The Golden Shot The Golden Shot was a British television game show produced by ATV between 1967 and 1975 , based on the German TV show Der goldene Schuss . The show involved a crossbow attached to a television camera , guided ( `` Up , up , up , left a bit , down a bit , left a bit , FIRE ! `` ) by a member of the public ( sometimes remotely , by telephone ) , shooting a bolt at an exploding target embedded in an apple positioned on a topical backdrop . Contestants who successfully negotiated seven ( later four ) rounds of targets won a reasonable prize , those who missed got a negligible prize . In his autobiography , host Bob Monkhouse recounted the story of a person who competed on the show from a telephone kiosk while watching a television in a rental shop over the road . The show 's catchphrase became `` Bernie , the bolt ! `` — the instruction from the host to the armourer that the crossbow bolt should be loaded . Co-presenter Anne Aston — later replaced by Wei Wei Wong — was on hand to read out the scores achieved by the contestants . The show 's first host was Canadian singer and record producer Jackie Rae , who unfortunately proved unsuited for the format . Bob Monkhouse was a guest star on the tenth programme to be transmitted , and took over as host from programme fifteen . The Monkhouse era is regarded as the show 's golden age — by programme 26 the viewing figures were up by 50% . In 1968 Michael Grade remarked to his uncle , Lord Lew Grade , ATV 's chairman , that the cinemas were full on Sunday afternoons because there was nothing to watch on television . The Golden Shot was promptly moved to the 4.40 p.m. slot on Sunday , coinciding with a move of the production from ATV 's Borehamwood studios near London , to Aston in Birmingham . Audience levels peaked at 16 million . The studio facilities in Birmingham were rather run-down and unreliable as they dated from the start of ATV 's franchise in 1956 , and they were not well suited to a fast-moving live show like The Golden Shot , and technical failures were common , but Monkhouse was well able to cover for them through his quick-witted humour . From 1970 the show moved to the new ATV Centre in Birmingham . In 1972 Monkhouse was spotted accepting a gift from Wilkinson Sword representative Bob Brooksby . The following week a Wilkinson Sword `` his and hers '' grooming kit was the bronze prize on the show . ATV 's Production Controller Francis Essex smelt collusion and fired Monkhouse , although publicly it was announced that he `` was being released to find opportunities for his abilities elsewhere '' . In fact the gift was a collectible book , The Shy Photographer and there was no collusion ; however , the full story was not made public until Monkhouse 's autobiography Crying With Laughter was published in 1993 . The next host was comedian and entertainer Norman Vaughan who , on paper , was an ideal host for the show . For some reason , however , the pressure of the live show seemed to overwhelm him , and he was never as confident a host as Monkhouse . Audience figures began to drop and in late 1973 he was replaced by comedian ( and former footballer ) Charlie Williams . Williams , of Jamaican ancestry , was rather a novelty on British TV at the time , being a black man with a broad Yorkshire accent . Unfortunately , although he had a bubbly personality , he proved unsuited for the pressure of a live TV show where things frequently went wrong . After six months , Williams was also replaced . On 20 March 1974 Francis Essex met with Bob Monkhouse to invite him back onto the show . Monkhouse had no hesitation in accepting the offer , though his agent negotiated that he would only return if ATV took up an option on the American game show Hollywood Squares . This was agreed , and Monkhouse returned as host of the new season of The Golden Shot on 14 July 1974 . Very soon it was obvious that the show was back at its peak , however the last edition of the show was transmitted on 16 March 1975 — ATV felt that the show had had a long successful run , and it was retiring various old shows to make way for new ones , including Celebrity Squares as their version of Hollywood Squares was known , which was to be hosted by Monkhouse . On 1 October 2005 , as part of their Gameshow Marathon , celebrating 50 years of the ITV network , Ant and Dec hosted a one-off revival of The Golden Shot . External links Uk Gameshows Page : The Golden Shot Categories : ITV television programmes | British game shows | Gameshow Marathon 