1981 saw the last run of the Interneige competition until the end of 1991, when a similar version was revived for one year only. It was also Eddie Waring's last year with It's A Knockout before retiring, but Eddie made one final return for the British International at Washington. Sadly, throughout the year, Eddie seemed rather out of it, unable to keep up with Stuart Hall's banter. His commentary became slurred and unfocused and, for long-time fans of the series, this was painful to watch.

Some solace however, could at least be found in a marvellous series of new costumes on display this year, including the ‘Wasbees’ (half wasp, half bee), the ‘Budgies’ and the ‘Rabbits’ (both of which featured in the previous year’s British International at Walberton). These three creations were at the centre of much hilarity.

This year, the Domestic series saw the scoreboard receive an overhaul - the team names were set against the colours of the respective teams (red, yellow and green), and hand-held cameras were used for the first time, to give better close-up shots of the games and competitors.

The International Final sees British team Dartmouth end the year on a high, leaving as joint trophy winners with Portuguese team Lisboa.

Jeux Sans Frontières in the Snow (Interneige) 1981

Entrants Winter 1981:
France (F) • Italy (I) • Switzerland (CH) • Yugoslavia (YU)

Presenters of International Heats:
Ettore Andenna and Claudio Lippi (I), Georges Kleinmann (CH),
Dunja Figenwald and Milan Subota (YU)

Produced by A2F (F), RAI (I), SSR-SRG-TSI (CH), JRT (YU)

1981-01

Jeux Sans Frontières 1981

Heat 1

A2F France Transmission: Friday 20th February 1981
Recorded: Sunday 1st February 1981
Not broadcast in Great Britain

Venue: Pentes de Ski (Ski Slopes), Anzère, Switzerland
Weather Conditions: Light Snow

Theme: Snow and Ice

Teams: Saint-Gervais-les-Bains (F) v. Val Malenco (I) v. Anzère (CH) v. Raška (YU)

Team Members included:
Val Malenco (I) - Aurora Bracelli, Loretta Bracelli, Tiziana Bracelli, Bruno Bruseghini, Silvano Bruseghini, Serena Fiat, Franco Giuliano, Cesare Lenatti (Team Captain), Guido Lotti, Luca Negrini, Vinicio Negrini, Germano Pegorari, Rossano Pircher, Elio Presazzi, Marianna Sem

Games: ‘Bees on Skis’, ‘Snow Hills’, ‘Collecting the Crampons’, ‘Pine Cones’, ‘Burying the Treasure’, ‘Ski Slalom’ and ‘The Rum Barrels’

Result:

 Team:

Points:

1st
2nd
3rd
4th

Did You Know? Sixteen towns from four European countries were fighting for the Winter JSF Trophy in this competition.

Did You Also Know? The Italian team comprised of members from ski resorts of the Malenco Valley (Val Malenco), situated high in the Sondrio Province of Lombardy, Northern Italy.

Made in Colour • This programme exists in European Archives

1981-02

Jeux Sans Frontières 1981

Heat 2

A2F France Transmission: Friday 27th February 1981
Recorded: Sunday 8th February 1981
Not broadcast in Great Britain

Venue: Pentes de Ski (Ski Slopes), La Mongie, France
Weather Conditions: Sunny and Very Cold

Theme: Snow and Ice

Teams: La Mongie (F) v. Cesana-San Sicario (I) v. Villars-sur-Ollon (CH) v. Platak (YU)

Games: ‘Digging the Holes’, ‘Dogs and Bones’, ‘Musical Skis’, ‘The Trees’ Branches’, ‘Catching the Snowballs’, ’Hiding the Water’ and ‘The Rum Barrels’

Result:

 Team:

Points:

1st
2nd
3rd
4th

Did You Know? The Italian team was comprised of members from the neighbouring ski resorts of Cesana Torinese and San Sicario.

Did You Also Know? The Yugoslavian team comprised of members from the ski resort of Platak, situated on the Risnjak mountain (Veliki Risjnak) in the Risnjak National Park (Nacionalni park Risnjak).

Made in Colour • This programme exists in European Archives

1981-03

Jeux Sans Frontières 1981

Heat 3

A2F France Transmission: Friday 6th March 1981
Recorded: Sunday 15th February 1981
Not broadcast in Great Britain

Venue: Piste de Sci (Ski Slopes), Cavalese Val di Fiemme, Italy
Weather Conditions: Overcast with Snow Flurries

Theme: Snow and Ice

Teams: Val d’Isère (F) v. Cavalese Val di Fiemme (I) v. Crans-Montana (CH) v. Žabljak (YU)

Team Members included:
Cavalese Val di Fiemme (I) - Gledis Delladio, Margherita Delladio, Piero Delladio, Carlo Donei, Loris Donei, Franco Marchi, Giorgio Marchi, Francesco Mich, Luigi Mich, Nives Pompanin, Carlo Vanzo, Gianfranco Vanzo, Ernesto Vinante

Games: ‘The Downhill Race’, ‘The Skating Bears’, ‘The Silver Coins’, ‘The Bears v. the Dogs’, ‘Catching Fish’, ‘Sounding the Dinner Gongs’ and ‘The Rum Barrels’

Result:

 Team:

Points:

1st
2nd
3rd
4th

Did You Know? The team from Switzerland was comprised of members from the neighbouring ski resorts of Crans-sur-Sierre and Montana.

Made in Colour • This programme exists in European Archives

1981-04

Jeux Sans Frontières 1981

Heat 4

A2F France Transmission: Friday 13th March 1981
Recorded: Sunday 22nd February 1981
Not broadcast in Great Britain

Venue: Skija Nagib (Ski Slopes), Igman (Ilidža), Yugoslavia
Weather Conditions: Overcast and Very Cold

Theme: Snow and Ice

Teams: Vallée de Méribel (F) v. Sestola (I) v. Charmey (CH) v. Igman (YU)

Games: ‘Closing the Doors’, ‘Painting the Landscape’, ‘The Moving Carpets’, ‘The Fishing Eskimos’, ‘The Seal Race’, ‘Breaking Out of the Snow’ and ‘The Rum Barrels’

Result:

 Team:

Points:

1st
2nd
3rd
4th

Did You Know? The Yugoslavian team comprised of members from ski clubs based on Igman mountain, which overlooks the city of Ilidža.

