Question of Sport

Question of Sport (known as A Question of Sport until 2021) is a British television sports quiz show produced and broadcast by the BBC. It is the "world's longest running TV sports quiz".[1] Following a pilot episode in December 1968, broadcast only in the north of England, the series has run since 1970 (except 1973 and 1978) and celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2020. It is currently presented by Paddy McGuinness, with team captains Sam Quek and Ugo Monye.

For the spin-off video game, see A Question of Sport (video game).

Question of Sport
GenreSports quiz show
Created byNick Hunter
Presented by
Starring
Theme music composerRichie Close
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series52
No. of episodes1,365 (as of 18 August 2023)
Landmarks: 4 March 2013: 1,000th episode
Production
Executive producerGareth JM Edwards
ProducerDave Gymer
Production locationsdock10 studios (studios HQ1 and HQ2 on rotation)
Running time30 minutes
Production companiesBBC (1968–2015)
BBC Studios (2015–present)
Release
Original networkBBC One
Original release2 December 1968 (1968-12-02) (pilot)
5 January 1970 (1970-01-05) –
present

History

First edition

The first edition of A Question of Sport was broadcast on 5 January 1970. Presenter David Vine was joined by captains Henry Cooper and Cliff Morgan. The teams were composed of George Best, Lillian Board, Tom Finney, and Ray Illingworth.[2]

40th anniversary

On 8 January 2010, the BBC broadcast a 40th anniversary special. Joining Sue Barker, Matt Dawson, and Phil Tufnell, were Pat Cash, David Coulthard, Laura Davies, and Michael Johnson.

2012 Summer Olympics specials

Following the 2012 Summer Olympics, A Question of Sport aired two special editions featuring champions from the aforementioned Olympics.

Gold Medal Winners special

On 1 September 2012, Katherine Grainger and Jason Kenny were among the gold medal winners featured.

2012 Olympics special

On 29 September 2012, Tim Baillie, Jade Jones, Laura Kenny, Greg Rutherford, and Etienne Stott partook.

1,000th episode

On 4 March 2013, A Question of Sport marked its 1,000th episode. Each captain was joined by two former captains. Dawson was joined by Willie Carson and John Parrott, while Tufnell was joined by Bill Beaumont and Ally McCoist. Tufnell's team won.

2016 Summer Olympics specials

Shortly after the 2016 Summer Olympics, A Question of Sport held two special editions featuring champions from the above-mentioned Olympics.

The Olympic Champions special

On 7 September 2016, the Olympic Champions special featured gold medal winners, including Callum Skinner.

Gold Rush special

On 14 September 2016, for a Gold Rush special, A Question of Sport were joined by Maddie Hinch, Jason and Laura Kenny, and Sam Quek.

A Question of Sport at 50

On 27 December 2019, the BBC aired a documentary that looked back on the programme's history. As well as looking back through the archives, A Question of Sport at 50 saw a number of sportspeople recount their memories, these included: Jessica Ennis-Hill, Colin Jackson, and Denise Lewis. Presenter Sue Barker and captains Matt Dawson and Phil Tufnell also shared their experiences.

50 Not Out

On 3 January 2020, Sue Barker presented a 50th anniversary special. Matt Dawson captained a team composed of Laura Davies and Beth Tweddle, while Phil Tufnell led Ally McCoist and Martin Offiah. Dawson's team won, the 1,255th episode, by 19 points to 16.

Theme tune

There have been four theme tunes over the years. The current theme was introduced in the mid-1980s and has been remixed and updated several times since, most recently in 2021.

Rounds

The rounds regularly played during series 48, include:[3]

Picture Board

Twelve numbered squares each reveal a sportsperson to be identified during this one minute round.

One Minute Round

Each team is asked nine questions in 60 seconds.

Sports Action

Contestants are asked questions about a montage of sporting action.

Observation Round

Sports action is shown and contestants are asked questions about details of what they have just seen, e.g. "What colour hat was a certain person wearing?" or "How many balls were there?"

Mystery Guest

Each team tries to identify a sportsperson in unfamiliar circumstances and using unconventional camera angles.

