What did you miss?
Martin Lewis may have lost some of his many fans after his latest show about boardgames was branded boring.
The Good Morning Britain presenter hosted a new primetime show on ITV1 on Tuesday, 17 December called How To Win At Boardgames. Ahead of the Christmas period Lewis gave viewers tip on how to win at popular family boardgames Connect 4, Scrabble, Monopoly and Backgammon.
At the start of the show – which aired at 8pm – Lewis confessed he loved boardgames and that the programme had been his own idea when producers asked him if he had a dream topic he would like to present a TV show on.
What, how, and why?
The Money Saving Expert took on a Scrabble champion and lost, as he revealed he loved the game so much he proposed to his wife, former 5 News weather presenter Lara Lewington, on a Scrabble board.
Lewis and his wife were seen playing the game together as he revealed he had asked her to marry him during a game of word game Scrabble. She confessed: “I said you’ve too many letters and he said just wait. And then he proposed and I felt bad for challenging him.” The pair love the game so much they take a travel Scrabble board out on dates and Lewis has a spreadsheet score of all the games they have ever played. The couple married in 2009 and they have an 12-year-old daughter.
Lewis’s biggest Scrabble tip was “it’s a game of numbers not letters.” He revealed he had memorised the two letter word list, even though he didn’t know what they all meant, as they helped him win.
The financial journalist also showed some ‘hacks’ to property boardgame Monopoly. His big tip was to buy the orange properties because they are the “best value for money, something I know a bit about.”
Read more: Martin Lewis
What did viewers say?
Many viewers were unimpressed by the topic of boardgames airing in a primetime slot.
One wrote one social media platform X: “What is this abomination of a TV program?!! #martinlewis How to win at board games?!!! Ffs! Playing games is supposed to be a bit of fun. How is this on peak time tv?? #itv” Another complained: “What is this dire How To Win At Board Games rubbish on TV now? Does Martin Lewis have to be on TV to honor a contract or something? #MartinLewis #boardgames @ITV” Somebody else tweeted: “This program is giving ‘You have been eating apples WRONG your whole entire life, here’s how to eat them properly’ vibes. What a crock of s**te #HowToWinAtBoardGames” And another posted sarcastically: “Tuesday nights don’t get more exciting than learning how to beat people at connect 4.. #MartinLewis”
One viewer asked on Blue Sky: “How has my life got to this? Watching Martin Lewis telling us how to win at connect 4!!” Somebody else declared: “Martin Lewis there, ruining everyone’s Christmas by reducing every board game to a spreadsheet. #ITV” While another moaned: “15 minutes of Martin Lewis teaching people how to play Connect 4. Who said prime time TV is dead? Me”
But for other viewers Martin Lewis can do no wrong.
One commented: “This is so geeky I love it! #BoardGames #MartinLewis” While another shared: “This Martin Lewis board games winning tips thing is great so far, but I’m not telling my son it’s on.” And someone else gushed: “This world honestly needs more people like #MartinLewis”
What else happened on How To Win At Boardgames?
Lewis became emotional about showing children how to beat their teachers at simple coloured counter game Connect 4. The TV presenter revealed he loves playing the game with his daughter and hopes by teaching her strategies to win, he is giving her important life skills.
In the show Lewis taught a group of Primary School children the ‘rule of three’ tactical moves to help them go on to beat their teachers at Connect 4. After watching the children defeat their teachers in a clean sweep Lewis said:”If you can learn to think tactically that progress to other things and so that is why I feel quite moved by it.”
Martin Lewis: How To Win At Boardgames is available to stream on ITVX.