Opportunity Knocks? Trust, technology and television

The broadcast talent contest Opportunity Knocks began on the radio in 1949, and made its television debut on the fledgling ITV network in 1956.

The format was simple: variety acts of all kinds would perform in front of a live studio audience, and a public vote would decide which of the episode’s acts would move forward into the final.

Presenter Hughie Green gave viewers the address for them to post in their votes—it was some years before telephone voting would become the norm. That meant viewers at home had to wait until the next episode to discover if they had wasted a postcard or not.

To give a bit of excitement and visual flair during the broadcast, the producers introduced a nifty bit of technology called the ‘clapometer’. The clapometer measured the strength of the applause in the studio, which viewers would see on a moving dial on the screen.

Cynics might assume that the clapometer was rigged. If the producers had a favourite performer, they could sway the public vote by suggesting the audience reaction was more favourable. However, in our collection we have the actual kit called ‘Hughie Green’s Clapometer’. It’s a hinged wooden box containing valves, dials and wires, with a sticker on the front identifying it as an ‘Audience Reaction Indicator’.

We can’t tell for sure how accurate it was—or if it actually worked—but if it is a glorified prop, it’s very convincing.

Science Museum Group Collection

One of the most recognisable objects on display in the Science Museum in London is Guinevere, the 1990s National Lottery random ball dispenser. It was donated by Camelot Group, who still hold the franchise for the National Lottery in the UK.

Science Museum Group Collection/Camelot Group PLC/National Lottery Commission

The first National Lottery live television draw was aired on BBC One on 19 November 1994, sandwiched between Bruce Forsyth’s The Generation Game and the long-running medical drama Casualty. National Lottery players bought and registered their tickets at shops, garages and post offices—it was some years later that scratch cards were introduced.

Hosted by Noel Edmonds, the hour-long programme included a contest to decide which audience member would ‘release those big money balls’. Guinevere was not the machine used in the first National Lottery draw—that was an identical machine named Merlin.

The first broadcast included footage of diligent Lottery workers at their headquarters. It was obvious that instilling public trust was paramount, so every part of Guinevere that the balls travelled through was clear plastic. Even the set of balls used was determined by an audience member picking an envelope.

The draw master (wearing white gloves) started the machine, before handing the attached controller to the audience member to start the balls rolling. The balls themselves were lined up in clear plastic chutes, and at the press of a button they were released into the central drum. Every few seconds a ball would drop out of the bottom of the machine and roll into a line for the presenter to read out. The dispensers used in the live television draws were remarkably robust, with very few incidents of malfunctions on air.

Science Museum Group Collection/Camelot Group PLC/National Lottery Commission

These objects from behind the scenes of television production and viewing tell us a lot about the importance of trust in entertainment. High-stakes programming like the National Lottery draw depends on viewers believing the process is fair. And with public service broadcasting dependent on licence fee income, the TV Licensing Authority still uses a variety of tactics to deter watching without a licence.

Would we be convinced by Hughie Green’s clapometer today? The rise of technology like telephone and text voting, as well as the development of reality TV formats, has had an impact on how we watch. But trust is still central, and accusations of cheating or foul play can still sink a contestant’s popularity or tarnish a show’s reputation.