Did You Also Know? The French team comprised of members from the numerous ski clubs based in the Méribel valley, which itself encompasses three mountains.

Made in Colour • This programme exists in European Archives

1981-05

Jeux Sans Frontières 1981

Winter Final

A2F France Transmission: Friday 20th March 1981
Recorded: Sunday 1st March 1981
Not broadcast in Great Britain

Venue: Pentes de Ski (Ski Slopes), Crans-sur-Sierre, Switzerland
Weather Conditions: Sunny, Windy and Very Cold

Theme: Snow and Ice Choice Games

Teams: La Mongie (F) v. Cavalese Val di Fiemme (I) v. Anzère (CH) v. Igman (YU)

Team Members included:
Cavalese Val di Fiemme (I) - Gledis Delladio, Margherita Delladio, Piero Delladio, Carlo Donei, Loris Donei, Franco Marchi, Giorgio Marchi, Francesco Mich, Luigi Mich, Nives Pompanin, Carlo Vanzo, Gianfranco Vanzo, Ernesto Vinante

Games: ‘The Pine Cones’, ‘The Trees’ Branches’, ‘The Fishing Eskimos’, ‘The Skating Bears’, ‘The Moving Carpets’, ‘Dogs and Bones’, ‘The Bears v. the Dogs’ and ‘Bees on Skis’

Result:

 Team:

Points:

1st
2nd
3rd
4th

Did You Know? Arguably the best two games of the entire winter series were replayed in this final - one involved giant bears battling with dogs, while the other was a hilarious game involving bees on skis.

Did You Also Know? The Italian team from Cavalese Val di Fiemme became the first team to compete in two consecutive Winter International Finals. Going into the final game, they were one of the teams involved in a three-way tie, but unfortunately the Italians could not repeat their victory from the previous year.

Made in Colour • This programme exists in European Archives

It's A Knockout 1981
including
It's A Celebrity Knockout and It's A Championship Knockout

Presenters: Stuart Hall and Eddie Waring (not Heat 4)
Referees: Arthur Ellis and Mike Swann (not Celebrity Knockout)
International Referee: Gennaro Olivieri (Championship Knockout only)
Scorers: Jan Rasmussen (All domestic heats), Roz Tranfield (Heats 1, 4, 5 & 6),
Debra Windass (Heat 2) and Angie Green (Heat 3)

Designer: Stuart Furber
Producers: Geoffrey Wilson (Heats and Championship Knockout) and
Barney Colehan (Celebrity Knockout only)
Directors: Bill Taylor (Heats and Championship Knockout) and
Tony Harrison (Celebrity Knockout)
A BBC North West Production

1981-06

It's A Knockout 1981

Heat 1

BBC1 Transmission: Friday 29th May 1981, 7.10-8.00pm
Recorded: Sunday 12th April 1981

Venue: Sherborne Castle Park, Sherborne, Dorset
Weather Conditions: Sunny

Teams: Sherborne v. Dorchester v. Lyme Regis

Team Members included:
Sherborne - Tim Barclay, Sally Bunwell, David Butt, Philip Coulson, Penny Fowler, Colin Hayward, David Mason, Peter Mason, Jeff Palmer, Ian Rowe, Sue Rowe, Chris Thomas-Peters, Rosemary Wanther;

Dorchester - Dave Corbett, Hugh Myers, Simon Myers, Kathlyn Old, Jane Pitfield, Dave Russell and Roz Tatum;

Lyme Regis - John Carl, Gary Larkham, Gaye Lucia, Joanna Semicci, Peter Sergeant and Jim Thomas

Games: ‘Wasbee Flowers’, ‘Water Climb’, ‘Posting the Box’, ‘Cranked Drum Roll’, ‘Ball Stretch’, ‘Budgies and Worms’, ‘Elasticated Carpet’, ‘Raising the Sails’ (Marathon) and ‘Evacuating the Castle’

Result:

 Team:

Points:

1st
2nd
3rd

 Sherborne
 Lyme Regis
 Dorchester

27
22
19

Sherborne qualified for Jeux Sans Frontières in Italy: transmitted on 25th September 1981

Did You Know? Stuart Hall made a ‘blooper’ in this programme. After Game 2, whilst scoregirl Roz Tranfield was having difficulty moving the scoreboard, he failed to wait for her to add the points scored by Dorchester, and announced that the team only had 2 points instead of 5, and the camera panned to the next game!

Made in Colour • This programme exists in the BBC Archives

1981-07

It's A Knockout 1981

Heat 2

BBC1 Transmission: Friday 5th June 1981, 7.10-8.00pm
Recorded: Monday 20th April 1981 (Easter Monday)

Venue: Whitby Marina Car Park, Whitby, Yorkshire
Weather Conditions: Overcast and Windy

Teams: Whitby v. Filey v. Kingston-Upon-Hull

Team Members included:

Whitby - Jenny Anderson, David Beaveth, Pamela Clarke, Mike Sedgwick and Mark Treese;

Filey - Susan Ackrill, Ann Carridge, Martin Hacksby, John Pashby and John Relton;

Kingston-Upon-Hull - Tom Bowering, Karen Briggs, William Butler, Pam Hall, Stan Heywood (Team Captain), Gary Hitching, Martin Holmes, Stephen Hunt, Ian Hurd, Angela Lutkin, Sue Patterson, John Wheatley, Julie Wilkinson

Games: ‘Rabbits and Carrots’, ‘Shovelling Sand’, ‘Trolley Net Catch’, ‘Kangaroo Ski Race’, ‘Pool Pole Balance’, ‘Wasbees and Daffodils’, ‘Untying the Ropes’, ‘Lobster Pots Over Net’ (Marathon) and ‘Evacuating the Castle’

Result:

 Team:

Points:

1st
2nd
3rd

 Kingston-Upon-Hull
 Filey
 Whitby

24
21
19

Kingston-Upon-Hull qualified for Jeux Sans Frontières in Yugoslavia: transmitted on 2nd October 1981

Did You Know? Game 4 had to be abandoned because the wooden kangaroos on skis used on it failed. Whilst Whitby were making good progress up the course, the Kingston-upon-Hull team’s kangaroo equipment snapped, and within 5 seconds the same fate had happened to the Filey team. Whitby carried on regardless, only to be disappointed some 20 seconds or so later by the sound of Arthur Ellis’ whistle, denoting the abandonment of the game. A reserve game - ‘The Human Pyramid’ - was played instead, after the scheduled final game.

