Almost Anything Goes
| It's a Knockout | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Game show |
| Created by | Guy Lux |
| Presented by |
McDonald Hobley (1966) David Vine (1967–71) Stuart Hall (1972–88; 1993–94) Bernie Clifton (1990) Iestyn Garlick & Nia Chiswell (1991–94) Keith Chegwin & Lucy Alexander (1999–2001) |
| Starring |
Ted Ray & Charlie Chester (1966) McDonald Hobley (1967) Katie Boyle (1968) Eddie Waring (1969–81) Arthur Edward Ellis (Referee: 1969–82) Frank Bruno (Referee: 1999–2001) Nell McAndrew (Scorekeeper: 1999–2001) |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 17 (BBC1) 4 (S4C) 2 (Channel 5) |
| No. of episodes | 272 (BBC1) 45 (S4C) 24 (Channel 5) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 30–120 minutes |
| Production company(s) |
BBC Manchester (BBC) TVS (ITV) Ronin TV (Channel 5) |
| Release | |
| Original network |
BBC1 (1966–88) ITV (1990) S4C (1991–4) Channel 5 (1999–2001) |
| Picture format | 4:3 |
| Original release | 7 August 1966 – 6 January 2001 |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows |
Jeux Sans Frontières It's a Knockout (Australia) Top Town |
It's a Knockout is a British comedy game show first broadcast in 1966. It was adapted from the French show , and was part of the international Jeux Sans Frontières franchise.
The series was broadcast on BBC1 from 7 August 1966 to 30 July 1982, thereafter a number of specials were broadcast until 25 December 1988. The series returned on Channel 5 from 3 September 1999 to 6 January 2001, produced by Richard Hearsey and Ronin Entertainment and using consultants and games from the French production. It was developed for Channel 5 with Alan Nixon, and the first show featured Stuart Hall tied up with rope in his garage wishing the new presenters well with the series.
An episode was made by TVS for ITV on 28 May 1990 as part of its ITV Telethon that year with Bernie Clifton as the host.
The theme tune was "Bean Bag" by Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass.
A Welsh version, Gemau Heb Ffiniau (Games Without Frontiers), was broadcast from 3 August 1991 to 24 December 1994 on S4C. It had Welsh teams battling against European contestants dressed in pink colours. Nia Chiswell and Iestyn Garlick presented. Locations included Bodelwyddan Castle, with Nia dressed as Alice in Wonderland.
The series was re-dubbed into English by Stuart Hall and broadcast on The Family Channel, from 1993 to 1994.
It featured teams representing a town or city competing tasks in absurd games, generally dressed in large foam rubber suits. Games were played in the home town's park, with weather often turning grassland into mud. The team scoring most points would advance to the next stage. Teams could double points in one round by choosing to "play their Joker". The games were refereed by former international football referee Arthur Ellis.
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