It's a Knockout

It's a Knockout
Created by	Guy Lux
Presented by	MacDonald Hobley (1966) David Vine (1967 - 1971) Stuart Hall (1972 - 1988) Iestyn Garlick & Nia Chiswell (1991 - 1994) Keith Chegwin & Lucy Alexander (1999 - 2001)
Starring	Ted Ray & Charlie Chester (1966) MacDonald Hobley (1967) Katie Boyle (1968) Eddie Waring (1969 - 1981) Arthur Ellis (Referee: 1969 - 1982) Frank Bruno (Referee: 1999 - 2001) Nell McAndrew (Scorekeeper: 1999 - 2001)
Country of origin	United Kingdom Wales
Production
Producer	Ronin TV (Channel 5)
Running time	30-120 minutes
Original release
Network	BBC1 (7 August 1966 - 25 December 1988) ITV (28 May 1990) S4C (3 August 1991 - 24 December 1994) Channel 5 (3 September 1999 - 6 January 2001)
Release	7 August 1966 (1966-08-07) – 6 January 2001 (2001-01-06)

It's a Knockout was adapted from the French show Intervilles. It ran between from 7 August 1966 to 25 December 1988 on BBC1, 28 May 1990 on ITV, 3 August 1991 to 24 December 1994 on S4C and from 3 September 1999 to 6 January 2001 on Channel 5, produced by Richard Hearsey and Ronin Entertainment. 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. The theme tune was Bean Bag by Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass.

The Games

The games were described as school sports day for adults. For example, teams would carry buckets of water over greasy poles or rolling logs. Other teams would interfere, squirting water cannons or throwing custard pies. Limited budgets meant games were often a variation on what could be done with a long piece of elastic, a lot of water, a portable swimming pool and a roundabout.

In its earliest form, the show emphasised skill or organization applied in a bizarre way, for instance picking up eggs with an industrial excavator, as well as traditional village sports such as climbing a greasy pole. Games of strength were included, for example, carrying a Mini Moke without wheels. From the beginning, a "mini-marathon" would run the length of the programme, with updates on progress between shorter contests. The shift to spectacular displays, with or without costumes, came later, to improve audience appeal and to follow continental traditions.

The teams scored points for how well they did in each event with the winner gaining 3, and the second placed team scoring 2 with the loser achieving one. The teams also had a joker card to before play on one event, which they would receive double points.

The winner of each edition was awarded an It's a Knockout trophy and a chance to represent the UK in Jeux Sans Frontières. Three local teams appeared in the UK show, with around 6 to 8 countries competing in the European finals.

In other countries

Australia

Almost Anything Goes aired in Australia from 1976 to 1978. It was hosted by Tim Evans and Brendan Edwards and featured Sean Kramer and Australian Rules legend Ron Barassi. It was filmed in Melbourne. The 1976 season featured two complete competitions with initial heats and finals, while the 1977 and 1978 seasons featured only one each. Following the 1977 grand final, the season finale featured a competition between the top two teams from the grand final and a team representing New Zealand.

An Australian version of It's a Knockout ran on Network Ten from 1985 to 1987. The teams were divided into the Australian states: New South Wales (NSW), Victoria (VIC), Queensland (QLD) and South Australia (SA). The show was hosted by Billy J Smith along with Fiona MacDonald for the duration that it aired in Australia. They would arrive to the show in a golf buggy. The show was filmed in a field in Dural, New South Wales, however due to numerous complaints from local residents the show was dropped in 1987 [1]. This version aired in Mexico on the TV Cable Network Multivisión and was a success during 1992. It was also adapted and shown in Argentina as Supermatch. This version was heavily edited, and the anchors were replaced by off-screen commentators.

New Zealand

In New Zealand, a series based on It's a Knockout called Top Town ran from 1976 to 1990, and was revived in 2009.

United States

Almost Anything Goes aired on ABC in America from 31 July to 28 August 1975 - handily winning the time slot on Thursday nights against reruns of The Waltons on CBS and a short-lived Ben Vereen variety show (Comin' At Ya!) on NBC.

For its second season (24 January to 2 May 1976), AAG moved to Saturday nights after the cancellation of the short-lived Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell variety show. Sports announcers Charlie Jones and Lynn Shackelford were the play-by-play and color men on this version which featured small towns across America playing the games. Sam Riddle, who was one of the producers, served as field reporter in 1975 along with Dick Whittington, the latter being replaced by Regis Philbin in 1976.

Boulder City, Nevada won the 1975 series and Chambersburg, Pennsylvania won the 1976 series. In a showdown, Boulder City beat Chambersburg and a celebrity all-star team. However, it was up against The Jeffersons on CBS and Emergency! on NBC, and was shortly cancelled thereafter due to low ratings.

