A change in format for It's A Knockout as each weekly competition is now between three teams, rather than two. The BBC stage the first It's A Celebrity Knockout featuring many famous names from British television and sport. Future series producer, Geoffrey Wilson joins the programme as Director.

This year, the British representative in the British heat of Jeux Sans Frontières has to compete for that honour (instead of being decided by its score in the Domestic heats, as was the case in previous years).

It's A Knockout 1975
including FA Cup Final Knockout
and It's A Celebrity Knockout

Presenters: Stuart Hall and Eddie Waring / Referee: Arthur Ellis

Scoregirls: Marilyn Ward, Karen Apted, Frances Sinclair and Rena Edwards

Designer: Stuart Furber / Producer: Barney Colehan / Director: Geoffrey Wilson
A BBC North West Production

1975-01

It's A Cup Final Knockout 1975

FA Cup Final Special

BBC1 Transmission: Saturday 3rd May 1975, 12.45-1.35pm
(Shown as part of Cup Final Grandstand)

Recorded: Saturday 19th April 1975

Venue: Queen's Park Rangers F.C. Football Ground (Loftus Road),
Shepherd's Bush, Greater London

Teams: Fulham F.C. Supporters' Club v. West Ham United F.C. Supporters' Club

Team Members included:
Past and present players and celebrity supporters of both teams including Clodagh Rogers, Kenny Lynch, Harry Fowler, Alan Seely, Ronnie Boyce, Jim Langley, Les Barratt, Les Strong, John Lacey, Tommy Taylor and John McDowell

Games: Unknown

Result:

 Team:

Points:

1st
2nd

 West Ham United F.C. Supporters' Club
 Fulham F.C. Supporters' Club

10
8

Made in Colour • This programme exists in the BBC Archives

1975-02

It's A Knockout 1975

Heat 1

BBC1 Transmission: Friday 23rd May 1975, 8.00-9.00pm
Recorded: Sunday 13th April 1975

Venue: St. Ives Rugby Club, St. Ives, Cornwall

Teams: St. Ives v. Falmouth v. Redruth

Team Members included:
St. Ives - Jack Aitkin, Billy Chappell, Charles Edding, Brain Hannible, Sarah Kinwell, Margaret Payne, Ivor Phillips, Dudley Richards and Malcolm Thurnow

Games: Unknown

Result:

 Team:

Points:

1st
2nd
3rd

 St. Ives
 Falmouth
 Redruth

24
20
15

St. Ives qualified for Jeux Sans Frontières in Belgium: transmitted on 27th August 1975

Made in Colour • This programme exists in the BBC Archives

1975-03

It's A Knockout 1975

Heat 2

BBC1 Transmission: Friday 30th May 1975, 8.00-9.00pm
Recorded: Sunday 20th April 1975

Venue: St. Helen's Rugby Ground, Swansea, West Glamorgan

Teams: Swansea v. Caerleon v. Caerphilly

Team Members included:
Swansea - Christine Griffiths, Lee Jones, Alan Majors, Chris Moore, Paul Preeny, Bob Shaddick, Bill Sterio, Steve Stevens, Peter Thomas, Wendy Watson and Rose Williams

Games: Unknown

Result:

 Team:

Points:

1st
2nd
3rd

 Swansea
 Caerleon
 Caerphilly

22
19
16

Swansea qualified for Jeux Sans Frontières in Netherlands: transmitted on 3rd September 1975

Made in Colour • This programme exists in the BBC Archives

1975-04

It's A Knockout 1975

Heat 3

BBC1 Transmission: Friday 6th June 1975, 8.00-9.00pm
Recorded: Sunday 27th April 1975

Venue: Manx Leisure Centre, Onchan, Isle of Man

Teams: Onchan v. Peel v. Port St. Mary

Team Members included:
Onchan - Brian Cairn, Linda Corkhill, Christopher Hamilton, Helen Procter, Peter Quayle and Brian Waddley

Games: Unknown

Result:

 Team:

Points:

1st
2nd
3rd

 Onchan
 Peel
 Port St. Mary

26
19
14

Onchan qualified for Jeux Sans Frontières in Italy: transmitted on 10th September 1975.
This result secured Onchan the ‘Radio Times’ Trophy for 1975 for the highest scoring team in the British heats.

Did You Know? This heat was held at the Manx Leisure Centre in Onchan. The first five games were held indoors and the remainder were staged outside. About three quarters of an hour into the recording, the watching crowd had to move outside for the rest of the games.

