Celebrity Squares was a 30-minute long game show was based on the US Hollywood Squares and took the old noughts and crosses game as its theme (also known as tic-tac-toe). Two members of the public asked nine celebrities various questions and had to decide who was telling the truth, each correct answer gave them either a nought or a cross etc. It ran on Network Ten from 1967 hosted by John Bailey and was then revived on National Nine Network in 1975-76 from every Monday to Friday at 18:00 with Jimmy Hannan. 

The programmes were apparently repeated in 1980 but it would appear that footage of those repeats were junked sometime after 1981. The only hope is if they turn up in an un-catalogued batch of 2" VT spools in the National Film Archive, donated by Fremantle Media the now owners of Reg Grundy Productions - and someone finds them.  Audio tapes of two of the shows exist apparently.

Episode No. 6043

For this episode, the contestants were:

1. Alfred Marks (actor)
2. Ugly Dave Gray (actor)
3. ABBA
4. Bob Rogers (Australian disc jockey)
5. Bert Newton (Australian entertainer)
6. Chelsea Brown (actress)
7. Stuart Wagstaff (Australian actor)
8. Patti Newton (Australian singer) and
9. Arte Johnson (American comic actor).

All four ABBA members squeezed into one 'square' together. They appeared three times apparently which were probably all recorded on the same day wearing different outfits each time. For this appearance, they're wearing the same clothes they were photographed in outdoors on the roof at the studio in Australia and on the boat trip / wildlife park sections of their TV Special, ABBA in Australia. 

Click here for a picture of ABBA posing with host Jimmy Hannan in front of their 'square' and apparently wearing the clothes from another edition.

In this appearance, the first question was to ABBA: "In 1972 Agnetha played in a musical. What was it?" Agnetha answered: "It was Godspell".   But the contestant John Polar decided it was wrong And yes, the musical was Jesus Christ Superstar – of course!

Footage of this episode first turned up in May 2015.

After the initial broadcast on Wednesday 17 March 1976, 17:45-18:15, National Nine Network (Channel 9), Australia, it was repeated at some point in 1980 at 6.30am.

A second episode has been unearthed (or parts of it) showing ABBA in a different square and wearing different clothes.  The guests on that show are:

1. Alfred Marks (actor) - as above
2. Delvine Dalaney (actress)
3. Dave Gray (actor) - as above
4. Bob More (actor)
5. Arte Johnson (American comic actor) - as above
6. Chelsea Brown (actress) - as above)
7. ABBA
8. Stuart Wagstaff (Australian actor) - as above
9. Bert Newton (Australian entertainer) - as above
    

Click here for a TV listing from The Canberra Times - Wednesday 17 March 1976, p.19

Jimmy Hannan died in January 2019.

Click here for archive information.

Thanks to Ian Cole's ABBA Phenomenon in Australia; thank to Philip Muytjens for information and pictures and extra thanks to Jun Seo, Jozsef, Kym klnnlk, Harold Hanlon, Matti Crocker, Mark Hannam and Mal Mitchell for information. A million thanks to John Peck.
YouTube link c/o ABBA ARGENTINA