'Price is Right' model gives a rare peek into the backstage area: "This is a top secret..."
“The Price is Right” brings energy and emotion to TV screens and also gives viewers hope that they'll be on the set with Drew Carey someday. But a lot of work goes into everything behind the scenes before a hilarious and engaging episode is produced. Once the show’s official handle asked fans on X (formerly Twitter) whether they’d want to see George Gray’s podium or have Rachel Reynolds give them a tour of the place where the games are stored, and most people opted for the second option. It did not take long for the model to show them around the backstage area.
It seemed like a massive room with white walls in which all the games were stored. Apparently, even Reynolds had never been to that part of the set. “This is such a top-secret area that I’ve actually never been back here so thank you for voting for this, I’m so excited,” she remarked. Every single game was there from Plinko to Cliff Hangers and each had its unique story.
One of the biggest winners in the history of the show was a woman from Tacoma who won an Audi R8 while playing ‘Gas Money.’ This very game was also present in the storage room along with ‘Half Off,’ which Reynolds had struggled with. “These boxes are pretty tricky to hold,” she explained. The box splits into two pieces down the middle which makes it hard to work with. “You got to hold it like this and you’re going down the stairs in heels,” Reynolds mentioned.
Names of many workers who have contributed to the show since the ‘70s were also signed and the tradition continues to this day. “It’s a tradition for all the set hands to sign the set piece and they still do it to this day. So we’ve got autographs here from the late ‘70s,” Reynolds explained.
These games were stored properly and not clumped together. It’s easy to see the amount of maintenance that goes into keeping the equipment in the best possible condition. However, things can sometimes go wrong with the games on the stage. That’s when the host has to think of unconventional solutions to technical issues so that the show goes on. That’s exactly what Drew Carey did when the machine for ‘Flip Flop,” started malfunctioning.
It happened in an earlier episode of the show during the game with four pairs of numbers. Each pair has a mirror opposite. The objective is to get the right combination of numbers to guess the four-digit price of the prize. On this occasion, it was a trip to Germany. The contestant flipped all the boards and landed $8,610 as the price of the package.
She then had to press a red button to reveal the actual price. However, when she did press it, nothing happened. Carey stepped in and after a couple of kicks to the prop, the actual number was revealed. The contestant had guessed correctly and won the tour package.