Did You Also Know? Onchan team member Peter Quayle returned four years later to participate in It’s A Knockout for the successful Douglas team in 1979.

Made in Colour • This programme exists in the BBC Archives

1975-05

It's A Knockout 1975

Heat 4

BBC1 Transmission: Friday 13th June 1975, 8.00-9.00pm
Recorded: Sunday 4th May 1975

Venue: Beamish Open Air Museum, Stanley, County Durham

Teams: Consett, Derwentside v. Darlington v. Berwick-upon-Tweed

Team Members included:
Darlington - John Brockbanks, Margaret Davison, Jeffrey Graham, Frank Johnson, Janet McKean, Kay Metcalfe, Eddie Stock, David Stott, Malcolm Stringer, Nancy Warnick

Games: Unknown

Result:

 Team:

Points:

1st
2nd
3rd

 Darlington
 Berwick-upon-Tweed
 Consett

20*
20
18

* Darlington won the tie-break (which was on the throw of a single dart) and qualified for Jeux Sans Frontières in Switzerland: transmitted on 17th September 1975

Did You Know? Strongman Darlington team member Malcolm Stringer was Mr Great Britain in 1961, but a Knockout game of strength proved beyond even him - and ended as a draw.

Made in Colour • This programme exists in the BBC Archives

1975-06

It's A Knockout 1975

Heat 5

BBC1 Transmission: Friday 20th June 1975, 8.00-9.00pm
Recorded: Sunday 11th May 1975

Venue: Darroch Park, Gourock, Strathclyde

Teams: Gourock v. Kilmarnock v. Ayr

Team Members included:
Kilmarnock - Gordon Black

Games: Unknown

Result:

 Team:

Points:

1st
2nd
3rd

 Kilmarnock
 Ayr
 Gourock

24
23
16

Kilmarnock qualified for Jeux Sans Frontières in West Germany: transmitted on 24th September 1975

Did You Know? The Gourock team coach was a German, Rudi Stetz, who had been living in Scotland for twenty years, and had developed a Scots accent. He was looking forward to taking his team to the German JSF heat in Mannheim, but sadly it was not to be.

Made in Colour • This programme exists in the BBC Archives

1975-07

It's A Knockout 1975

Heat 6

BBC1 Transmission: Friday 27th June 1975, 8.00-9.00pm
Recorded: Sunday 18th May 1975

Venue: Southsea Castle, Southsea, Hampshire

Teams: Portsmouth and Southsea v. Swanage v. Guernsey, Channel Islands

Games included: 'Beam Stretch'

Result:

 Team:

Points:

1st
2nd
3rd

 Portsmouth and Southsea
 Guernsey
 Swanage

24
23
18

Portsmouth and Southsea qualified for Jeux Sans Frontières in France: transmitted on 1st October 1975

Did You Know? As a compensation for their 1974 IAK heat being postponed, the teams from Portsmouth & Southsea and Swanage were invited to compete as part of the 1975 season.

Did You Also Know? Guernsey is the only team from the Channel Islands ever to participate in the programme.

Made in Colour • This programme exists in the BBC Archives

1975-08

It's A Knockout 1975

Heat 7

BBC1 Transmission: Friday 4th July 1975, 8.00-9.00pm
Recorded: Sunday 25th May 1975

Venue: Cambridge City F.C. Football Ground (City Ground), Cambridge, Cambridgeshire

Teams: Cambridge v. Oxford v. Peterborough

Team Members included:
Cambridge - Derek Allinson, Alan Doyle, Philip Grantham, Colin Matheson and Angela Maxford

Games: Unknown

Result:

 Team:

Points:

1st
2nd
3rd

 Cambridge
 Peterborough
 Oxford

22
20
18

Cambridge qualified for Jeux Sans Frontières in Great Britain: transmitted on 8th October 1975

Made in Colour • This programme exists in the BBC Archives

1975-09

It's A Celebrity Knockout 1975

Summer Special

BBC1 Transmission: Friday 11th July 1975, 8.00-9.00pm
Recorded: Sunday 22nd June 1975

Venue: Fulham F.C. Football Ground (Craven Cottage), Fulham, Greater London
The Lord's Taverners Knockout Trophy presented by: Vera Lynn

