Overview

Gridlock is an Irish television game show, hosted by Derek Mooney, that premiered on RTÉ on September 14, 1998. Gridlock replaced the long-running series Blackboard Jungle, which was hosted by Ray D'Arcy. The show lasted only one season. There were two teams of two people, each team representing a secondary school. One player on each team would answer general knowledge questions, while the other would try to achieve "gridlock" on a puzzle diagram. Due to the complex nature of the puzzle, viewers, the studio audience, and sometimes even contestants, struggled to follow the show. As a result of this, ratings dwindled and Gridlock was canceled after just one series. Gridlock was once again the topic of the Irish nation in 2013. Former contestant and celebrity doctor, Niall Breen, made an appearance on rival quiz show, Countdown, on Channel 4 where he made the controversial claim that Gridlock should have been given at least one more season. Brendan Cole, who was appearing as a guest on the show, shared Breen's opinion. RTE released a statement denouncing Breen's comments as 'out of hand' and 'wholly inappropriate' and claimed any rumours about a new series of Gridlock were incorrect.