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I don't remember the floating purple orb.
Is it a game show?
My DA account... I draw stuff sometimes!
There was a UK children's gameshow from the early eighties called The Adventure Game which if I remember correctly at the end had contestants moving across a grid and trying not to be on the same square as a ball of light. A possibility?
No purple floating orb, but as well as The Adventure Game I can remember two further BBC children's shows which heavily featured puzzles that might fit the bill.
Wizbit hosted by a magician, the late Paul Daniels: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mm2yzVxKFhw
Jigsaw co-presented by the mime artist Adrian Hedley who wore a top hat as part of his costume, so might be mistaken for a magician. It had a red floating jigsaw piece rather than a purple orb though: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFKCuF9w6OM
I'm trying to find a TV show that featured puzzles throughout, hosted by some guy who looked like a magician, and with a floating purple orb that talked cryptically.