The Games

The Games is a British reality television series that ran on Channel 4 for four series, in which 10 celebrities competed against each other, by doing Olympic-style events, such as weight lifting, gymnastics and diving. At the end of the series, the contestants with the most points from each round were awarded either a gold, silver or bronze medal. The show was mainly filmed in Sheffield, at the Sheffield Arena, Don Valley Stadium and Ponds Forge. In later series, the English Institute of Sport – Sheffield, iceSheffield and in series 4 the National Watersports Centre in Nottingham were used for the first time. The Games was presented by Jamie Theakston for the entirety of its run, with track-side reports from Jayne Middlemiss in series 1–3 and Kirsty Gallacher in series 4. The Games also had an after-show called The Games: Live at Trackside, aired on Channel 4's sister channel E4. The first series was presented by Dougie Anderson, whilst the second was hosted by Gamezville presenters Darren Malcolm and Jamie Atiko. Justin Lee Collins and Caroline Flack took over as presenters for the third and fourth series. For the final series an extra one-hour show was added on E4 in the afternoon called The Games: Live at the Heats, and the evening show changed title to become The Games: Inside Track.

Directed by —, The Games leans on a strong ensemble — Josie D'Arby, Chesney Hawkes, Craig Charles — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The series landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about reality titles of 2003.