Opportunity Knocks (UK TV series)
| Opportunity Knocks | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Bob Says Opportunity Knocks (1987–89) |
| Genre | Talent show |
| Presented by |
Hughie Green (1949–78) Bob Monkhouse (1987–89) Les Dawson (1990) |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 1 (BBC Light Programme) 18 (ITV) 4 (BBC1) |
| No. of episodes | 33 (BBC Light Programme) 472 (ITV) 48 (BBC1) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 50 minutes (BBC1) |
| Production company(s) |
Associated-Rediffusion (1956) ABC (1964–8) Thames (1968–78) |
| Distributor | FremantleMedia |
| Release | |
| Original network |
BBC Light Programme (1949) Radio Luxembourg (1950s) ITV (1956–78) BBC1 (1987–90) |
| Picture format | 4:3 |
| Original release | 18 February 1949 – 2 June 1990 |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows | New Faces |
Opportunity Knocks is a British television and radio talent show originally hosted by Hughie Green, with a late-1980s revival hosted by Bob Monkhouse, and later by previous winner Les Dawson.
The original radio version started on the BBC Light Programme, where it ran from 18 February to 29 September 1949, but moved to Radio Luxembourg in the 1950s. It was shown on ITV from 20 June 1956 to 29 August 1956, produced by Associated Rediffusion. A second run commenced on 11 July 1964 and lasted until 20 March 1978, produced first by ABC and then by Thames. Hughie Green presented a single episode of Opportunity Knocks for RTÉ in 1979. It was revived by the BBC from 21 March 1987 to 2 June 1990, hosted initially by Bob Monkhouse from 1987 to 1989 (under the title Bob Says Opportunity Knocks!) and subsequently by Les Dawson in 1990.
Unlike its rival New Faces, the winning acts on Opportunity Knocks were decided not by a panel of experts but by the viewing public. In the ITV version this took the form of a postal vote, the winner of which was announced the following week. The BBC revival was notable for being the first TV show to decide its winner using the now-standard method of a telephone vote. In both versions the studio audience reaction to each act was measured by a clap-o-meter, but this did not count towards the final result.
The programme was recorded the Friday before transmission, so votes had to be in by Thursday. They also, according to host Hughie Green, largely to ensure fairness, had to be in "your own handwriting".
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