20 Contestants Who Really Couldn’t Handle Takeshi's Castle

Takeshi's Castle is one of TV's cult classics. First shown in Britain in the late 1980's as a semi-frequent piece on Chris Tarrant's show Tarrant On TV about various unusual shows from around the world, the Japanese gameshow became an unexpected hit since the digital channel Challenge started broadcasting the original series of the show. It has since garnered a large fan base with its combination of ludicrous games, over-the-top costumes, ridiculous replays and much, much more. Guided through the episodes by narrator Craig Charles, each one followed General Lee and 100-140 contestants through a variety of physical challenges in an attempt to beat Count Takeshi and his Emerald Guard. The show was recently chosen as one of the best show to watch to see people fail and it isn't hard to see why; the joy in watching is perverse: the games were unbelievably difficult to beat and the focus was placed on the unsuccessful attempts to survive. You often wondered if people could do any worse, only to be proven wrong by the next poor contestant. Most of us will have watched the show (if you haven't, check it out ASAP), and we've cried with laughter, winced in pain or both at the many people trying to keep their bones intact across the Skipping Stones or avoiding getting winded on Bridge Ball. When even members of Count Takeshi's Emerald Guard also fell prey to ridiculous moments too, entertainment is always guaranteed. We could have made a list of 100 but we will focus on 20 Takeshi's Castle contestants who failed in the best ways possible. Are there any spectacular failures or attempts we've missed off? Let us know in the comments below.

20. Big Bird Fail

This game isn't about the big yellow bird from Sesame Street, but he'd probably do better than most of the contestants in this game. Rarely shown, Big Bird involved contestants dressed as birds on a zip wire, who inexplicably had to pick up a stuffed rabbit with their feet and deposit it into its nest. If you want to go through, it's probably best not to knock the rabbit off with your body and then almost paralyze yourself on the set afterwards...

19. Velcro Fly Fail

Ever wanted to play a human version of the velcro ball-catch game? Takeshi's Castle offered contestants that opportunity with Velcro Fly. Dressed in a velcro suit, they had to swing from a podium, jump and attach themselves to the wall. It sounds simple enough but it does help if you keep hold of the rope and don't crash into the wall and the dirty water below... The only positive for this poor person is that they're not dressed in a fly costume like later versions of the game!