Home or Away

Each contestant can answer a one-point "home question" on the sport they participate or participated in or can answer an "away question" on a different sport for up to three points—away questions require three answers, a point per correct answer.

Buzzer Round

The teams play head-to-head, answering as many questions as possible in 60 seconds. At this point, the round immediately ends, even if each presenter is halfway through asking a question.

Sprint Finish

The captains have 60 seconds to act out up to ten sporting terms for the remaining members of the team to guess.

Presenters and captains

Current presenter and captains

The current presenter is Paddy McGuinness, taking over in 2021. The current captains, also coming in 2021, are Ugo Monye and Sam Quek. Ugo Monye is a former rugby union international, winning 14 caps for England. He played club rugby for Harlequins and also played for the British & Irish Lions. Sam Quek is a former field hockey international, who won gold as part of the Great Britain women's national field hockey team at the 2016 Summer Olympics. Quek is the first female team captain on A Question of Sport.[4]

Former presenters

The 1968 pilot episode, broadcast only in the north of England, was hosted by Stuart Hall.[5] The first series was broadcast nationally from January 1970, with David Vine at the helm for the first seven series. David Coleman succeeded Vine—remaining as presenter until 1997.[6] Vine returned to the series as a guest host in 1989, presenting the final five episodes of series 18 in Coleman's absence.[7][8][9][10][11] Sue Barker presented A Question of Sport from 1997 until 2021. Sue Barker won the 1976 French Open tennis tournament and reached a World Ranking of 3.[12][13]

Former captains

A Question of Sport's first captains were boxer Henry Cooper and rugby union player Cliff Morgan. Over the history of the show, some captains have had long tenures, these include: rugby union player Bill Beaumont making 319 appearances and footballer Ally McCoist making 363 appearances.[6][14] The show's longest serving captain is Matt Dawson who appeared in the show for 17 years from 2004 to 2021.

Former captains, include:
4 rugby union players:
Bill Beaumont (1982–1996), Matt Dawson (2004–2021), Gareth Edwards (1979–1982), and Cliff Morgan (1970–1975)

3 cricketers:
Ian Botham (1988–1996), Fred Trueman (1976) and Phil Tufnell (2008–2021)

2 jockeys:
Willie Carson (1982–1984) and Frankie Dettori (2002–2004)

2 footballers:
Emlyn Hughes (1979–1982, 1984–1988) and Ally McCoist (1996–2007)

1 boxer:
Henry Cooper (1970-1977) and (1979)

1 long-distance runner:
Brendan Foster (1977–1979)

1 snooker player:
John Parrott (1996–2002)

Guest captains

Over the years there have been several guest captains standing in for one of the regulars when they have other commitments. Following Ally McCoist's departure, several guests, including Phil Tufnell, sat in the captain's chair before Tufnell was eventually selected as McCoist's permanent replacement:

Notable moments

Transmissions
SeriesStart dateEnd dateEpisodes
Pilot2 December 19681
15 January 1970[20]18 May 1970[21]20[21]
211 January 1971[22]5 April 1971[23]13[23]
320 March 1972[24]19 June 1972[25]14[25]
48 January 1974[26]2 April 1974[27]13[27]
510 July 1975[28]28 August 1975[29]8[29]
63 May 1976[30]21 June 1976[31]8[31]
718 April 1977[32]6 June 1977[33]8[33]
88 January 1979[34]2 April 1979[35]13[35]
97 January 1980[36]18 March 1980[37]11[37]
1027 February 1981[38]15 May 1981[39]12[39]
115 January 1982[40]30 March 1982[41]13[41]
1212 January 1983[42]30 March 1983[43]11[43]
1329 December 1983[44]8 May 1984[45]14[45]
1431 December 1984[46]11 April 1985[47]15[47]
155 December 1985[48]1 May 1986[49]20[49]
1611 December 1986[50]14 May 1987[51]21[51]
173 December 1987[52]26 April 1988[53]21[53]
1825 October 1988[54]11 April 1989[55]24[55]
1924 October 1989[56]1 May 1990[57]26[57]
2023 October 1990[58]23 April 1991[59]26[59]
2115 October 1991[60]21 April 1992[61]26[61]
2227 October 1992[62]20 April 1993[63]26[63]
2319 October 1993[64]30 May 1994[65]28[65]
2411 October 1994[66]2 May 1995[67]26[67]
2520 October 1995[68]3 May 1996[69]27[69]
261 October 199630 May 199729
277 October 19971 May 199826
284 November 199821 June 199927
296 September 19992 July 200030
3016 October 200021 May 200132
315 September 200124 July 200229
3218 October 200215 August 200331
333 October 200313 August 200442
3417 September 200415 July 200541
3510 September 20058 September 200627
3615 September 200618 May 200734
3715 September 200711 June 200836
385 September 200812 June 200942
392 October 200927 August 201035
4029 November 20101 August 201136
418 August 201120 August 201235
421 September 201231 July 201336
4321 October 201313 August 201430
4420 August 201415 July 201531
4512 August 20155 August 201636
4624 August 201631 May 201736
4716 August 201723 May 201835
4818 July 201812 April 201936
4921 June 201929 May 202036
505 June 202028 May 202136
513 September 202124 June 202235
5222 July 20228 September 202336
53November 2023TBA36

