The Challenges on 'Takeshi's Castle' Quiz

Answer: Bridge Ball

In the challenge, the contestant had to catch a golden ball and run/walk/crawl across the bridge without getting knocked off. There was a large net underneath the bridge to catch any falling contestants. Very few made it across the bridge. Many contestants took shots to the mid-section and face in a very funny game.

Craid Charles often referred to it as the 'bridge over the river why!' (As in, why on earth would they do it?')

Answer: Contestants had to run at one of four possible doors in a wall, not knowing whether it is boarded up or not.

Some contestants ran quite fast at the doors, and bounced straight off the boarded up doors, in what was a very funny challenge to watch. The game usually consisted of four sets of four door choices, with some boarded up, and some with just paper covering them.

A variation of the game also existed with eight sets of doors and usually involved many contestants at the same time, with the slowest to complete the course (and usually a less taxing challenge afterwards) getting eliminated.

Answer: Contestants had to cling onto a spinning giant mushroom and land on a platform.

There was one hand hold on the giant mushroom in the game. Ladies were given a rope to aid grip. Many contestants ended up losing their grip and falling into the water below in the game. The mushroom itself was a large metallic structure that spun contestants around and around across a water structure to a platform.

Answer: Crashing head first into other contestants.

The contestants wore roller skates that acted as the front legs of the horse frame. There were also wheels on the horse frame's rear legs to make skating difficult. Only the first few across the line made it through to the next challenge. Usually, a 'Roller Derby' had six contestants in each race. Also, the contestants had obstacles (such as a line of bricks) to get over. Lots of contestants fell over in this challenge, which was funny!

Answer: Velcro Fly

In the Velcro Fly challenge, contestants wore a costume with velcro on the front and tried to land on a velcro wall by distributing their weight with the costume and the velcro on the wall. Many contestants failed and ended up in the 'drink' (as Craig Charles referred to it) or water below. To add insult to injury, a man dressed in a spider costume (usually referred to as 'Animal' by Craig) sprayed more water on the unlucky loser with a hose.

Answer: Honeycomb Maze

The Honeycomb Maze usually had two or three guards patrolling in and out of honeycomb structures trying to prevent the contestants from finding a route to the only exit. Some doors in the maze led to small water structures. If the contestant was caught by the guards, they were either thrown into the water or had their face covered in a black substance. A 'Square Maze' challenge was also used on 'Takeshi's Castle', which was similar to the Honeycomb Maze, only, well, square!

Craig Charles often referred to the guards as 'black hearted, black handed' in his commentary.

Answer: Sumo Rings

The colour of the ball determined which character that the contestant would face in a 'sumo' match in a ring. The characters ranged from a guy that looked like a sumo wrestler to a little scrawny fellow to a big westerner referred to as 'Animal' and someone dressed in a potato costume (referred to as 'Mr Spud' by Craig Charles). If the contestant won the match-up, they went on to the next challenge.

Answer: A pole

'On to the surfboard, over the whale, onto the ledge, on to the surfboard, over the whale and on to the platform', was how Craig Charles described successfully completing the challenge. The surfboard was on a motorized spinning arm that took the contestant around on the challenge.

Many contestants fell off the surfboard while trying to get on it the first time in the game. If a contestant fell off, they landed in water below them.

Answer: true

The high rollers usually involved seven spinning logs above a water structure. Many contestants seemed to contort their bodies in strange, painful looking shapes before falling into the water. Sometimes, the contestants legs appeared to take on a cartoon-like running on the spot motion before succumbing to the laws of gravity! Other incarnations of the challenge involved less spinning drums/logs.

Answer: Skipping Stones

Craig Charles often referred to 'Skipping Stones' as the ultimate 'Shin Shredder' on the programme. Some of the stones were in a fixed position and some moved, which made the game very difficult. It is most likely that the stones were not made of stone as many contestants landed head or ribs first on to some of the stones when falling.

As Craig Charles said, 'New ribs please!'