Did You Also Know? Kingston-upon-Hull’s team included Great Britain’s Women’s Judo champion, Karen Briggs.

Did You Also Know? Although the team clearly wore shirts with Kingston-upon-Hull printed on them, references on-site by Stuart Hall, Arthur Ellis and even on the scoreboard itself, was to the name being Hull. However, on the final game, Stuart Hall finally called the team by its rightful name of Kingston-upon-Hull.

Did You Also Know? Scoregirl for this heat was Debra Windass, who had been a member of the 1977 Beverley It’s A Knockout team as well as series scoregirl in 1978 and 1979. She also made an appearance as a mermaid mascot of the Bridlington and North Wolds team last year! An impressive It’s A Knockout career.

Made in Colour • This programme exists in the BBC Archives

1981-08

It's A Knockout 1981

Heat 3

BBC1 Transmission: Friday 12th June 1981, 7.10-8.00pm
Recorded: Sunday 26th April 1981

Venue: Coronation Park, Dartmouth, South Devon
Weather Conditions: Freezing with Sub-Zero Temperatures

Teams: Dartmouth v. Exmouth v. Plymouth

Team Members included:

Dartmouth - David Collins, Peter Collins, Jackie Davies, Sid Davies (Team Captain), Kate Distin, Sheree Duff, Cameron Dunn, Sheena Mars, Martin Payne, Alan Pook, Derek Rodgers and Dawn Wiggins;

Exmouth - Jane Berry, Ann Buttery, Paul Gibson, Tony Osland, Jackie Precious, Martin Sharp and Ian Stewart;

Plymouth - Phil Dart, Cheryl Healey, Ann Moore, Graham Pearson, Dave Seabourne and Les Wear

Games: ‘Wasbee Swat’, ‘Greased Boxing’, ‘Trolley Pull’, ‘Budgies and Eggs’, ‘Walking the Plank’, ‘Rocking the Boat’, ‘Jockey Hoops’, ‘Barrels and Nets’ (Marathon) and ‘Evacuating the Castle’

Result:

 Team:

Points:

1st
2nd
3rd

 Dartmouth
 Plymouth
 Exmouth

25
23
18

Dartmouth qualified for Jeux Sans Frontières in Portugal: transmitted on 18th September 1981

Did You Know? This programme was very near to being the first (and only) It’s A Knockout recording to be cancelled - due to extreme, freezing weather conditions. An unexpected cold front had moved quickly down from the North-West of the country, bringing with it very deep snowdrifts, and unprecedented sub-zero temperatures. The actual temperature at time of recording was -5° Centigrade (23° Fahrenheit).

Did You Also Know? At the end of Game 1, the female Plymouth team member who was chasing the Dartmouth wasbee collapsed, due to the excessive cold temperature and sheer exhaustion. An emergency first-aid crew had to rush on to the arena and give her medical assistance to help her recover. Fortunately, no serious injury prevailed, but she did not participate in any more games.

Made in Colour • This programme exists in the BBC Archives

1981-09

It's A Knockout 1981

Heat 4

BBC1 Transmission: Friday 19th June 1981, 7.10-8.00pm
Recorded: Monday 4th May 1981 (Bank Holiday Monday)

Venue: Wardown Park Lower Sports Ground, Luton, Bedfordshire
Weather Conditions: Overcast and Windy
Guest Presenters: Paul Shane, Ruth Madoc and Su Pollard of the BBC comedy series, Hi-De-Hi! (Eddie Waring absent)

Teams: Luton v. Epping Forest v. Welwyn Garden City

Team Members included:
Luton - Jackie Cross, Mark Fairhurst, Sharon Gillett, Lee Holten, John Inge, Delia Isaacs, Andrew Mears, Terry Nicholls, Lorna Roberts, Tony Russell (Team Captain), Joe Toomey, James Warren;
Epping Forest - Tim Brooking, Kevin Chapman, Philip Cottle, Debbie Evans, Glen Fayon, Phillip Harrison, Meg Martin, Kathy Rolfe, Chris Smith and Nigel Wayve;
Welwyn Garden City - Elaine Bell, Diane Harvey, Jean Holdcroft, Kim Tischere and Stuart West

Games: ‘Wasbee Nets’, ‘Threading the Ball’, ‘Flour Trolleys’, ‘The Flat Tyres’,‘Pool Basketball’, ‘Ski-Boots’, ‘Canvas Roll’, ‘Run Rabbit, Run Rabbit, Run! Run! Run!’ (Marathon) and ‘Evacuating the Castle’

Result:

 Team:

Points:

1st
2nd
3rd

 Luton
 Epping Forest
 Welwyn Garden City

23
22
21

Luton qualified for Jeux Sans Frontières in Belgium: transmitted on 9th October 1981

Did You Know? Luton team member, Sharon Gillett was also a member of the winning Luton team in Delft in 1972.

Did You Also Know? This was the first time in It’s A Knockout history that a team name had to be shortened to fit onto the scoreboard - Welwyn Garden City had to be shortened to Welwyn Garden because the typeface used on the 1981 board was much larger than ever before.

Did You Also Know? Epping Forest was created under the Local Government Act 1972, and includes the towns of Epping, Buckhurst Hill, Chigwell, Chipping Ongar and Waltham Abbey.

