Des chiffres et des lettres
Des chiffres et des lettres (French: [dɛ ʃifʁ e dɛ lɛtʁ], "some numbers and some letters") is a French television programme. It was created by Armand Jammot and tests the numeracy skills and vocabulary of two contestants. It is one of the longest-running game shows in the world, and the inspiration for Countdown on Britain's Channel 4.
| Des chiffres et des lettres | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Numbers and letters |
| Genre | Game show |
| Created by | Armand Jammot |
| Presented by | Christine Fabréga (1965–1970) Patrice Laffont (1972–1989) Laurent Cabrol (1989–1992) Max Meynier (1992) Laurent Romejko (1992–present) |
| Country of origin | France |
| Original language | French |
| No. of seasons | 52 |
| No. of episodes | 12,000+ |
| Production | |
| Running time | 33 minutes |
| Production company | France Télévisions |
| Original release | |
| Network | France 3 |
| Release | 19 September 1965 – present |
| Related | |
| Countdown | |
The game debuted in 1965 as Le mot le plus long using letters only, and reached its present format in 1972. It is currently transmitted on France 3 after 39 years first on Antenne 2 and then France 2. It has been hosted since 1992 by Laurent Romejko, who was originally assisted by Arielle Boulin-Prat and Bertrand Renard, the latter two respectively checking words proposed by the contestants and providing solutions to the number problems the contestants fail to solve. Renard was hired on the show at the age of 19, after having won as a contestant in 12 consecutive matches. Starting on 17 September 2022, Boulin-Prat was replaced by Blandine Maire and Renard by Stéphane Crosnier, due to disputes over their salaries and the terms of their contracts.
The show is seen throughout the world on TV5Monde including TV5 Québec Canada throughout Canada.