Teams: The Lord's Taverners v. Sports Stars

Team Members included:
Judith Chalmers, Linda Cunningham, Sally Geeson, Anita Harris, Muriel Tufnell, Raymond Baxter, Michael Barratt, James Ellis, Bob Grant, Gerald Harper, George Layton, Mick McManus, Richard Meade, Robin Nedwell, Nicholas Parsons, Cardew Robinson, Ed Stewart, Bob Wilson and Kenneth Wolstenholme

Games: Unknown

Result:

 Team:

Points:

1st
1st

 The Lord's Taverners
 Sports Stars

13
13

Did You Know? The It’s a Celebrity Knockout events were quite unique but nevertheless confusing. None of the team members wore coloured shirts (except in 1980) to distinguish them from each other. In some cases, team members ‘swapped’ sides in the middle of games to hinder their opponents, which in itself led to quite amusing situations. As the shows were staged for charity, it all led to a series of interesting and very funny events.

Did You Also Know? The Lord's Taverners are a charitable association of cricketing actors, sports people and other personalities. The result at the end of the contest was Lord's Taverners 10 - Sports Stars 13, but a few members of the Lord's Taverners team held referee Arthur Ellis ‘hostage’ whilst other team members changed the score to show 13-13. As the competition was solely for charity, the ‘new’ result stood and the competition and trophy was shared.

Made in Colour • This programme exists in the BBC Archives

Jeux Sans Frontières 1975

Entrants 1975: Belgium (B) • France (F) • West Germany (D) • Great Britain (GB)
Netherlands (NL) • Italy (I) • Switzerland (CH) 

Presenters of International Heats:
Mike Verdrengh, Marc van Poucke and Regine Clauwaert (B), Guy Lux and Simone Garnier (F), Erhard Keller and Marie Louise (D), Stuart Hall and Eddie Waring (GB), Dick Passchier and Barend Barendse (NL), Giulio Marchetti and Rosanna Vaudetti (I), Jan Hiermeyer and Heidi Abel (CH)

Commentators (BBC): Stuart Hall and Eddie Waring
International Referees: Gennaro Olivieri and Guido Pancaldi
Referee (BBC): Mike Swann

Designer (BBC): Stuart Furber
Producer (BBC): Barney Colehan / Director: Geoffrey Wilson
Produced by RTB-BRT (B), A2 (F), ARD-WDR (D), 
BBC North West (GB), NCRV (NL), RAI (I), SSR (CH)

 

Key: International Heats  l = Qualified for International Final / l = Heat Winner (Silver Trophy) International Final l = Gold Trophy   l = Silver Trophy   l = Bronze Trophy

1975-10

Jeux Sans Frontières 1975

Heat 1

BBC1 Transmission: Wednesday 27th August 1975, 6.55-8.10pm
Recorded: Tuesday 20th May 1975

Venue: Alfred Verweeplein (Alfred Verwee Square), Knokke, Belgium
Weather Conditions: Dry and Warm

Theme: The Village Fair

Teams: Knokke-Heist (B) v. Neuilly-sur-Seine (F) v. Oppenheim (D) v. St. Ives (GB) v. Hoogvliet (NL) v. Cosenza (I) v. Riva San Vitale (CH)

Team Members included:
Knokke-Heist (B) - Paul van der Kochkerholm
Neuilly-sur-Seine (F) - Jacques Boutain
Oppenheim (D) - Bernt Borsnerf, Molly Copriva and Helmut Ring
St. Ives (GB) - Jack Aitkin, Billy Chappell, Charles Edding, Brain Hannible, Sarah Kinwell, Margaret Payne, Ivor Phillips, Dudley Richards and Malcolm Thurnow
Cosenza (I) - Fausto Brullio
Riva San Vitale (CH) - Rita Bricholla, Oriallo Catalani and Thierre Luigi Valconi

Games: ‘Carousel Tassel Grab’, ‘Aeroplanes’, ‘Knocking Down Dummies’, ‘Performing Bears’, ‘Stacking Parcels’, ‘Catching Fritters’, ‘Knocking Down Tins’, ‘Dodgem Cars’ (Fil Rouge) and ‘The Glued Ramp’
Jokers: Carousel Horses

Result:

 Team:

Points:

1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th

 D • Oppenheim l
 B • Knokke-Heist l
 NL • Hoogvliet
 F • Neuilly-sur-Seine
 CH • Riva San Vitale
 GB • St. Ives
 I • Cosenza

43
40
39
38
37
29
23

Did You Know? Games 2, 5 and the Fil Rouge featured actual fairground rides. The Fil Rouge involved a girl in a dodgem car which had 20 balloons attached to its rubber bumper, and three opposing team members had to drive against her car and burst the balloons in the quickest time. One of the three team members was the commentator from the country competing, who also had to commentate whilst driving the dodgem car! The competing commentators were Ezio Guido (CH), Erhard Keller (D), Claude Savarit (F), Eddie Waring (GB), Giulio Marchetti (I), Barend Barendse (NL) and Marc van Poucke (B). An interesting point to note was that when Gennaro gave the score for Great Britain he referred to Eddie Waring as ‘Uncle Eddie’ - a term which had been more commonly used by Stuart Hall to describe his fellow commentator since 1972!