Made in Colour • This programme exists in the BBC Archives

1981-10

It's A Knockout 1981

Heat 5

BBC1 Transmission: Friday 26th June 1981, 8.00-8.50pm
Recorded: Sunday 10th May 1981

Venue: Pittencrieff Park, Dunfermline, Fife
Weather Conditions: Overcast

Teams: Dunfermline v. Cumbernauld v. Glenrothes

Team Members included:
Dunfermline - Dougie Arnill, Marie Blair, Bill Bunyan, Malcolm Cameron, Steve Coates, Mike Joiner (Team Captain), Pauline Lucas, Marilyn McLeod, Terry O’Connor, Jim Patterson, George Ross, Joyce Suitor, Ian Watson, Pauline Young;
Cumbernauld - Michael Cavanagh, Greg Connell, Willie Cox, Sheila Gimnack, Mick McGrath, Ken McClean, Avril Penn, Joyce Robertson and Hugh Walters;
Glenrothes - Drew Clooney, Kenny Lamb, Gordon Ross, Dave Sellars, Ann Stevenson, Hugh Turner and Sam Wilson

Games: ‘Wasbee Stings’, ‘Hook Swing’, ‘Caterpillar Traction’, ‘Tossing the Caber’, ‘Raft Rally’, ‘Paired Stepping Stones’, ‘Hammer Swing’, ‘Budgie Beam’ (Marathon) and ‘Evacuating the Castle’

Result:

 Team:

Points:

1st
2nd
3rd

 Dunfermline
 Cumbernauld
 Glenrothes

29
22
18

Dunfermline qualified for Jeux Sans Frontières in Switzerland: transmitted on 16th October 1981

Did You Know? Winning every game apart from the first, on which the team came 2nd, Dunfermline’s games results rivalled that of Ely’s whitewash of Hertford in 1973.

Did You Also Know? Dunfermline were 6 pts clear of Cumbernauld before the last game, but still went on to win the game to give themselves a 7 pts clear victory - the second highest in this post-1975 format after Douglas in 1979, who finished 9 pts clear of Ramsey (however, that there was an extra game played in all the domestic heats that year).

Did You Also Know? The Dunfermline team’s Joker was played by 16-year old athlete Linsey MacDonald, who was a member of Britain’s 4x400m Olympic Bronze Medal Winning relay team at the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games. The Cumbernauld team’s Joker was played by actress Kirsty Miller, who starred in the 1981/82 BBC TV series Maggie.

Did You Also Know? Stuart Hall made a ‘blooper’ at this heat. At the end of the contest whilst announcing the next heat, he inadvertently stated that the heat would be held at Derby Baths, Blackpool and it would be the first time that It’s A Knockout had been held indoors. Stuart Hall in fact, had himself already hosted the first ever, back in 1972 at Luton’s Wardown Park Swimming Baths!

Made in Colour • This programme exists in the BBC Archives

1981-11

It's A Knockout 1981

Heat 6

BBC1 Transmission: Friday 3rd July 1981, 7.40-8.30pm
Recorded: Sunday 17th May 1981

Venue: Derby Indoor Baths, Blackpool, Lancashire
Weather Conditions: Not applicable (Heat held indoors)

Teams: Blackpool v. Chorley v. Warrington

Team Members included:
Blackpool - Brian Bottomley, Lesley Dase, Derek Lomas, Mike Lomas, Ian Plant, Alan Roswell, Chris Sharrett, Cheryl Witton and Alan Wooding;
Chorley - Chris Ellis, Sue Fisher, Gwyn Furlon, Steve Jellus, Mike Mason, David Pennington and Scott Reed;
Warrington - Keith Barnett, Jan Blackwell, June Brimlow, Jim Cannon (Team Captain), Peter Dawson, Steven Gooch, Celia Johnson, Clive Jones, Alexic Jovitza, David Lyons, Colin Meechin, Glenroy Skeet, David Walker, Bernadette Woodhouse

Games: ‘Kayak Course’, ‘Raft Balance Relay’, ‘Revolving Balance’, ‘Water Skis’, ‘Pool Target Rings’, ‘Canoe Race’, ‘Diving Board Basketball’, ‘Balloon Climb’ (Marathon) and ‘Evacuating the Moated Castle’

Result:

 Team:

Points:

1st
2nd
3rd

 Warrington
 Blackpool
 Chorley

25
21
19

Warrington qualified for Jeux Sans Frontières in France: transmitted on 23rd October 1981.

Did You Know? Although this was the second occasion that It’s A Knockout had been held wholly indoors (the first occasion being at Wardown Park Swimming Baths in Luton in 1972), Stuart Hall again stated that history was being made as this was the first time. (See also footnote for Domestic Heat 3 from Onchan in 1975).

Did You Also Know? This heat featured one of the toughest games in the history of the series. The marathon saw two team members swim from the pool’s edge to a rope that was hanging from the roof of the pool. They then had to climb up the rope and burst the first three balloons which were attached to a board 30-40ft above. Once completed and safety back in the pool, the next team member repeated the task (to burst the fourth, fifth and sixth balloons) and so on. In total, there were ten balloons on each board. All three teams were level on 6 balloons each after their first attempts, but Blackpool could not improve its score on its second attempt. In the last heat Chorley were against Warrington, and whilst Chorley managed to burst nine balloons, Warrington burst its ninth balloon just outside limit time and scored 8 balloons. Chorley was awarded six well-deserved points.

Did You Also Know? Warrington were six points clear before the last game and the team could not be beaten. As it happened, the Warrington team finished third on the game!

Did You Also Know? The Blackpool team’s Joker was played by professional wrestler, Rex Strong.

Made in Colour • This programme exists in the BBC Archives

Sunderland qualified as hosts for Jeux Sans Frontières in Great Britain: transmitted 30th October 1981.

1981-12

It's A Celebrity Knockout 1981

Summer Special

BBC1 Transmission: Monday 31st August 1981, 6.05-7.00pm (Bank Holiday)
Recorded: Sunday 19th July 1981

Venue: Fulham F.C. Football Ground (Craven Cottage), Fulham, Greater London
Weather Conditions: Sunny with Cloudy Spells

Teams: The Lord’s Taverners v. The Dodgers

Team Members included: Neil Adams, Raymond Baxter, Chris Blake, John Blythe, Bernard Bresslaw, Tim Brooke-Taylor, Paul Burnett, Harry Carpenter, John Challis, Alan Clark, Julie Dawn Cole, Jess Conrad, Roger de Courcey, Barry Cryer, Linda Cunningham, Lynn Davies, Sharron Davies, Ray Fell, Douglas Fielding, Liz Fraser, Ronald Fraser, Jack Haigh, Anita Harris, Melvyn Hayes, Frazer Hines, Chris Hughton, The Jay Jays, John Junkin, Jeremy Kemp, George Layron, Fiesta Mei Ling, Arthur Mapp, Mick McManus, Bruce Montague, Lee Montague, Ron Moody, Patrick Moore, Ted Moult, Stirling Moss, Pete Murray, Roy Norton, Tony Osoba, Michael Robbins, Malcolm Roberts, Leanne Robinson, Gordon Rollings, Catherine Schell, Peter Sissons, Sheila Steafel, Jerry Stevens, Denise Thorne, Barry Took, Meriel Tufnell, Joce Walker and David Wilkie

