Rachel Tarley, writing for the same newspaper, later compared the show to It's a Knockout, but described the contestants as "morons" and said the show "marks a new era in Syco's lazy, sinister attempts to make money from a hopelessly stupid viewing public". Jim Shelley, of the Daily Mirror, described Red or Black? as "mess", and described the stunts as "dull"; Kevin O'Sullivan, also at the Mirror, described the show as a "sausage factory of sob stories"; while Ken Smith, of The Herald, described it as the "dullest show of the week". Jonathan Liew, of The Daily Telegraph, requested that readers stopped watching the show, whilst describing it as "so devoid of intellect that it actually sucks nearby intelligence into its vortex. This is, without exaggeration or embellishment, an abominably stupid television programme." Readers of UKGameshows.com named it the worst new game show of 2011 in their "Hall of shame" poll. On 26 October 2012, Richard Osman, writing for The Guardian, named Red or Black? among four of UK TV's worst ever gameshows. During the airing of the first show, Twitter users complained that finalist Angel McKenzie had made it through, as she was previously a housemate during Big Brother 10 in 2009. However, McKenzie's appearance was overshadowed by stories relating to £1 million winner Nathan Hageman, as it was revealed that he had a criminal background. ITV had conducted a CRB check on each finalist towards the end of July, over a month prior to the first live show. When later discussing the incident, Simon Cowell said, "I'm not in a position to force anyone to do anything. Once he got through that's why he got the money, that's his own conscience what he decides to do with it." Following the media frenzy about details of Hageman's offence, two contestants that had not yet appeared on the show were removed by ITV. It was revealed that one had failed to disclose that he had a criminal record during the application process, while information on the second contestant was withheld. A third contestant was subsequently removed by ITV. Each contestant was from a different night, with the first removed on the programme aired 7 September; however footage pre–filmed revealed his identity. Transmissions Awards and nominations Notes A ^ The first two rounds for each episode took place at Wembley Arena, rounds three to six took place on location, and the