from the contestant)
  Contestant: Bloody Hell...
  Craig (sounding ticked off at being disrupted on live TV) - We're live right here on Five- (He answers the phone) Hello, who's that? Yeah, Donald's on a show right now trying to win money, call back. For goodness sake... if they knew (Contestant says "That's alright.") the right answer to our phone puzzle, we're in trouble.
• Broadcast Live: As Alex once said: "Anything can happen on Live TV!". More or less only broadcast for this reason due to the Phone-In games. Very rare for a basic game show.
• Cancellation: Axed on March 13, 2007 following the phone-in scandals.
• Completely Different Title: Brainteaser is only used for the United Kingdom version. In all other countries, the show has had different titles.
  • The original Dutch version went with the name Puzzeltijd ("Puzzle Time"), which is what the format's official name went with.
  • The Italian version kept the English format name, but aired as part of a short-lived morning block on La 7 called Call Game, an adapted version of the Dutch Call TV.
  • The European Portuguese version was called Quem Quer Ganha ("Who Wants to Win"). The name makes it sound similar to the Portuguese title for Who Wants to be A Millionaire? (Quem Quer ser Milionário?) which for a instance, was also produced by Endemol, abit under license.
  • The Polish version has a different name altogether, where it is called Tele Gra ("Telegame").
  • The Swedish version went with a somewhat altered name: Ordjakten ("Word Hunt").
• Just Here for Godzilla: A majority of people who watched the show only watched it for Alex Lovell, as it aired during her major popularity.
• Keep Circulating the Tapes: Having over 1200 episodes produced and the fact it was never re-run due to bad taste following the phone-in scandals, it is difficult to find episodes online.
• No Budget: From the tiny set to the basic and artificial gameplay, and much else. The only funding it got went towards the phone-in segments. Channel 5 didn't even control the slot the show aired in, with Endemol paying a minimum of £0.00 to even air it.
• Obscure Popularity: Even after its axing, the show still has a very tiny number of fans, but more than anyone else has forgotten this game show even existed. Most only remember it as being one of the main reasons for the 2007 phone-in scandal heading forward to begin with.
• Star-Derailing Role:
  • Alex Lovell somehow managed to avoid this, thanks to her long-run on BBC Points West from 2005-2023, and her current run on ITV News West Country from 2024 onwards.
  • Craig Stevens sorta avoided this as well but to a somewhat lesser degree. He’s appeared on many low-key shows and other interactive game shows, and has also become a film expert for Sky Cinema, hosting premieres for movies such as No Time to Die, as well as starring in an upcoming Netflix movie.
  • It is unknown what has happened to Rachael Pierman or Jonny Gould. There is another television personality with the same name as the latter who mostly does narration roles, but it's unknown if it's the same person.