A children's version called Junior Almost Anything Goes hosted by Soupy Sales ran on Saturday mornings from 11 September 1976 to 4 September 1977; After this, a syndicated celebrity version (All Star Anything Goes) hosted by Bill Boggs ran from 16 September 1977 to September 1978.

See also

• Telematch, the German adaptation of Intervilles.
• Supermatch, on Argentina

Transmissions

It's A Knockout UK Tournament Format

Series	Start date	End date	Episodes
1	7 August 1966	18 September 1966	7
2	3 September 1999	5 November 1999	11
3	14 October 2000	6 January 2001	13

It's A Knockout UK Qualifying Heats

Series	Start date	End date	Episodes
1	14 May 1967	11 June 1967	5
2	12 May 1968	21 June 1968	6
3	14 May 1969	11 June 1969	5
4	30 April 1970	3 June 1970	6
5	21 April 1971	26 May 1971	6
6	19 May 1972	23 June 1972	6
7	18 May 1973	22 June 1973	6
8	3 May 1974	31 May 1974	5
9	23 May 1975	4 July 1975	7
10	21 May 1976	2 July 1976	7
11	22 April 1977	3 June 1977	7
12	21 April 1978	4 June 1978	7
13	11 May 1979	22 June 1979	7
14	9 May 1980	20 June 1980	7
15	29 May 1981	3 July 1981	6
16	28 May 1982	30 July 1982	6

Jeux Sans Frontières International Tournament Format

Series	Start date	End date	Episodes
1	14 June 1967	6 September 1967	7
2	5 July 1968	13 September 1968	7
3	27 June 1969	3 September 1969	6
4	10 July 1970	18 September 1970	8
5	30 July 1971	24 September 1971	8
6	28 July 1972	29 September 1972	8
7	27 July 1973	14 September 1973	8
8	2 August 1974	20 September 1974	8
9	27 August 1975	15 October 1975	8
10	11 August 1976	1 October 1976	8
11	14 September 1977	2 November 1977	8
12	20 September 1978	8 November 1978	8
13	11 September 1979	6 November 1979	9
14	9 August 1980	10 October 1980	9
15	18 September 1981	6 November 1981	8
16	10 September 1982	29 October 1982	8
17	3 August 1991	19 October 1991	11
18	18 July 1992	3 October 1992	11
19	26 June 1993	25 September 1993	11
20	6 August 1994	29 October 1994	11

Specials

Date	Entitle
26 December 1970	It's A Christmas Knockout
8 May 1971	It's A Cup Final Knockout
27 December 1971	It's A Christmas Knockout
6 May 1972	It's A Cup Final Kockout
26 December 1972	It's A Christmas Knockout
5 May 1973	It's A Cup Final Knockout
26 December 1973	It's A Christmas Knockout
4 May 1974	It's A Cup Final Knockout
23 December 1974	It's A Christmas Knockout
3 May 1975	It's A Cup Final Knockout
11 July 1975	It's A Celebrity Knockout
26 December 1975	It's A Christmas Knockout
1 May 1976	It's A Cup Final Knockout
9 July 1976	It's A Celebrity Knockout
4 August 1976	It's A Championship Knockout
26 December 1976	It's A Christmas Knockout
21 May 1977	It's A Cup Final Knockout
16 August 1977	It's A Celebrity Knockout
7 September 1977	It's A Championship Knockout
26 December 1977	It's A Christmas Knockout
14 April 1978	It's A Miners' Knockout
21 August 1978	It's A Celebrity Knockout
13 September 1978	It's A Championship Knockout
26 December 1978	It's A Christmas Knockout
29 August 1979	It's A Celebrity Knockout
4 September 1979	It's A Championship Knockout
24 December 1979	It's A Christmas Knockout
11 July 1980	It's A Celebrity Knockout
2 August 1980	It's A Championship Knockout
27 December 1980	It's A Christmas Knockout
31 August 1981	It's A Celebrity Knockout
11 September 1981	It's A Championship Knockout
2 January 1982	It's A Christmas Knockout
6 August 1982	The Knockout Championship
30 August 1982	The Knockout Star Gala
29 August 1983	The Knockout Star Gala
27 December 1983	It's A Christmas Knockout
28 December 1984	It's A Christmas Knockout
19 June 1987	The Grand Knockout Tournament
25 December 1988	It's A Charity Knockout From Walt Disney World
28 May 1990	It's A Telethon Knockout
24 December 1994	25th Anniversary Knockout
24 December 1999	The Best Of It's A Knockout

External links

• It's a Knockout - UK at IMDb
• It's a Knockout - Australia at IMDb
• It's a Knockout - UK 90's remake at IMDb
• It's a Knockout News and Information
• The UK Gameshows page on It's a Knockout
• A website devoted to the TV show including details of the BBC, Channel 5, Royal Knockout, JSF and international versions.
• It's a Knockout at the National Film and Sound Archive