Did You Also Know? Throughout the programme, music from an authentic barrel-organ was played whilst the games took part, which clearly added to the fairground theme and atmosphere.

Did You Also Know? Throughout the history of Jeux Sans Frontières, the final placings of each event were announced at the end of the programme by the local presenter. This heat is unique in that respect because rather than handing back to presenter Mike Verdrengh, referee Gennaro Olivieri announced the scores of the last game and then announced the placings himself: "The final results are - Oppenheim with 43 pts from Germany is the winner, Knokke-Heist from Belgium is second with 40 pts and third place is Hoogvliet from Holland with 39 pts,” he stated. This had never happened prior to this heat and would never happen again.

Did You Also Know? This was the first time that an international heat was staged before all the British domestic heats had been recorded. A similar happening occurred in 1979.

Did You Also Know? The Belgian team of Knokke-Heist was comprised of members from the towns and villages of Albertstrand, Duinbergen, Heist-aan-Zee, Het Zoute and Knokke.

Made in Colour • This programme exists in the BBC Archives

1975-11

Jeux Sans Frontières 1975

Heat 2

BBC1 Transmission: Wednesday 3rd September 1975, 6.55-8.10pm
Recorded: Wednesday 4th June 1975

Venue: Oude Markt (Old Market), Maastricht, Netherlands

Theme: Secret Agents

Teams: Rochefort (B) v. Narbonne (F) v. Bietigheim-Bissingen (D) v. Swansea (GB) v. Maastricht (NL) v. Bracciano (I) v. Zermatt (CH)

Team Members included:
Swansea (GB) - Christine Griffiths, Lee Jones, Alan Majors, Chris Moore, Paul Preeny, Bob Shaddick, Bill Sterio, Steve Stevens, Peter Thomas, Wendy Watson and Rose Williams

Games: ‘James Bond’, ‘Collecting Bullets’, ‘Searching Cases’, ‘Keeping Track’, ‘Building a Spy Camera’, ‘Developing the Photos’, ‘Shooting the Enemy’, ‘News Headlines’ (Fil Rouge) and ‘The Smokescreen’

Result:

 Team:

Points:

1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
6th

 D • Bietigheim-Bissingen l l
 GB • Swansea l
 CH • Zermatt
 I • Bracciano
 B • Rochefort
 F • Narbonne
 NL • Maastricht

46
40
36
33
29
26
26

Made in Colour • This programme exists in the BBC Archives

1975-12

Jeux Sans Frontières 1975

Heat 3

BBC1 Transmission: Wednesday 10th September 1975, 6.55-8.10pm
Recorded: Tuesday 17th June 1975

Venue: Piazzale Roma Spiaggia (Rome Square Beach), Riccione, Italy
Weather Conditions: Very Warm

Theme: A Dance at the Seaside

Teams: Mol (B) v. Saint-Laurent-sur-Sèvre (F) v. Attendorn (D) v. Onchan, Isle of Man (GB) v. Zwijndrecht (NL) v. Riccione (I) v. Le Mouret (CH)

Team Members included:
Onchan (GB) - Brian Cairn, Linda Corkhill, Christopher Hamilton, Helen Procter, Peter Quayle, and Brian Waddley
Riccione (I) - Giuliana Amici, Maria Luisa Balzelli, Giovanni Bezzi, Cecilia Bindelli, Luciano Caimi, Stefano Carlini, Katya Cerri, Stefania Conti, Walter Corbelli, Daniela de Nittis, Dario Dradi, Margherita Gasparini, Franco Geminiani (Team Captain), Roberto Giannini, Federico Guardagli, Fernanda Lanci, Dario Lorenzini, Renzo Magnani, Ugo Montevecchi, Davide Monti,
Gabriella Moretto, Monica Mussoni, Riccardo Mulazzani, Pierluigi Pellizzola, Riccardo Proti, Leda Ricci, Santo Rossi, Vittorio Servadio, Maurizio Sorci, Roberto Tontini, Maria Ugolini and Patrizia Vandi

