The Cube is a British television game show that aired on ITV from 22 August 2009 to 23 December 2021. It was hosted by Phillip Schofield.
The original series offered contestants the chance to win a top prize of £250,000 by completing challenges from within a 4m × 4m × 4m perspex cube. It was based on the idea that even straightforward tasks become extremely challenging when confined and put under pressure inside a small, enclosed area whilst surrounded by a live studio audience. Once inside, contestants could feel both claustrophobic and disoriented, affecting their concentration and abilities.
Using "state-of-the-art filming techniques", the show aims to demonstrate the intense anxiety which contestants undergo as they progress through each task. The challenges involve physical and mental tasks including catching, throwing, estimation, reacting, memorisation, and balancing. Colin McFarlane provides the disembodied voice of The Cube, who explains the rules of the games.
The show ran from 2009 to 2015, before returning as The Million Pound Cube in 2020, and again under its original title in 2021.
Format
Original series (2009–15) The game is played by a single contestant within a transparent Perspex cube that measures 4 metres along each edge. The goal is to complete a series of seven games, each of which awards an increasing amount of prize money, before failing a total of nine times. Games are preselected for each individual contestant before the show to test their mental and physical faculties in various ways. A typical episode consists of two contestants' games; depending on how successful the contestants are and on editing, a contestant's game may split across two episodes.
The contestant begins with nine lives and loses one for every unsuccessful attempt at a game. The contestant must repeat the game until they either complete it or run out of lives; in the latter case, the game ends and all money is forfeited. When a contestant succeeds, they are shown a preview of the next game and can decide to either stop playing and keep their winnings or continue and risk the money. During a preview, the game is named and described by a male computer voice (provided by McFarlane) and demonstrated by "The Body," a woman dressed in a full-body jumpsuit and featureless metal mask. In the original series, McFarlane described the Body as "an expert in all games played within the Cube"; her real name is never stated on camera or listed in the credits.
Schofield occasionally comments on the difficulty that past contestants have had with a game and notes the average number of lives lost while playing it, in order to help the contestant decide whether to continue or stop. Friends and family members in the audience may offer advice on decision-making and techniques for playing the games. Certain games have specific restrictions added to increase their difficulty, such as a time limit or allowing the use of only one hand. If the contestant violates any such restriction, they immediately lose a life.
The contestant is given two forms of assistance, each of which may be used once. "Simplify" reduces the difficulty of a game, and may be used after any unsuccessful attempt. The exact nature of the change, such as by allowing more time or increasing the size of a target zone, is not revealed until the contestant chooses to use Simplify. The change remains in effect until the contestant either completes that game or runs out of lives. "Trial Run" allows the contestant to make one practice attempt at a game with no lives or money at stake, then decide if they want to play or stop. This assistance becomes available after they complete the first game, and can only be used upon the introduction of a new one.
The seventh and final game is worth a jackpot of £250,000; contestants who complete this game are said to have "beaten the Cube". It is a more difficult version of one of the six games a contestant previously played. In the original format, seven contestants have reached this level, with six choosing to stop and keep their winnings of £100,000. The seventh is runner Mo Farah, who successfully completed the final game on an episode of a 2012 celebrity series in which British gold medallist athletes competed for charity.
On 25 October 2020, model Andrianna Christofi was revealed as the portrayer of the Body during the original run of the programme.
Revival (2020–21) On 15 June 2020, after five years off the air, it was reported that The Cube would return with the jackpot being significantly increased. A month later, the return was confirmed, with the jackpot being raised to £1,000,000 and Phillip Schofield returning as host.