For the Rest of Your Life

The couple chose one of three envelopes, each containing a cash amount from £100 to £200. They then faced a gameboard consisting of several cylinders, each inserted vertically into a plinth and bearing either a red or a white light on the unseen end. Eleven lights were used for Round One, eight white and three red. The couple chose one cylinder at a time and withdrew it from its plinth to expose its light. Finding a white light moved the couple one step up an eight-step money ladder, which started at their chosen amount and increased by that same value for each successive step. However, finding a red light moved the couple one step down the ladder unless they were already at zero.

The couple had to choose again if they found a red light; finding all three ended the game and forfeited all winnings. If the couple had advanced at least four steps up the ladder, they gained the option to end the round after any white light. Once they either ended the round or found the eighth white light, they advanced to Round Two with their total.

In Round Two, the couple played to determine how long they would receive the total from Round One as a monthly pay cheque, ranging from one month to 40 years ("For the Rest of Your Life"). The board now contained 15 lights altogether, 11 white and four red. Each white light moved the couple one step up an 11-step time ladder: 1/3/6 months, then 1/2/3/5/10/15/25 years, and finally For the Rest of Your Life. As before, each red light moved them one step down the ladder unless they were already at the bottom.

For this round, one member of the couple was sequestered in an isolation pod, where they could see the current status of the game on a set of monitors but could not hear anything that was said. The other member remained onstage and chose the lights. After any white light was found, both members had the option to stop or continue, but neither one was told of the other's decision until the onstage game ended.

Only after the game had ended did the host reveal the isolated member's choices. If they did decide to stop at any point, the couple received the number of cheques for their position on the ladder at that moment, overriding any subsequent portion of the onstage game. If not, the onstage member's actions determined the final result: stopping and keeping the money, finding all four red lights and losing everything, or finding the last white light and winning the number of cheques corresponding to the final position on the ladder.