Result:

 Team:

Points:

1st
2nd

 The Lord's Taverners
 The Dodgers

18
11

Made in Colour • This programme exists in the BBC Archives

1981-13

It's A Championship Knockout 1981

Summer Special

BBC1 Transmission: Friday 11th September 1981, 7.00-8.15pm
Recorded: Sunday 14th June 1981

Venue: Arena North, Park Hall, Charnock Richard, Lancashire
Weather Conditions: Overcast and Raining

Theme: Domestic Re-run

Teams: Dartmouth v. Dunfermline v. Kingston-Upon-Hull v. Luton v. Sherborne v. Sunderland v. Warrington

Team Members included:
Dartmouth - Malcolm Cameron, Peter Collins, Jackie Davies, Sid Davies (Team Captain), Kate Distin, Cameron Dunn, Eddie Lennon, Martin Payne, Derek Rodgers and Martin Shilibeer;

Dunfermline - Dougie Arnill, Marie Blair, Bill Bunyan, Malcolm Cameron, Steve Coates, Mike Joiner (Team Captain), Pauline Lucas, Marilyn McLeod, Terry O’Connor, Jim Patterson, George Ross, Joyce Suitor, Ian Watson, Pauline Young;

Kingston-Upon-Hull - Tom Bowering, Karen Briggs, William Butler, Pam Hall, Stan Heywood (Team Captain), Gary Hitching, Martin Holmes, Stephen Hunt, Ian Hurd, Angela Lutkin, Sue Patterson, John Wheatley, Julie Wilkinson;
Luton - Jackie Cross, Mark Fairhurst, Sharon Gillett, Lee Holten, John Inge, Delia Isaacs, Andrew Mears, Terry Nicholls, Lorna Roberts, Tony Russell (Team Captain), Joe Toomey, James Warren;
Sherborne - Tim Barclay, Sally Bunwell, David Butt, Philip Coulson, Penny Fowler, Colin Hayward, David Mason, Peter Mason, Jeff Palmer, Ian Rowe, Sue Rowe,Chris Thomas-Peters,
Rosemary Wanther;
Sunderland - Jean Applegar, Charlie Bentley, Tony Carlisle, Brian Davidson, Roy Davison, John Debraskey, Ross Edwards, Vivian Holmes, Gary Hutchinson (Team Captain), Norman Judson, Adrian Kelth, Elaine Mennison, Richard Wood, Kevin Youdan;
Warrington - Keith Barnett, Jan Blackwell, June Brimlow, Jim Cannon (Team Captain), Peter Dawson, Steven Gooch, Celia Johnson, Clive Jones, Alexic Jovitza, David Lyons, Colin Meechin, Glenroy Skeet, David Walker, Bernadette Woodhouse

Games: ‘Wasbees and Pollen’, ‘Tossing the Caber’, ‘Riding the Whale’, ‘Ski Boots’, ‘Budgies and Eggs’, ‘Evacuating the Castle’, ‘Run Rabbit, Run Rabbit, Run! Run! Run!’ (Marathon), ‘Raising the Sails’ and ‘Kangaroo Ski Race’

Result:

 Team:

Points:

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

 Dunfermline
 Dartmouth
 Sherborne
 Kingston-Upon-Hull
 Luton
 Sunderland
 Warrington

44
44
33
33
30
26
23

Did You Know? No tie-break was played and winners Dunfermline and Dartmouth each held the trophy for a six-month period.

Made in Colour • This programme exists in the BBC Archives

Jeux Sans Frontières 1981

Entrants 1981: Belgium (B) • France (F) • Great Britain (GB)
Italy (I) • Portugal (P) • Switzerland (CH) • Yugoslavia (YU)

Presenters of International Heats:
Michel Lemaire and Paule Herreman (B), Guy Lux and Simone Garnier (F), Stuart Hall and Eddie Waring (GB), Milly Carlucci and Michele Gammino (I), Elàdio Clímaco and Alice Cruz (P), Rosemarie Pfluger and Jan Hiermeyer (CH), Dunja Figenwald, Mersiha Colakovic and Milan Subota (YU)

Commentators (BBC): Stuart Hall
International Referees: Gennaro Olivieri and Guido Pancaldi

Designer (BBC): Stuart Furber
Producer (BBC): Geoffrey Wilson / Director (BBC): Bill Taylor
Produced by RTBF-BRT (B), A2F (F), 
BBC North West (GB), RAI (I), RTP (P), SSR (CH), JRT (YU)

 

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

1981-14

Jeux Sans Frontières 1981

Heat 1

BBC1 Transmission: Friday 18th September 1981, 7.00-8.15pm
Recorded: Wednesday 24th June 1981
Recorded as Heat 3

Venue: Jardim de Torre de Belém (Tower of Belém Gardens), Belém, Lisboa, Portugal
Weather Conditions: Sunny and Humid

Theme: The Festival of Saint Anthony

Teams: Herent (B) v. Digne-les-Bains (F) v. Dartmouth (GB) v. Montorio Al Vomano (I) v. Lisboa (P) v. Rancate (CH) v. Osijek (YU)

Team Members included:
Dartmouth (GB) - David Collins, Peter Collins, Jackie Davies, Sid Davies (Team Captain), Kate Distin, Sheree Duff, Cameron Dunn, Sheena Mars, Martin Payne, Alan Pook, Derek Rodgers, Malcolm Shilibeer, Dawn Wiggins;

Montorio al Vomano (I) - Antonio Carinelli, Daniele Cecchini, Franco Ciavatta, Antonietta Gabriele, Orietta Gorra, Camillo Ferreo, Ladislao Ferreo, Carlo Leonzi, Gian Pietro Pigliacelli, Leo Valentini, Mariella Valentini, Maria Grazia del Zoppo

Games: ‘Banners’, ‘Chefs and Plates’, ‘The Broken Vases’, ‘The Thieving Cats’, ‘Flowers into Chariots’, ‘Flowers from Maze’, ‘Loaves and Bicycles’, ‘Ravens and Seabirds’ (Fil Rouge) and ‘Balloons and Insignias’
Jokers: Pot Plants

Result:

 Team:

Points:

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

 P • Lisboa l l
 GB • Dartmouth l
 F • Digne-les-Bains
 B • Herent
 I • Montorio Al Vomano
 CH • Rancate
 YU • Osijek

48
39
37
34
32
25
24

Did You Know? For some obscure reason, the opening credits and scoreboard used by the BBC when transmitting this heat showed the Portuguese venue and team as Lisbonne - the French version of the name - and not Lisbon.