Games: ‘Dancing Back-to-Back’, ‘Wine Glasses’, ‘Changing Outfits’, ‘Checking the Tables’, ‘The Quick-Step’, ‘Choosing Your Partners’, ‘The Champagne Bottles’, ‘Descending Orchestra’ (Fil Rouge) and ‘Musical Chairs’
Jokers: Seafaring Pleasure Craft

Result:

 Team:

Points:

1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th

 I • Riccione l l
 CH • Le Mouret
 F • Saint-Laurent-sur-Sèvre
 NL • Zwijndrecht
 B • Mol
 D • Attendorn
 GB • Onchan, Isle of Man

42
41
36
35
32
31
25

Did You Know? The Fil Rouge involved six members of each team with life-size musical instruments on a platform which protruded over a pool and which had three large cone-shaped upright bollards atop it. On the whistle the rear of the platform gradually ascended resulting in the front to descend, but the teams had to remain in their original positions whilst opposing team members fired large water-filled balloons on to the platform from a giant catapult to displace them. After 20 seconds a second whistle was sounded, signalling that any remaining players could then move and best position themselves to cling to the platform as it continued to be lowered to its maximum 90° angle. Obviously it was better for the players to get to the protruding bollards because they were now at an advantageous angle to sit behind or cling on to, but they had to be careful as the bollards had revolving outside covers. Dutch team Zwijndrecht went first and two if its members managed to stay on the platform for 90 seconds (maximum time limit), by cleverly sitting behind one of the bollards at a complete 90° angle to it and then holding firm. All the times of the six members were taken as they fell off and then added together, to ascertain a total time. It was a totally different story for British team Onchan, who had been highly fancied to win this heat, as it had been a night of one disaster after another and even on the Fil Rouge their situation did not improve. Even before the second whistle had sounded, the team had lost four competitors to the pool below and with the worst total combined time for all six players, the team ended up in 7th position on both the Fil Rouge and the night as a whole. However on a lighter note, each Fil Rouge was played out against a tune representative of the country competing by the local jazz band. The Netherlands tune was appropriately ‘Tulips from Amsterdam’ whilst Great Britain played the Fil Rouge to the strains of ‘Auld Lang Syne’!

Did You Also Know? Italian team members Franco Geminiani, Gabriella Moretto, Santo Rossi and Maurizio Sorci had participated previously for Riccione in 1971, whilst Maria Luisa Balzelli and Vittorio Servadio had been members of the Città di Castello team in 1972.

Did You Also Know? This was the second occasion that this location had been used to stage the contest. The same beach-side venue had previously been used in 1971.

Did You Also Know? Onchan became the first team from the Isle of Man to represent Great Britain in Jeux Sans Frontières.

Made in Colour • This programme exists in the BBC Archives

1975-13

Jeux Sans Frontières 1975

Heat 4

BBC1 Transmission: Wednesday 17th September 1975, 6.55-8.10pm
Recorded: Tuesday 1st July 1975

Venue: Stadt Quadrat (Market Square), Engelberg, Switzerland
Weather Conditions: Intermittent Rain followed by Torrential Rain

Theme: Holidays in the Mountains

Teams: Pepinster (B) v. Chartres (F) v. Leonberg (D) v. Darlington (GB) v. Veldhoven (NL) v. Aosta (I) v. Giswil (CH)

Team Members included:
Pepinster (B) - Christian Marquette
Darlington (GB) - John Brockbanks, Margaret Davison, Jeffrey Graham, Frank Johnson, Janet McKean, Kay Metcalfe, Eddie Stock, David Stott, Malcolm Stringer and Nancy Warnick
Aosta (I) - Nadina Catriana

Games: ‘Dressing the Snowmen’, ‘Bales of Hay and Tourists’, ‘Cow and Mushroom’, ‘Catching Butterflies’, ‘Milk Churns’, ‘Collecting Edelweiss’, ‘The Boxes in Haystack’, ‘The Hungry Bears’ (Fil Rouge) and ‘The Skiing Tourists’
Jokers: Alpine Horns (which had to be played)

Result:

 Team:

Points:

1st
2nd
3rd
3rd
5th
6th
7th

 D • Leonberg l
 F • Chartres
 CH • Giswil
 I • Aosta
 GB  • Darlington
 NL • Veldhoven
 B • Pepinster

