ITV Wheel of Fortune followers slam Christmas particular as they spot similar difficulty throughout superstar version

Wheel of Fortune fans were left underwhelmed with the Christmas special that aired on Saturday night. 

The festive episode featured celebrities Richard E. Grant, Tyler West, and Joanna Page competing to win cash for their chosen charities.

Hosted by Graham Norton, the iconic game show challenges players to solve word puzzles while avoiding bankrupt spaces.

However, viewers were quick to blast the show after the contestants were tasked with solving the overly simple phrase ‘mince pies’.

Taking to X, formerly Twitter, they said: ‘Might well as just gave the money to charity without playing the game,’ 

‘Mince pies’ has to be the easiest blank puzzle on Wheel Of Fortune in the history of the entire programme,’

‘Omg how easy is this show now, I got mince pies before he even picked the letters, actually even my dog got the answer,’

‘Its so boring sorry,’

‘When you guess the answer without a single letter its too easy a puzzle.’

The revival of the British version returned in 2024 with Graham as host. 

He expressed his excitement about the return of the show, stating: ‘I’m thrilled we are coming back for a second series to challenge more contestants to solve more word puzzles and hopefully they come away with even more cash. 

‘It’s a game of skill and luck, so you just never know which way it will go and I’m excited to see who can hold their nerve against the wheel.’

Katie Rawcliffe, ITV’s Head of Entertainment Commissioning, also shared: ‘We are excited to bring back this iconic game show for a second series after a successful launch earlier this year. 

‘Graham with his wit and humour is the perfect host for this fun, exciting, fast paced game of luck and skill.’ 

However, fans were previously left disappointed with a change in the show’s format when it made a comeback on ITV1 in January. 

Channel bosses announced in July last year that Graham would be fronting the remake of the iconic game show, which ran from 1988 until 2001.

The UK series was previously hosted by John Leslie, Nicky Campbell and Bradley Walsh when it aired on ITV.

Television presenter Carol Smillie took on the role of ‘glamorous assistant’ on the show from 1989 until 1994 before Jenny Powell took over in 1995 until 2000, with the pair tasked with turning the wheel as the show’s host asked the constants questions.

However, Graham had no assistant when the programme made a comeback , with many viewers taking to social media to complain the job had been replaced by a digital board.

In the game of skill and luck, the turn of the wheel secures a cash value before they pick a letter to help them solve the puzzle.

For every correct letter they reveal in the puzzle they win multiples of that amount. The pressure is on as they could lose everything at a spin of a wheel which contains ‘bankrupts’ and ‘lose a turn’ and the contestants’ entire winnings could be wiped out.

In addition to cash, contestants can also win some impressive prizes which are added to their cash pot to help them reach the bonus round.

Graham returned for eight episodes of the show, as well as two celebrity specials, which will all be pre-recorded. It is understood he has been paid a ‘high-six figure sum’ for his role.

ITV attempted to bring it back last year with Alison Hammond hosting but the pilots were not deemed strong enough to be commissioned.

Chiefs at the broadcaster then decided to make an audacious bid to sign Norton – who is one of the BBC’s most popular stars.

Speaking of his new role, Norton said: ‘I’m beyond excited to be bringing such an iconic American show to a new British audience. My first ever TV job was a game show on ITV so this feels like coming full circle. You might even call it a wheel!’

Jenny previously claimed she hated her job on the Wheel of Fortune because all she did was ‘spin letters’ and ‘wasn’t allowed to talk’.

The TV personality, 56, revealed that she didn’t enjoy being on the iconic gameshow that kickstarted her career in the nineties.

It seems that the star now looks back on the job with regret, as she said she wouldn’t encourage her own daughter to do anything similar.

She said on the Learning As I Go podcast: ‘You’re just turning letters round and not saying anything.’

Jenny shared: ‘I ended up doing The Wheel of Fortune, which I hated it. It was the biggest thing, but I hated it. Because I was just a girl turning bl***y letters around.’

The presenter told how she only took the job so that she could pay her bills and find a way out of children’s TV.

She said: ‘If someone said to you, right Jenny you are going to wear a really short skirt and we are all going to discuss the length of it for like four meetings, wear high heel shoes and turn some letters around and just look pretty and don’t say anything.’

‘Would you, do it? I know what I would tell my daughter today. I wasn’t actually allowed to speak.’