Did You Also Know? With the number of entrants falling back to seven, it was decided not to revert to the pre-1979 Fil Rouge format. All seven teams would now compete together in four Fil Rouge heats spread throughout each programme, with only each country’s best time/score counting towards the final points allocation.

Did You Also Know? In Game 4, despite the fact that the British team had clearly hooked four flowers onto the opposing teams’ cats, referee Gennaro Olivieri announced that, “One of the flowers did not count because it was attached after the whistle”. But even after the deduction, the score for Great Britain was still given as only two flowers, and the team finished in last place scoring just 1 point. This resulted in the team being robbed of 2 points, and although this did not affect the result of this or any other heat in respect of qualifying for the final, Dartmouth’s score should have been 41 points!

Did You Also Know? Portuguese team Lisboa was so determined to win this heat that it was 13 points clear of its nearest rivals Dartmouth, before the last game. Despite this, the British team won the last game with the Portuguese coming in 5th.

Did You Also Know? This heat produced a game that was unique in Jeux Sans Frontières. Game 6 - ‘Flowers in Maze - involved a course with several horizontal and vertical elasticated maze obstacles. Two vases, each containing nine flowers, were placed about 10 ft apart on a pedestal at the end of the course. In the nearest vase, there were six ‘bad’ and three ‘good’ flowers, whilst in the vase further away were six ‘good’ and three ‘bad’ flowers. On the whistle, three opposing male team members had to negotiate the course and on reaching the final horizontal maze, had to decide whether to pick from the first vase (with a 33% chance of getting a ‘good’ flower) and return to the start of the course and get a fast time, or take a risk and go the extra 10ft for a 66% chance of picking a ‘good’ flower, but with a slower time. On the return, the flowers had to be placed in hats worn by female team members, and the times were taken. But then referee Guido Pancaldi came along with a blow-torch and one by one, lit a fuse which was protruding from the flower and waited. If the flower was a ‘good’ flower, the fuse sparkled and a 5 seconds deduction was made from the team’s time. However, if it was a ‘bad’ flower then the fuse exploded and a 5 second penalty was added to the time. All the teams in the first heat - France, Portugal and Yugoslavia - went for the nearest vase. Portugal’s flower sparkled whilst the other two exploded. In the second heat Belgium and Switzerland went for the nearest vase, whilst British team member, Alan Pook took the risk and went to the furthest vase. Although he received the slowest time, the risk was worth it and the flower sparkled whilst the other two exploded. Despite this, Dartmouth could not beat the Lisboa team’s time and came 2nd on the game.

Did You Also Know? This was the first time ever that the BBC decided to transmit the heats out of recording sequence. The first three heats were shown out of order (Heat 3 first, then Heats 1 and 2). From Heat 4, the BBC returned to the recording order.

Made in Colour • This programme exists in the BBC Archives

1981-15

Jeux Sans Frontières 1981

Heat 2

BBC1 Transmission: Friday 25th September 1981, 7.00-8.15pm
Recorded: Tuesday 26th May 1981
Recorded as Heat 1

Venue: Arena Alpe Adria (Alpe Adria Arena), Lignano Sabbiadoro, Italy
Weather Conditions: Torrential Rain / Windy

Theme: Water

Teams: Torhout (B) v. Bitche-en-Moselle (F) v. Sherborne (GB) v. Lignano Sabbiadoro (I) v. São Miguel (Açores) (P) v. Regensdorf (CH) v. Šibenik (YU)

Team Members included:
Sherborne (GB) - Tim Barclay, Sally Bunwell, David Butt, Philip Coulson, Penny Fowler, Colin Hayward, David Mason, Peter Mason, Jeff Palmer, Ian Rowe, Sue Rowe, Chris Thomas-Peters, Rosemary Wanther;

Lignano Sabbiadoro (I) - Pier Augusto Aere, Mauro Atura, Donatella Bulfoni, Marina Braida, Lorenzo Bozzato, Rosanna Chiopris, Gimmy delle Vedove, Ennio Fabris, Flavio Fabris, Giuseppe Formenton, Alessandro Gasparetti, Marino Gregoni, Aldo Piatti, Sabrina Rieppi, Beniamino Ros, Paola Zanotelli

Games: ‘Collecting Sweets’, ‘Collecting Starfish’, ‘Champagne Bottles’, ‘Chasing Fish’, ‘Cycling and Miss Lignano’, ‘Couple on the Island’, ‘Bombarding the Ships’, ‘Collecting Cakes’ (Fil Rouge) and ‘Setting Sail’
Jokers: Dolphins

Result:

 Team:

Points:

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

 I • Lignano Sabbiadoro l l
 CH • Regensdorf
 GB • Sherborne
 YU • Šibenik
 B • Torhout
 P • São Miguel (Açores)
 F • Bitche-en-Moselle

46
41
31
31
27
26
22

Did You Know? The final game in this heat involved a girl sitting on the back of an animal-shaped raft (cat, cow, dog, hippopotamus, mouse or pig) which had a large sail in the middle. These were pushed across the arena pool by another member of the team underneath each animal. On reaching the other side, two more girls climbed aboard and they were then all pushed back across the pool. The rules clearly stated that on the return trip, one of the girls had to stand up on the raft. The girls of Italian team Lignano Sabbiadoro were clearly seen sitting down throughout the return trip until about 10ft from the end of course when one of them stood up. However, the Italians were still declared the winners despite protests from the Swiss and Yugoslavian teams. Had the decision been overturned, it would have meant that Swiss team Regensdorf, would have qualified for the International Final because it would have won with 42 points - ousting Ittigen (Heat 5) from the qualifying Final place - and Lignano Sabbiadoro would have been placed second, and Italian team Finale Ligure (Heat 4), would have inherited the place in the final set aside for an Italian team! This proves how much one disputed decision can affect the fortunes of many.