41
38
33
33
31
30
24

Did You Know? It was a night of mixed fortunes for Swiss team Giswil. Under Swiss rules at the time, teams could not participate on more than one occasion (this was changed in 1977) and as Engelberg had participated in 1973 they could not take part in this heat, so Giswil appeared as the Swiss representative. Despite winning two games (one of which was their Joker), they were leading West German team Leonberg by 2 pts before Game 7 (which they had to miss). Leonberg failed to make any headway on them because they finished last on the game (see separate note below). This resulted in the Swiss still leading the West Germans by 1 pt before the Fil Rouge (Leonberg had tackled this first and were still in the lead), but the Swiss made a complete mess of the Fil Rouge and finished in 6th place. This resulted in Leonberg leading French team Chartres and the Swiss by 4 pts going into the last game, which saw the French finish in 2nd place followed closely by the West Germans. But where were the Swiss? Again, a disastrous game for the team ending in a 7th place finish!

Did You Also Know? The day of recording was Great Britain team member David Stott’s 21st birthday, and before the start of Game 7, Swiss commentator Jan Hiermeyer encouraged the crowd to sing ‘Happy Birthday to You’ to him, and they obliged.The game itself comprised the classic ‘finding a needle in a haystack’ scenario. Six boxes had been hidden in the most enormous haystack, and it was a clear case of diving in to find one of the six boxes. Time limit on the game was 2 minutes 30 seconds and after 1 minute 8 seconds the Belgian team member (who was 42 years old!) emerged victorious, whilst the others frantically searched high and low. Time was ticking away for the remaining teams. After 2 minutes and 25 seconds, David Stott emerged with a box, but he still had to run to the start of the course and place it on a marked podium. Just as he did so, Gennaro Olivieri blew the whistle and Great Britain had a time of 2 minutes 30 seconds! Incidentally, all the other four teams were each awarded 1 point, as they had all failed to find a box.

Made in Colour • This programme exists in the BBC Archives

1975-14

Jeux Sans Frontières 1975

Heat 5

BBC1 Transmission: Wednesday 24th September 1975, 6.55-8.10pm
Recorded: Tuesday 15th July 1975

Venue: Luisenpark, Mannheim, West Germany

Theme: The Post Office and Telecommunications

Teams: Temse (B) v. Aix-les-Bains (F) v. Füssen (D) v. Kilmarnock (GB) v. Montfoort (NL) v. Bosa (Sardegna) (I) v. Faido (CH)

Team Members included:
Kilmarnock (GB) - Gordon Black

Games: ‘The Air Mail’, ‘The Train Post’, ‘Stamping Machines’, ‘The Blindfold Postmen’, ‘The Telephone’, ‘The Money Exchange’, ‘The Letter Sorting Belt’, ‘Customs’ (Fil Rouge) and ‘The Packages’

Result:

 Team:

Points:

1st
2nd
3rd
3rd
5th
6th
7th

 CH • Faido l l
 NL • Montfoort
 D • Füssen
 F • Aix-les-Bains
 B • Temse
 GB • Kilmarnock
 I • Bosa (Sardegna)

46
41
34
34
31
30
18

Did You Know? On Game 4 - ‘The Blindfold Postmen’ - six boys were dressed as German postmen who had been blindfolded and had to negotiate an obstacle course which had revolving gates on it. Some of these gates had to be entered and some were just for scenery purposes. At the end of the course, the teams had to open a small door in a wall (which for some reason was marked ‘Schleißfächer’ - loosely translated as ‘creep van’!) which contained a parcel and the game was over. Swiss team Faido seemed to have no problem negotiating the course and won the game, followed by Belgian team Temse and British team Kilmarnock.

Did You Also Know? Host town Mannheim were beaten by Füssen in the West German domestic series Telematch and failed to earn the right to participate in the heat that they were hosting!

Made in Colour • This programme exists in the BBC Archives

1975-15

Jeux Sans Frontières 1975

Heat 6

BBC1 Transmission: Wednesday 1st October 1975, 6.45-8.00pm
Recorded: Tuesday 29th July 1975

Venue: Place Stanislas, Nancy, France

Theme: The Feasts of Stanislas Leszczynski

Teams: Houdeng-Aimeries (B) v. Nancy (F) v. Simmern (D) v. Portsmouth and Southsea (GB) v. Bedum (NL) v. Bordighera (I) v. Adliswil (CH)

