Remembering Malcolm Heyworth

Last weekend, we found out that Malcolm Heyworth has passed away aged 83. Malcolm was the managing director at Chatsworth Television, a company which aside from giving us the Sunday treat that was Bullseye, provided us with 3 large scale game shows that for many growing up in the 80s and 90s were lynchpins of our viewing: Treasure Hunt, Interceptor and The Crystal Maze.

 Malcolm bought the now long running Fort Boyard format at MIPCOM in April 1989, the annual TV industry trade show where worldwide producers shop their formats to international broadcasters. After the success Heyworth had with Treasure Hunt, Channel 4 agreed to fund a pilot episode of Fort Boyard shot at Elstree studios. After they realised they'd have to make changes to the format to suit a UK audience (different market, different tastes, different viewing needs), changes that would affect every other broadcaster hoping to make their own Fort Boyard series, Channel 4 insisted on the creation on a new show for a UK audience, and thus The Crystal Maze was born. 

Malcolm, production designer James Dillon and original series producer and director David G Croft

Here's a few comments from others remembering Malcolm:

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A post shared by Richard Drew BFDG (@thescaleruler)

I worked closely with Malcolm Heyworth during the creation and production of all six series of the Crystal Maze. During that time, he became a mentor to me and then a close friend. He cared passionately about the show and took great pride in its success and the quality of the production. He wanted every penny of the budget up on the screen and refused to compromise. These principles mean that the Crystal Maze still has legions of fans around the world, and the show is rightly regarded as iconic television. He said to me many times, ‘David, I don’t want to make wallpaper television,’ and his legacy is that he never did. 

 David G.Croft - Director & Producer - The Crystal Maze

Just heard the sad news Malcolm Heyworth of Chatsworth TV passed away yesterday - most people would be happy to be responsible for one of Bullseye, Treasure Hunt and The Crystal Maze, he did all three.

— Brig Bother (@BothersBar) July 3, 2026

It's also worth saying that on the day of finishing this up, the news came out about the passing of former Celebrity Crystal Maze contestant and host of Sky quiz show Cleverdicks Ann Widdecombe. Condolences go out to her friends.

I Have Had My Tiny Little Mind Blown - There Was A Sequel Series to Crystal Maze: Magic Carnival

It's escaped my notice for 25 years, but there was a follow up to The Crystal Maze.

Last night I was watching Channel 4's "Back to the '90s", part of a series celebrating 4 decades of Channel 4. I was doing my usual thing on Twitter, liking and retweeting everything remotely relevant to this humble little blog. Every mention of quality Channel 4 programming (of which GamesMaster was noticeable by its absence). One tweet certainly grabbed my attention:

I Art Directed the last original series of The Crystal Maze, such a buzz to work on #backtothe90s

— Richard Drew (@dickydrew) December 28, 2020

The whole thread is there to find on Twitter, and after some messages, something came up that I've never heard of in 30ish years of being far too obsessed with a quirky Channel 4 gameshow:

I was very fortunate in my AD career to work with some fantastic Production Designers, but James and Dennis ( de Groot) probably had the biggest influence on me. James n I did the follow up show Magic Carnival together, was meant to succeed CM but it only got to pilot stage.

— Richard Drew (@dickydrew) December 29, 2020

For Sale: One Original Crystal Maze "I Cracked The Crystal Maze" Crystal from Series One (1990)

 Thanks to the modern wonder that is social media, one of the contestants for the very first series filmed back in 1989 and broadcast in 1990 has been in touch regarding selling his prize crystal from the show. 

Now, I'll be the first to admit I'd love one for my collection. I'd give vital organs and limbs for one. But right now I've other priorities so I'd love to help another proper Crystal Maze fan (you, the reader) get in contact with the seller and work out a sale yourself.

'It's Only A Game Show' Talks The Crystal Maze This Saturday

 Following on from last week and @jordha talking about TCM on 'Game Shows I Suppose', this Saturday sees the UK perspective. Brit based podcast 'It's Only A Game Show' (no points for knowing which show that references, I've mentioned my Jim Davidson story enough as it is) takes to your podcast feeds at the end of the week to have a fun little chat about our favourite big-budget adventure game show.

Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout - Fortnite meets Takeshi's Castle

I'm going to put it out there straight away. I hate Fortnite. From the moment Epic saw PUBG and said "This Fortnite game we've got going on, let's just ignore our initial idea we've put out there already and copy theirs" I've stayed well clear of the streaming favourite. I might just be old fashioned but I like my games to have a story, to draw me into a well-realized fictional world, and occasionally just have me turning zombies and Nazis into jam. When it comes to battle royale games, the concept of a load of 10-year-olds hurling abuse at me, killing my character with zero effort, and claiming intimate knowledge of my mother has simply never appealed to me.