Made in Colour • This programme exists in the BBC Archives

1981-16

Jeux Sans Frontières 1981

Heat 3

BBC1 Transmission: Friday 2nd October 1981, 7.00-8.15pm
Recorded: Wednesday 10th June 1981
Recorded as Heat 2

Venue: Arena u Puli (Pula Amphitheatre), Pula, Yugoslavia
Weather Conditions: Warm

Theme: The Cinema

Teams: Molenbeek-Saint-Jean (B) v. Argentan (F) v. Kingston-Upon-Hull (GB) v. San Felice Circeo (I) v. Santarém (P) v. Saint-Légier (CH) v. Pula (YU)

Team Members included:
Kingston-Upon-Hull (GB) - Tom Bowering, Karen Briggs, William Butler, Pam Hall, Stan Heywood (Team Captain), Gary Hitching, Martin Holmes, Stephen Hunt, Ian Hurd, Angela Lutkin, Sue Patterson, John Wheatley, Julie Wilkinson

Games: ‘Unreeling the Film’, ‘Beach Articles’, ‘Unlacing the Boots’, ‘Pirates’, ‘Horses and Bulls’, ‘Jailbreak’, ‘Tarzan, Jane and Cheeta’, ‘Geese’ (Fil Rouge) and ‘Chariot Race’
Jokers: Film Clapperboards

Result:

 Team:

Points:

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

 YU • Pula l l
 CH • Saint-Légier
 F • Argentan
 I • San Felice Circeo
 GB • Kingston-Upon-Hull
 B • Molenbeek-Saint-Jean
 P • Santarém

45
44
34
31
30
25
19

Did You Know? British team Kingston-upon-Hull won three out of the four Fil Rouge heats, but despite not winning the final heat, had notched up an incredible best time of 29 seconds (maximum time 90 seconds), which secured the team with the 7 points.

Did You Also Know? British team member Julie Wilkinson had such small feet (size 2), that the Yugoslavian television production team could not find any shoes to fit her. So on Game 2 when all the other girls were wearing ‘boxing boots’ as part of the games costume, she wore her normal trainers. Julie proved to be the real heroine on the night, winning both her solo games (amassing 12 pts for the team), and was also one of the four girls in the Fil Rouge. The girls scored 19 pts between themselves in three games, out of Kingston-upon-Hull’s total score of 30!

Made in Colour • This programme exists in the BBC Archives

1981-17

Jeux Sans Frontières 1981

Heat 4

BBC1 Transmission: Friday 9th October 1981, 7.00-8.15pm
Recorded: Tuesday 7th July 1981

Venue: Parc Communale de Couillet, (Couillet Community Park), Charleroi, Belgium
Weather Conditions: Sunny and Warm

Theme: Professions

Teams: Charleroi (B) v. Les Gets (F) v. Luton (GB) v. Finale Ligure (I) v. Ilha da Madeira (P) v. Saas Fee (CH) v. Zenica (YU)

Team Members included:
Les Gets (F) - Alan Hartley (an English ski instructor at the resort of Les Gets);
Luton (GB) - Jackie Cross, Mark Fairhurst, Sharon Gillett, Lee Holten, John Inge, Delia Isaacs, Andrew Mears, Terry Nicholls, Lorna Roberts, Tony Russell (Team Captain), Joe Toomey, James Warren

Games: ‘The Wine-Tasters’, ‘The Cooks’, ‘The Musicians’, ‘The Firemen’, ‘The Electricians’, ‘The Mathematicians’, ‘The Actors’, ‘Scaling the Château’ (Fil Rouge) and ‘The Olympic Sportsmen’
Jokers: Professional Tools

Result:

 Team:

Points:

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

 I • Finale Ligure l
 YU • Zenica
 F • Les Gets
 B • Charleroi
 CH • Saas Fee
 P • Ilha da Madeira
 GB • Luton

43
37
36
32
32
28
21

Did You Know? The venue of this heat, ‘Parc Communale de Couillet’, was created when the old coal and iron mines were filled in and the new park was laid out on top of them.

Did You Also Know? There was a night of disappointment for two of the teams in this heat. Firstly, despite winning this International heat, Italian team Finale Ligure did not qualify for the final due to a refereeing error in Heat 1 (transmitted as Heat 2 - see note following heat details above). Secondly, and most disastrously, was the performance on the night of the British team from Luton. The team was full of aspirations and went to Belgium in the knowledge that to qualify for the International Final, all it had to do (at this point) was to secure a win or a second place with a higher points score than 39. After the first game, the team was in second place and everything was looking good. However, a sequence of 6th (Game 2), 4th (Game 3), 3rd (Game 4) and 5th (Game 5) left the team lying in 6th place overall. Things were beginning to look really bad. Game 7 - ‘The Mathematicians’ - was based on the game ‘Connect 4’ and was played in three heats x 2 teams. The idea of the game (if you have never played), is simply to place a coloured disc in a column or row and building up on top of your own discs or on top of your opponents in order to get a row of 4, horizontally, vertically or diagonally. As the ‘players’ of the game were unable to see the board, they relied on their fellow player (in Luton’s case, this was Sharon Gillett) and she had to call out and tell fellow team-mates Terry Nicholls and Andrew Mears which rows to put the discs in. But for some unknown reason, she got it completely wrong and after just 1 minute and 12 seconds (time limit was three minutes), the game was over and Luton had the worst of the six times (three winning times and three losing times). Worst of all was Luton that had decided to play their Joker on this game - the team scored just 1 point (no bonus) - and the nightmare scenario had happened. Now trailing in 7th place overall with 16 points, Luton missed the next game and then came last on the Fil Rouge. Despite a 4th place on the final game, Luton had achieved one of Great Britain’s worst performances in Jeux Sans Frontières.

