It was at this point that the then head of the
Seven Network,
Bruce Gyngell, spotted Barber and was understood to have liked what he saw and suggested that he host a
Reg Grundy show. While Barber is more noted for his role as host of
Sale of the Century, his origins in television date back to the early 1970s when he hosted the then popular Seven Network game show
The $25,000 Great Temptation. The show was successful enough for the network that both daytime and prime time editions of the show were screened. The show only faltered when in 1974, Seven decided to move the show from its 7:00 pm timeslot to the later 8:30 pm timeslot in an effort to attract viewers away from the then popular series
Number 96 screening on the
0-10 Networks.
Number 96 won the ratings battle and
The $25,000 Great Temptation aired its last show in 1975. Barber then hosted the Australian version of
Family Feud on the
Nine Network from 1977 until 1979. In 1980, the
Reg Grundy Organisation, on the advice of its founder and producer,
Reg Grundy, decided to revive the
$25,000 Great Temptation format using the original international title,
Sale of the Century. Screened nationally on the Nine Network, Barber hosted the show from 1980 until 1991, supported by a roster of co-hosts during his time including
Victoria Nicolls (1980–82),
Delvene Delaney (1982–85) and
Alyce Platt (1986–91). Barber decided to leave the show in 1991 after being offered only a 12-month contract renewal period instead of his usual three-year deal; Platt left at the same time, he was replaced by
Glenn Ridge as host, with co-host
Jo Bailey. Barber went on to host the short-lived Australian version of
Jeopardy! on
Network 10 in 1993. It has been said that its failure was partly due to placing it in the 6:00 pm timeslot against high-rating news bulletins of the day. Barber later stated in an interview that
Jeopardy! was his favourite of all the game shows he hosted in his career. After
Jeopardy, Barber succeeded
John Burgess as host of
Wheel of Fortune on the Seven Network in July 1996 following the show's relocation from
Adelaide to Sydney as part of an attempted revamp. Also part of the revamp, in an attempt to win viewers back, the theme music that had been introduced the previous year was reinstated, the new set underwent minor changes and the former prize shop was reincarnated to an extentcontestants upon solving a puzzle were offered three prizes and one had to be selected. By the end of 1996, these changes together with the loss of the familiar Burgess as host resulted in poor viewing figures, and Barber decided to leave the show. Barber appeared at the beginning of the 1997 series premiere to hand the show over to
Rob Elliott. During his time on TV, Barber estimates that he has hosted over 8,500 individual episodes of successful Grundy games. He hosted a small competition on the Australian Cable TV network
Foxtel seven nights a week called ''TV1's Cash Trivia Challenge
. On 14 March 2007, he returned to his roots, making an appearance as guest host on Temptation, alongside his former co-host Alyce Platt, during the Battle of the Network Shows'' series where the original hosts,
Ed Phillips and
Livinia Nixon appeared as contestants. In August 2013, Barber was announced as a contestant on the upcoming series of
Dancing with the Stars. He then returned to Family Feud as a contestant on 21 November 2016 as part of
All Star Family Feud hosted by
Grant Denyer with
Kerri-Anne Kennerley, Glenn Ridge, and John Burgess as team members. His team had won the game and he ended the episode with his signature sign-off catchphrase: "Keep smiling, and bye for now." ==Honours==