BREXIT ROUND 1

Remembered for its silly games and wacky races, It’s a Knockout was part of a European-wide game show competition that dominated 1970s British television. Brian J. Robb looks back at the fondly-recalled series and how it all came to an end with a right Royal rumpus…

It’s a Knock-out was big enough to make the cover of Radio Times back in the day. The show was also featured prominently in The Goodies and the Beanstalk as a motive for the Goodies to climb the giant beanstalk; the grand prize was 5,000 puppies

It might be hard to believe that in a time when Britain quitting Europe seems like a sensible idea to some there was a period in the not too distant past when TV viewers were entertained and amused by a television gameshow that depended upon European competition for its impact. Anyone over 40 probably remembers watching It’s a Knockout and the Europe-wide competition Jeux Sans Frontières in the 1970s, when it was as much a part of the classic television line-up as Basil Brush, Doctor Who, and The Generation Game.

Usually broadcast on a Friday, the show followed teams from British towns as they fought their way through many silly, messy games, often in daft outfits, to win the right to represent the UK in the European finals of Jeux Sans Frontières, all aided and abetted by Stuart Hall’s over-the-top laughter strewn commentary.

BEAN BAG GAMES

It all began with French TV host Guy Lux (real name Maurice Guy) who in 1961 came up with the idea for Intervilles (Intercity), a game show inspired by an ambition declared by French President Charles de Gaulle. The original aim was to reinforce the post-war friendship between the youth of France and Germany by having teams from the two countries participate in a series of elaborate physical games. Along with fellow French TV veteran Claude Savarit, Guy Lux developed the idea which began airing on French television in 1962. Lux, however, could see a wider international potential in the format and sold the show to the European Broadcasting Union who oversaw the international rollout. By 1965 Lux and Savarit had drawn in other European countries, including Belgium and Italy alongside France and Germany to participate in what was dubbed the Inter Nations Games, or Jeux Sans Frontières (Games Without Frontiers). The original format ran between 1965 and 1982, attracting 110 million weekly viewers across Europe at its height.

British participation began in 1966 under the title It’s a Knockout, with the show operating out of a base at BBC Manchester. Adopting the format of the French Intervilles, the format saw teams from various towns across Britain battle each other (a format already tested in Britain in the 1954 competition show Top Town, which focused on variety performers rather than silly athletics) for the right to represent the country in the Europe-wide finals of Jeux Sans Frontières.