You are the Weakest Link

I love watching quiz and game shows, especially ones where I might know some of the answers. I'm a fan of Deal or No Deal not because I think Noel Edmonds is dishy, but because I imagine that if I was on the show I'd be as good a contestant as anyone on there.

I was watching the Weakest Link last night, knowing a few answers here and there when all of a sudden, up came a question I definitely knew the answer to:

"In the UK the charity established in 1988 that runs a free phone number for people to report unlawful acts anonymously is crime..."

And guess what the contestant answered? Crimewatch! Wrong answer - Crimestoppers is obviously the correct answer!

While I was excited that the profile of Crimestoppers is high enough for it to be appearing on the Weakest Link, I was disappointed that once again the charity has been confused with the BBC1 TV programme, Crimewatch. (I've had a previous rant about Crimewatch that you might recall).

Please keep spreading the word that Crimestoppers is different to Crimewatch and hopefully next time someone is asked about us on a quiz show they'll get it right. If you want to check out the Crimestoppers question on the Weakest Link, you can watch it on BBC iPlayer. The question is 11 minutes 20 seconds into the episode.

Myth busters: Crimestoppers isn't Crimewatch

When I tell people I blog for Crimestoppers, some of the most common conversations that follow are along the lines of...

"Do you ever get to appear on TV?"
"Huh?"
"You know, on TV - have you ever been on it?"
"No... Well, I think as a child I used to climb on our black and white one from time to time... But I haven't been on it in a Barbara Windsor kind of way. Why?"
"I just thought you might have; blogging for the TV show Crimestoppers and all."
"Well, blogging tends to be more of an Internet thing and Crimestoppers isn't a TV show, it's an independent charity."
"But Crimestoppers is a TV show too, right? I've seen it on BBC1 before."
"No, that's Crimewatch. Crimestoppers is completely separate from Crimewatch. We run the 0800 555 111 number through which people can anonymous pass on information about crime. Crimewatch is a TV show that shows reconstructions of unsolved crimes."
"Oh.. so I don't suppose you know Kirsty Young then?"
"Well no, she's the host of Crimewatch."

While I am a big fan of Crimewatch, it does frustrate me when people confuse it with Crimestoppers. We perform important but very different functions. As a result of information passed to Crimestoppers, 19 people are arrested and charged everyday and every four days someone is arrested for murder.

Next time you’re watching Crimewatch (it’s on this Thursday 12 November), mention to anyone you’re with that it is separate from Crimestoppers and hopefully the word will start to spread.