[Gary McEwan]

I don’t think he outright said it was event tv, but he did hint — in the magic moments and more dvd — that “it emptied pubs without tv’s and filled pubs which had them”. A rather oversimplification of what was meant, but obviously millionaire could draw viewers in like a magnet, without any effort really needed in the early years.

I found it on YouTube when he appeared on Live with Regis and Kathie Lee right back in the early days when he said it was event tv when everyone rearranged their lives and no one went to the pub.