8 Out of 10 Cats
This page is about 8 Out of 10 Cats. No, not the 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown spin off (that’s here) – the original show.
It ran from 2005 to 2021, with 204 episodes across 21 series (plus 24 best bits compilations). I use the past tense, for the show, because, at the moment, it’s been a few years and no sign of it being picked back up (and very unlikely to).
There’s a story – here – detailing the announcement of the show’s launch and it includes pap shots of Jimmy and Frankie Boyle, on the day of S1 Ep10 recording (just for a little trivia).
Format
This show has 2 teams of 3 comedians and/or TV stars or (sometimes) just people from Big Brother. In the first decade (while the show was on C4) it was based around topical news and so had to be filmed the day before broadcast. The S19 was where the format changed – see below.
I’ll list the round names – but, if you haven’t seen it before, you’ll get a better idea of how great it is if you scoot down this post, to the link to Jimmy’s YouTube channel.
- What are you talking about?
- Pick of the polls
- Believe it or not
- The poll with a hole
- And the winner is…
What Does “8 Out of 10 Cats” Mean?
The show was made by Zeppotron and the “8 out of 10 cats” title came from a Whiskas (cat food) advert in the UK – which said that “8 out of 10 cats prefer Whiskas”. As the show is all about polls and statistics the name does what it says on the tin.
Series 1-4 (2005-6)
Jimmy Carr is the host and the team captains are Sean Lock and Dave Spikey, throughout the 2005-6 shows.
S1 included a round called Face Off (see here).
A C4 DVD was released, in 2006, called Claws Out (here) which covered material from S1 and S2.
- More about series 1 / 2005 – here
- Series 2 / 2006 – here
- Series 3 / 2006 – here
- Series 4 / 2006 – here
Series 5-10 (2007-10)
Jimmy and Sean remain but Dave Spikey had left the show (travelling to London being tiring, cited as the reason) and was replaced by Jason Manford.
Jason was on the shows from 2007 to 2010 and I do wonder if Dave ever regretted this decision as, in 2019, he said in an interview that he was struggling to get back into TV (after he’d been in Phoenix Nights, with Peter Kay) and couldn’t get any of his ideas greenlit.
- Series 5 / 2007 – here
- Series 6 / 2008 – here
- Series 7 / 2008 – here
- Series 8 / 2009 – here
- Series 9 / 2010 – here
- Series 10 / 2010 – here
Series 11-18 (2011-14)
Jason had new TV opportunities (and tour commitments) and so he left and was replaced by Jon Richardson (from 2011 to 2014).
Jimmy is still the host and Sean the opposing captain.
- Series 11 / 2011 – here
- Series 12/ 2011 – here
- Series 13 / 2012 – here
- Series 14 / 2012 – here
- Series 15 / 2013 – here
- Series 16 / 2013 – here
- Series 17 / 2014 – here
- Series 18 / 2014 – here
2015 Specials
Before Sean and Jon left the show there were 2 new specials in 2015 (both on C4).
- Christmas Special on December 24th 2015
- New Year / End of Year Special on December 29th 2015
Series 19-20 (2016-17)
By now 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown (which launched 2012) is well established and Sean and Jon opt to only be on that show. Jimmy continues to host both and 8oo10c is now captained by Rob Beckett and Aisling Bea (2016-7).
For S19 it had moved from C4 to More4 and was no longer topical, freeing everyone up from having to film the day before broadcast. For S20 onwards it was then on E4, which is when it really started losing viewers.
Series 21 (2019)
Jimmy and Rob continue but 2019-20 sees a series of guest captains on the other desk (including Sara Pascoe, Kerry Godliman, Katherine Ryan, Tom Allen, Josh Widdicombe and Aisling Bea).
- Series 21 / 2019 – here
Series 22 (2020-21)
Jimmy is still there, through 2020-21, alongside Rob Beckett and Katherine Ryan. The last episode broadcast was a “best bits” special on 17th January 2021.
- Series 22 / 2020-21 – here
Writing
The show is partly scripted and Jimmy featured in the writing team of every series. British Comedy Guide has details.
Just to mention something that regularly gets argued about on forums – Frankie Boyle DID contribute some material (series 1-5) and also appeared in some early episodes. But he was only one of a team of writers, which included Jimmy and Charlie Brooker (amongst others).
Frankie also contributed material to Distraction UK (here) – but has never written tour material for Jimmy.
Appearances?
Curious about who made the most appearances on the show? Details are here.
YouTube / TV / Streaming
The show can easily be watched now on YouTube as Jimmy’s channel regularly posts full episodes. And for anyone who wants to watch on TV – various channels have picked it up. Amazon UK, the UK’s U, Britbox, Now TV, Comedy Central, and so on (as well as channels like SBS in Australia). And, of course, the repeats on C4 or one of its spin offs.
What didn’t help with the viewing figures (when the show was still going out live) was when it moved from C4. More4 / E4 just don’t get as many viewers.
Taxing
Perhaps the most famous episode was broadcast (in the UK) on 6th July 2012. Series 13 Episode 9 was the week that they were filming, right after Jimmy’s tax avoidance issues had hit the headlines.
Sean and Jon were accompanied by guests Micky Flanagan, Sarah Millican, Georgie Thompson and Louie Spence.
In later interviews Jimmy credited the show’s Producer with giving him great advice – don’t say anything, just take it.
You can see exactly how this panned out by watching the episode – here.
To see all blog posts relating to this show – click here
Alternatively use the Search box to find out which shows your favourite guest has featured in.