Smash Hits Poll Winners Party

The Smash Hits Poll Winners Party was an awards ceremony which ran from 1988 to 2005. Each award winner was voted by readers of the Smash Hits magazine. It ended with the closure of the magazine in February 2006.

The event was initially produced by Harvey Goldsmith and Janet Street-Porter. Tim Byrne also worked on the show. Bryne now works alongside Simon Cowell.

The awards ceremony was shown on BBC1 from 1988 to 2000 then later on Channel 4 from 2001 to 2005. During 2004 and 2005 it was renamed to T4 Smash Hits Poll Winners Party. Past presenters have included Phillip Schofield, Simon Mayo, Andi Peters, Toby Anstis, Lily Savage, Ant and Dec, Will Smith, Melanie Sykes, June Sarpong and Vernon Kay. Past group winners have included Bros, New Kids on the Block, Take That, Spice Girls, Boyzone, Westlife, Busted and Girls Aloud

The event was notorious for the incident in 1991 involving Phillip Schofield and Carter USM, when the band's performance was cut short, causing them to trash up the stage. Following this, when Schofield made a remark about the band's behaviour, their guitarist Les "Fruitbat" Carter rugby tackled Schofield. The band was temporarily banned from performing on television, but its ticket sales for its tour soared.

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