Did You Also Know? Game 3 was played out in 6 heats on a giant trumpet. Two members of each team were suspended above the valves of the trumpet, and they had to memorise a sequence of 14 notes, which played a famous Belgian tune called ‘Le Bonne Roi D’Egbert’ (‘The Good King Egbert’). As the two players were suspended above the trumpet, the notes had to be played with their feet on four valves of the trumpet. The girls had valves 1 and 2, whilst the boys had valves 3 and 4. If the teams remembered the sequence correctly, it was very easy, but once the sequence was lost, the teams struggled to remember where they were and were pressing any valves frantically. Italian team Finale Ligure amazingly completed the 14 notes in just 12 seconds, beating the French team Les Gets and Portuguese team Ilha da Madeira (both on their Jokers) into 2nd and 3rd places respectively.

Did You Also Know? Due to Luton’s poor performance throughout the night, the team was trailing behind 6th place team Ilha da Madeira by 9 points before the final game, and was destined to finish in last place whatever the result on the game. At the other end of the scale, Finale Ligure was 6 pts clear of Belgian team Charleroi before the final game. Even if they finished 7th on the game, they would have won the heat, albeit as a tie (if the Belgians had won the game). However, this did not matter because Finale Ligure came 2nd on the game, and with Charleroi finishing last, it allowed Yugoslavian team Zenica and French team Les Gets to take the 2nd and 3rd places in the heat.

Made in Colour • This programme exists in the BBC Archives

1981-18

Jeux Sans Frontières 1981

Heat 5

BBC1 Transmission: Friday 16th October 1981, 7.00-8.15pm
Recorded: Wednesday 29th July 1981

Venue: Obersteinstraße Sporte Stadion (Oberstein Street Sports Stadium), Meiringen-Hasliberg, Switzerland
Weather Conditions: Warm

Theme: Mountain Holidays: Legends of the Swiss Alps

Teams: Bornem (B) v. Le Cannet (F) v. Dunfermline (GB) v. Merate (I) v. Braga (P) v. Ittigen (CH) v. Pirot (YU)

Team Members included:
Dunfermline (GB) - Dougie Arnill, Marie Blair, Bill Bunyan, Malcolm Cameron, Steve Coates, Mike Joiner (Team Captain), Pauline Lucas, Marilyn McLeod, Terry O’Connor, Jim Patterson, George Ross, Joyce Suitor, Ian Watson, Pauline Young

Games: ‘Hillside Mushrooms’, ‘Scarecrows and Corn’, ‘Rabbits and Carrots’, ‘The Mountain Goat’, ‘Mountain Crystals’, ‘Cows and Edelweiss’, ‘Prams and Meringues’, ‘Giant Snowballs Ski-Slalom’ (Fil Rouge) and ‘Wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer’
Jokers: Rabbits

Result:

 Team:

Points:

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

 CH • Ittigen l l
 F • Le Cannet
 GB • Dunfermline
 YU • Pirot
 B • Bornem
 I • Merate
 P • Braga

40
39
35
35
31
30
19

Did You Know? This was by far the best International heat in 1981, which included two of the best games of the year. As the games and costumes had been designed by Italian designer, Popi Perani, the crowd and viewers were not disappointed. On Game 3, six opposing team members dressed as rabbits (of an inferior design to those at the British International at Walberton the previous year) raced up the course to a giant pile of hay and had to start digging for carrots. Twenty-four carrots had been hidden but only eighteen had to be found (three for each ‘rabbit’). In the two rehearsals on the previous two nights, all the teams had no problem in completing the course within limit time of three minutes. However, on the night of recording the carrots seemed to be hidden deeper and the ‘rabbits’ were having difficulty in finding them. Approaching limit time, only Swiss team Ittigen and French team Le Cannet had successfully found three carrots each, and referee Gennaro Olivieri announced that limit time would be increased by one minute to 4 minutes. This was the first and only time that a game’s total time had been increased after the game had started. On Game 4, ten ‘tourists’ from the opposing five teams had to negotiate a small hilly course before being confronted by a ‘mountain goat’, which was tethered on an elastic cord. The idea of the game was for the ‘goat’ to prevent them from crossing the ravine, and this was done by way of butting them with its head. British team Dunfermline went first and played a tactical game. Team member Dougie Arnill went to the very end of the course before battling with the ‘tourists’. This worked well and he butted off four ‘tourists’, but the other six didn’t even get a chance to get past him (because too much time had been taken battling the first four), so a maximum score of ten ‘tourists’ (four which were knocked off and six which had not made the crossing) in 1 minute was registered for Great Britain. Surprisingly, none of the other five teams picked up on Dougie’s tactics nor matched his score. Dunfermline’s second victory on the night was now secure. An interesting point to note also was that when Portuguese team Braga participated on the game, it was given a score of only four, but then it was realised that only eight ‘tourists’ had attempted to cross because the two Yugoslavian ‘tourists’ had completely forgotten to line-up! Portugal was awarded another two ‘tourists’ knocked off and its score was increased to six.

Did You Also Know? Despite the Swiss Alps theme of this heat, the last game was dedicated to the major news event of the day of recording - the marriage of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer. The game involved eight members of each team running to the end of the course and picking up an item of clothing. They then rushed back to the start, where they all had to squeeze into a cable-car and a judge closed the doors. The teams then had to ‘dress’ the bride and groom within the confined space of the cable-car, and once completed all the members had to get out by the sun-roof. The bride then had to lay out the train of the dress and six members of the team had to crawl inside it, and the groom then held the end closed. The bride and groom then had to make their way up the course, by means of the six inside the train jumping forward on their knees (to produce a caterpillar motion). On reaching the end of the course the bride had to pull a ring to release the cork from a giant champagne bottle. It was a two-team battle because only Swiss team Ittigen and French team Le Cannet could win the heat. Both teams were level before the game, and the Swiss came in 4th place whilst the French came in 5th. Incidentally, British team Dunfermline won this game, as well as three others on the night, but a very disappointing last place on its Joker game (1 point) meant that it was out of the running before the last game.

Did You Also Know? This heat saw the on-screen scoreboard freeze up and stop. After the results and points had been given on Game 6, it began its update on positions, but stopped after third place was revealed. After the first of two heats on Game 7, the scoreboard was apparently working again, but by the time the results of the second heat were announced, it had broken-down again. A full-screen temporary scoreboard was placed on-screen with the updated points and positions, before referee Guido Pancaldi had even announced the points awarded!

Made in Colour • This programme exists in the BBC Archives