Deal or No Deal is generally on in the canteen when I have my lunch break, and so I’ve seen a few episodes lately. I’m not sure if anyone outside of Endermol knows for sure, but I’m wondering about the contestants who stay there for many episodes:
Do they get paid to stand there each day opening boxes, waiting their turn, if so how much?
How many episodes do they film a day?
Is the name generator at the beginning completely random, random amongst those who have been there for a paticular length of time or completley decided by the producers?
I never watch a whole episode. Sometimes ‘The Banker’ offers a swap at the beginning, sometimes he doesn’t same at the end should the contestant go all the way. Is it true that he always offers at least one swap to the contestent, assuming they go all the way?
Once in the line up are people then guarenteed a turn as long as they keep showing up and opening boxes, or can they be taken out with a ‘sorry your number never came up but we’re taking you off’? Once selected to play is it just good manners that keeps people from being rude to the members of the peanut gallery that annoy them or are they still contracted to laugh at idiot box opener#16’s jokes if they want to keep the money?
Obviously in the US and anywhere else where prospective players don’t open boxes these questions don’t apply.