Team Members included:
Nancy (F) - Marc Klin

Games: ‘The Beer Festival’, ‘The Pearl Robbers’, ‘The Building of Nancy’, ‘Pirates of the Meurthe’, ‘The Prince’s Artillery’, ‘Sedan Chair Race’, ‘Carts and Barrels’, ‘The Dinner of Stanislas’ (Fil Rouge) and ‘The Prince’s Jailers’

Result:

 Team:

Points:

1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th

 F • Nancy l l
 NL • Bedum
 CH • Adliswil
 D • Simmern
 GB • Portsmouth and Southsea
 I • Bordighera
 B • Houdeng-Aimeries

48
41
38
36
28
25
19

Did You Know? French team Nancy won four games outright (one of which was its Joker Game), and also won the Fil Rouge as well.

Did You Also Know? At this point, both the Dutch teams of Montfoort (Heat 5) and Bedum (Heat 6) had achieved 2nd place with a score of 41 points each. Under the rules of the competition, the qualifying team for the International Final (if placing and scores were equal) would be decided on the number of 1st placings on games. However, both teams had scored two 1st placings, and also three 2nd placings each. The leading team had to be decided on the number of 3rd placings on games. Montfoort had two, whilst Bedum had none. This had never occurred before, and was to happen again the following year. (See Did You Know? footnote for International Heat 5, 1976). However, on this occasion, all this did not matter because of the result in Heat 7.

Made in Colour • This programme exists in the BBC Archives

1975-16

Jeux Sans Frontières 1975

Heat 7

BBC1 Transmission: Wednesday 8th October 1975, 6.50-8.10pm
Recorded: Tuesday 12th August 1975

Venue: Marine Lake, Southport, Great Britain
Weather Conditions: Very Warm and Dry

Theme: The Pirates

Teams: Waterloo (B) v. Saint-Gaudens (F) v. Baesweiler (D) v. Cambridge (GB) v. Steenwijk (NL) v. Valmadrera (I) v. Sainte Croix (CH)

Team Members included:
Cambridge (GB) - Derek Allinson, Alan Doyle, Philip Grantham, Colin Matheson and Angela Maxford
Steenwijk (NL) - Esther Bolk

Games: ‘All Aboard’, ‘Raising the Sails’, ‘Man Overboard’, ‘The Bread Boat’, ‘The Mooring Ropes’, ‘The Boat’s Supplies’, ‘Walking the Plank’, ‘The Rescue’ (Fil Rouge) and ‘Evacuate the Ship’

Result:

 Team:

Points:

1st
2nd
3rd
4th
4th
6th
7th

 NL • Steenwijk l l
 B • Waterloo
 I • Valmadrera
 CH • Sainte Croix
 D • Baesweiler
 GB • Cambridge
 F • Saint-Gaudens

38
36
35
30
30
29
24

Did You Know? The production of this JSF heat was followed by BBC cameras, with a documentary about the work behind the scenes on It's A Knockout being transmitted by the BBC on 19th September 1976. Details in Knockout TV.

Made in Colour • This programme exists in the BBC Archives

1975-17

Jeux Sans Frontières 1975

International Final

BBC1 Transmission: Wednesday 15th October 1975, 6.50-8.10pm
Recorded: Tuesday 26th August 1975

Venue: Grote Markt (Grand Market Place), Ieper, Belgium
Weather Conditions: Dry and Warm
Winners’ Trophies presented by: Paul Boule, Controller of BRT Television

Theme: Love and Marriage

Teams: Knokke-Heist (B) v. Nancy (F) v. Bietigheim-Bissingen (D) v. Swansea (GB) v. Steenwijk (NL) v. Riccione (I) v. Faido (CH)

Team Members included:
Knokke-Heist (B) - Paul van der Kochkerholm
Nancy (F) - Marc Klin
Swansea (GB) - Christine Griffiths, Lee Jones, Alan Majors, Chris Moore, Paul Preeny, Bob Shaddick, Bill Sterio, Steve Stevens, Peter Thomas, Wendy Watson and Rose Williams
Riccione (I) - Giuliana Amici, Maria Luisa Balzelli, Giovanni Bezzi, Cecilia Bindelli, Luciano Caimi, Stefano Carlini, Katya Cerri, Stefania Conti, Walter Corbelli, Daniela de Nittis, Dario Dradi, Margherita Gasparini, Franco Geminiani (Team Captain), Roberto Giannini, Federico Guardagli, Fernanda Lanci, Dario Lorenzini, Renzo Magnani, Ugo Montevecchi, Davide Monti, Gabriella Moretto, Monica Mussoni, Riccardo Mulazzani, Pierluigi Pellizzola, Riccardo Proti, Leda Ricci, Santo Rossi, Vittorio Servadio, Maurizio Sorci, Roberto Tontini, Maria Ugolini and Patrizia Vandi
Steenwijk (NL) - Esther Bolk

