The Cube

The Cube is a British television game show that aired on ITV from 22 August 2009 to 23 December 2021. It was hosted by Phillip Schofield. The original series offered contestants the chance to win a top prize of £250,000 by completing challenges from within a 4m × 4m × 4m perspex cube. It was based on the idea that even straightforward tasks become extremely challenging when confined and put under pressure inside a small, enclosed area whilst surrounded by a live studio audience. Once inside, contestants could feel both claustrophobic and disoriented, affecting their concentration and abilities. Using "state-of-the-art filming techniques", the show aims to demonstrate the intense anxiety which contestants undergo as they progress through each task. The challenges involve physical and mental tasks including catching, throwing, estimation, reacting, memorisation, and balancing. Colin McFarlane provides the disembodied voice of The Cube, who explains the rules of the games. The show ran from 2009 to 2015, before returning as The Million Pound Cube in 2020, and again under its original title in 2021.