Format
Two family teams, each with five members, would be asked to guess the results of surveys, in which 100 people would be asked open ended questions (e.g. "we asked 100 people to name something associated with the country Wales" or "we asked 100 people to name a breed of dog"). Although rarely acknowledged in the show, the 100 people surveyed would invariably be audience members who had volunteered prior to the show.
Each round begins with a member of each team (in rotation, meaning all players did this at least once) approaching the podium. As the question was read, the first of the two nominees to hit a buzzer gives an answer. If this is not the top answer, the other nominee is asked. The team with the higher answer then chooses whether to "play" the question, or "pass" control to the other team (in reality, the teams rarely chose to pass).
The host then passes down the line of the controlling team, asking for an answer from each. After each answer, the board reveals whether this answer featured. If not, a "life" is lost. If a family managed to come up with all the answers given by the "100 people surveyed" (most commonly six in the early part of the show, reduced in number after the commercial break), they win the pounds equivalent of the total number of people who had given the answers. Every time someone gave an answer that was not on the board, the family lose a life, accompanied by a large "X" on the board with the infamous "uh-uhh" sound. If they lost all three lives, the other family was given the chance to "steal" by coming up with an answer that may be among the missing answers. If this answer was present, the other family won the round and was said to have "stolen" the money; if not, the family who had given the three incorrect answers win however much money their other answers had accumulated.
Read more about this topic: Family Fortunes