Games: ‘The Cave Men’, ‘Wedding Presents’, ‘The Honeymoon Cars’, ‘Hanging Out Washing’, ‘The Storks’, ‘The Bank Notes’, ‘The Drunken Husbands’, ‘The Bride and Groom’ (Fil Rouge) and ‘Posting the Bills’
Jokers: Cats

Result:

 Team:

Points:

1st
2nd
3rd
4th
4th
6th
7th

 F • Nancy l
 I • Riccione l
 B • Knokke-Heist l
 D • Bietigheim-Bissingen
 NL • Steenwijk
 GB • Swansea
 CH • Faido

45
40
34
32
32
30
23

Did You Know? The French team from Nancy became the second team (after Alphen aan den Rijn from the Netherlands in 1970 and 1971) to reach consecutive International Finals. Having being placed 3rd in the previous year’s final, the team were determined not to be outdone a second year running. They were so determined, in fact, that the Nancy team was celebrating before the final game, because they were 7 points clear of their nearest rivals, Riccione, meaning victory was already theirs.

Did You Also Know? The name of Dutch team Steenwijk was written as ‘Steenwyk’ on the International Final scoreboard!

Made in Colour • This programme exists in the BBC Archives

It's A Christmas Knockout 1975

Commentators: Stuart Hall (GB), Paule Herreman & Mike Verdrengh (B),
Dick Passchier & Barend Barendse (NL), Rosanna Vaudetti (I)

Referees: Gennaro Olivieri and Guido Pancaldi
British Referee: Mike Swann

Producer: Barney Colehan
Produced by RAI (I), BBC North West (GB), RTB-BRT (B), NCRV (NL)

1975-18

It's A Christmas Knockout 1975

Christmas Special

BBC1 Transmission: Friday 26th December 1975, 4.10-5.00pm (Boxing Day)
Recorded: Monday 1st and Tuesday 2nd December 1975

Venue: Rink Olimpico del Ghiaccio (Olympic Ice Rink), Cortina D’Ampezzo, Italy

Theme: Festive Fun

Teams: Southport (GB) v. Charleroi (B) v. The Dutch ‘All Stars’ (NL) v. Cortina D’Ampezzo (I)

Southport Team Members:
Harry Boyle - Coach (51, Executive Officer, National Giro), Christine Hodgson - Lady Captain (25, Sales Promotion Rep.), Tony Carr (22, Toolmaker), Phil Conyngham (23, Technical Manager), Pat Core (34, Warehouse Man), Bill Eales (35, Coach Builder), Derek Hulse (27, Builders Merchant Manager), Duncan Snell (27, PE Teacher), Fred Weaver (29, Maintenance Engineer), Phil Weaver (25, Aircraft Electrician), Sheila Brookfield (23, Civil Servant), Lisbeth Coldicott (23, Lifeguard), Lorraine Evans (18, Apprentice Furrier) and Linda Massam (19, Bank Clerk).

Games: ‘Pulling the Sleighs’, ‘Snowballs on Tree’, ‘Chopping the Logs’, ‘Fathers Christmas’, ‘Posting the Cards’, ‘Christmas Trees and Candles’, ‘Snowmen on Skates’ and ‘Happy New Year 1976’

Result:

 Team:

Points:

1st
2nd
3rd
3rd

 I • Cortina D'Ampezzo
 NL • The Dutch 'All Stars'
 B • Charleroi
 GB • Southport

28
25
15
15

Did You Know?: Knowing that the competition would be held in a snowbound location, Southport's team coach, former Rochdale and Southport professional footballer Harry Boyle, decided to take his team on visits the Liverpool Ice Rink for training, knowing that in the Italian team, they would be up against experts. The team flew out on Sunday 30th November, returning on Wednesday 3rd December 1975.

Did You Also Know? The Italian team from Cortina D'Ampezzo (like the French team, Nancy, in the International Final), were determined to win this heat. With a five point lead with two games to go, they needed to just score two points in the penultimate game to secure a draw (should they come last in the final game with the Dutch winning both). The Italians scored three points and their victory was being celebrated before the final game was played.

Made in Colour • This programme exists in the BBC Archives

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