Spin-offs

The A Question of Sport format has been applied to various other areas of knowledge. The following spin-off series were all made by the BBC:

SeriesStart dateEnd dateEpisodes
119 April 197124 May 19716
SeriesStart dateEnd dateEpisodes
124 April 198828 August 198818
SeriesStart dateEnd dateEpisodes
3 January 2000[70]1
18 April 20003 June 20009
28 December 2000[71]1
228 April 200128 July 200112
SeriesStart dateEnd dateEpisodes
15 July 200129 August 20018

Roslin also hosted a one-off special, A Question of EastEnders, in 2000. Another one-off special, "A Question of Comedy" was to have been aired on 16 March 2007 as a part of Comic Relief 2007, but after a scandal involving contestant Jade Goody it was replaced with a special edition of Top Gear.

A Question of Spit was a short segment aired in 1988 as part of the inaugural Red Nose Day telethon, featuring Daley Thompson, Barry McGuigan and Mike Gatting forming a team, with their opponents being their own Spitting Image puppets, captained by an Emlyn Hughes puppet. The quiz was hosted by the Spitting Image puppet of David Coleman, with the real Coleman and the puppet Steve Davis also making an appearance.

On 21 March 2012, One Media Radio's Final Whistle produced a one off end of year special entitled, Final Quizzle: Final Whistle does A Question of Sport. Presented by Barry Landy, the show featured two teams consisting of Stuart Hodge, Rory Wilde, Phil Peacock, Steve Sanders, Ben Mouncer and Lewis Davies and included rounds such as 'Tiger's Eighteen Holes' and 'Whelan or Fortune'.

In November 2012, One Media Radio's Head of Sport Edmund Doc Crosthwaite confirmed that Final Quizzle would return for a one off Christmas special on 12 December 2012.

A Question of Sport Relief is a special version of the show usually presented by a guest presenter on Sport Relief night since 2002. The 2002, 2004 and 2006 versions were hosted by Stephen Fry. 2008's version was hosted by Jimmy Carr after Fry had to pull out having broken his arm.

BBC One Scotland aired a one-off A Question of Scotland as part of Children in Need 2008, with Jackie Bird as quizmaster.

The CBBC programme Dick and Dom in da Bungalow made a parody called A Question of Muck as part of the creamy muck muck grand finale game.

The CBBC programme The Saturday Show did a segment called A Question of Busted. Featured the band Busted answering questions about themselves, it was presented by Fearne Cotton who in each segment was dressed as Sue Barker.

The What Happened Next? round was spoofed in an episode of A Bit of Fry & Laurie as David Coleman (Fry) asks Emlyn Hughes (Laurie) to guess what happened after the action stopped in the previous sketch. The host's refusal to confirm whether the given answer is correct then leads into another round of the game, with the question of what happened following the original What Happened Next? sketch.

The show was one of many British TV shows reinterpreted by Chanel 9, a recurring sketch on The Fast Show, where it was titled Questo Sporta and featured the mystery guest round.

References
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  3. "BBC One - Question of Sport - Episode guide". BBC.
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