Trapped! (TV series)
Trapped! is a British children's game show that was broadcast on the BBC from 28 September 2007 to 4 November 2010. It was repeated on CBBC until April 2014.
| Trapped! (2007 TV series) | |
|---|---|
 Trapped Titlecard | |
| Also known as | Trapped!: Ever After (2010) |
| Genre | Children's television show |
| Created by | Rob Hyde |
| Directed by | James Morgan |
| Presented by | Simon Greenall (The Caretaker) |
| Starring | Simon Greenall (The Caretaker) Eve Karpf (The Voice: 2007) Faith Brown (The Voice: 2008-2010) Olly Pike (Wiley Sneak) |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 4 |
| No. of episodes | 52 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 30 minutes per episode (approx.) |
| Release | |
| Original network | BBC One (28 September - 21 December 2007) CBBC Channel (10 July 2008 - 4 November 2010) |
| Picture format | 16:9 |
| Audio format | Stereo |
| Original release | 28 September 2007 – 4 November 2010 |
Plot
The show as a whole is set in a dark, six-floored fairy tale like tower which, from the opening titles, is situated on a small island in the middle of the sea. Every episode is introduced by the Caretaker, a person who only came there for a night's sleep prior to his imprisonment by a mysterious invisible female known as "The Voice" (performed by Eve Karpf and Faith Brown). To earn his freedom, the Caretaker (played by Simon Greenall) must trap as many children (or as referred to in the show as, "Unfortunates") as the Voice deems worthy in groups of six brought to the tower by another captive, "Wiley Sneak" (performed by Olly Pike) (who demonstrates how each floor's challenge is done while the Caretaker provides instructions) who are imprisoned at the top of the tower and must complete challenges together and against each other to move down each floor while gradually getting "trapped" supposedly within each floor of the tower for eternity, until one contestant is left standing and awarded with "the key of freedom" to escape from the tower and return home in the boat (which the Caretaker refers to as a bobbing craft.)
Format
Trapped! (2007-2009)
Six children (referred to as "Unfortunates" by the Caretaker and The Voice) begin at the top of "the tower" to complete one challenge per floor. They each wear a listening device known as a "Whisper Clip", and prior to every challenge, one Unfortunate is chosen through their Whisper Clip as the Saboteur. It is then that unfortunate's job to sabotage the challenge without being detected by the other contestants, along with guidance from The Voice.
After every challenge, if the team pass the challenge, the rest of the team minus the Saboteur move down one floor in the tower, with that child being eliminated and "Trapped" on that floor in the tower. If the team fail, however, every child votes for whoever they think was the Saboteur, and the one with the most votes is "trapped" instead. "Draw Straws" are used in the event of a tie, with whoever draws the shortest straw being the one trapped.
This repeats on a floor-by-floor basis until there are only two Unfortunates remaining. The last round is a timed, alternating memory based quiz, (known as "The Fight For Freedom",) consisting of a series of questions based on the events of the Unfortunates' time in the tower throughout the course of the episode. Whoever has the higher score wins the game, and "leaves" the tower, along with the Key Of Freedom.
Trapped!: Ever After (2010)
For 2010, changes were made to the format of the programme, particularly in areas of themes, the games and interaction with the Unfortunates. As well as introducing a brand new room for the Caretaker, recaps were made of previously trapped unfortunates on higher floors of the tower and the appearance of the Voice was revised. The final round was also changed - get one question correct and you take one step towards the Key of Freedom. Get one question wrong and your opponent takes a step towards the Key Of Freedom.
Music
The music is written by Dobs Vye, a composer who specialises in writing for television.
Voice Cast
- Simon Greenall as The Caretaker
- Eve Karpf as The Voice (Series 1 only)
- Faith Brown as The Voice (Series 2–4)
- Olly Pike as Wiley Sneak
- Helen Evans as Madame Deux Visage/Miss Mutternott/Ethel the Witch/The Crow Man
- Eloise Dale as The Midnight Bride and the Frozen Princess
- Sophie Louise Dann as The Evil Granny
- Jolana Lee as Split Ends
- Dusty Limits as The Marriage Man
- Djalenga Scott as Esmé and Scarlett
- Kiran Shah as The Grimble
- Peter Wardell as The One-Eyed Watcher and Boris the Organist
- Leisha Wickham as Millicent
- Brian Wheeler as the Baby Botherer
- Matthew Wren as the Moon Howler
Crew
- Director – James Morgan
- Producer and Creator – Rob Hyde
- Writers – Carl Carter and Tony Cooke
- Art Director – Catherine Land
- Set Design – Richard Drew
- Lighting Director – James Campbell
Online Video Game
In 2009, a multiplayer online game was released after the end of the third series. This game contained some of the challenges from the show, slightly edited to fit the format. Players must first select an Unfortunate to play as, then move on. They are either chosen to be a saboteur in secret, or just get shown a picture of a clock and an otherwise blank screen. The voice gives hints to the saboteur throughout each separate game as to how to ruin the challenge. If the team passes, then they vote, but the saboteur is trapped; and if they fail miserably, then whoever gets the most votes is trapped. In the event of a tie, then two spotlights flash over the drawing players until only one remains on. The player under the remaining spotlight is trapped in the tower forever. The cartoon-style characters used in the game parody the opening. As of 2019, the game is no longer available to play on the CBBC website.
Transmissions
| Series | Start date | End date | Episodes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 28 September 2007 | 21 December 2007 | 13 |
| 2 | 10 July 2008 | 2 October 2008 | 13 |
| 3 | 2 January 2009 | 27 March 2009 | 13 |
| 4 | 18 October 2010 | 4 November 2010 | 13 |
