A QUESTION OF SPORT GOES LIVE

A QUESTION OF SPORT CELEBRATES 40TH ANNIVERSARY WITH FIRST EVER LIVE UK TOUR After entertaining millions of viewers every week, BBC ONE’s A Question of Sport is to embark on its first ever live stage tour to celebrate a staggering 40 years on air. The UK’s longest running and most popular sports quiz will embark upon a UK tour across all major cities from the 20th October- 17th November 2010 Tickets for A Question of Sport Live go on sale Friday 19th Feb priced from £35. The specially staged live show, licensed by BBC Worldwide and produced by Live Nation and Merlin Music, largely follows the small-screen format, but also becomes interactive in a thrilling live environment. Fans of the show will be able to see their favourite rounds up close and personal for the first time ever from the ‘Picture Board’ to ‘Mystery Guest’ to ‘What Happened Next.’ Translating the TV show into theatre setting will also allow the team to add some exciting new twists and surprises to the show. Audience members will be able to participate in the shows, directly posing questions to the teams and getting involved in some of the rounds. Working outside the confines of a TV studio will also allow for more physical challenges including exhilarating live sporting contests between teams. Presenter Sue Barker will be keeping order for each show on the tour along with resident team captains Matt Dawson and Phil Tufnell, who will be joined by two stars from the world of sport. The two sporting panellists on Matt and Phil’s teams will change in each city and will have a strong regional connection. The sporting celebrities for each date will be announced shortly...... A Question of Sport celebrated its 40th birthday in January 2010 making it the longest running TV quiz show in the UK and possibly the world. The show is just past its 890th episode and in its 39th series. Over 2000 of the biggest names in British and International sport have appeared on the programme since its early days. In four decades the show has only had three presenters. The starting gun was fired on A Question of Sport in 1970, in a show which featured two bona fide British legends – boxer Henry Cooper and footballing icon George Best. The first host was David Vine, the veteran sports presenter who hosted everything from Match of the Day to Grandstand. David Coleman took over from Vine in the late 70s, and remained in the chair until 1997 when the honours went to Sue Barker. More......... England Rugby Union player Matt Dawson replaced Frankie Dettori as team captain in 2004 and former England International Cricketer Phil Tufnell took over from Ally McCoist in 2008, becoming the programme's 14th regular team captain since 1970. The duo followed in the footsteps of sporting legends Cliff Morgan, Henry Cooper, Fred Trueman, Brendan Foster, Bobby Moore, Gareth Edwards, Willie Carson, Emlyn Hughes, Bill Beaumont, Ian Botham, John Parrott and Ally McCoist. This is the first time that fans of the programme can experience the hit show outside of their living rooms and will also be a unique experience for the presenter and captains. Phil Tufnell commented; “It’s really thrilling to be able to take the show on tour. Doing it live means we can interact more directly with the audience which will make the show a lot more exciting.” Matt Dawson added; “I think what makes this live tour special is that for the first time ever families will be able to watch A Question of Sport in a live setting. When I was a child, we used to all sit at home and play the game as a family and we’d have loved the opportunity to all go and shout out the answers to the panellists.” Sue Barker is equally enthusiastic about the live tour commenting: "I can't wait to get on the road. We’re looking forward to welcoming some of the biggest names in sport to the tour. Touring across the UK will be fantastic fun and I am sure I'll have my hands full with Matt and Phil." IMAGES AVAILABLE ON REQUEST Ticket Information A QUESTION OF SPORT LIVE CREDIT CARDS TEL: 0844 847 2549 / BUY ONLINE AT www.aquestionofsporttour.com OCTOBER Wed 20th Birmingham LG Arena Sat 23rd Newcastle City Hall Wed 27th Manchester Evening News Arena Fri 29th Blackpool Opera House Sat 30th Sheffield City Hall NOVEMBER Mon 1st Cardiff CIA Thurs 4th Nottingham, Royal Concert Hall Fri 5th Liverpool Echo Arena Sat 6th Bournemouth BIC Mon 8th Bristol, Colston Hall Tues 9th Portsmouth Guildhall Wed 10th Plymouth Pavilions Fri 12th Wembley Arena Sun 14th Brighton Centre Tue 16th Glasgow Clyde Auditorium Ends – For Further press information about A Question of Sport Live – please contact Margaret Murray at Frequency Media on 0121 224 7453 or email margaret@fmguk.com Notes to Editors................ The history of the show A Question of Sport celebrated its 40th birthday in January 2010 making it the longest running TV quiz show in the UK and possibly the world. Some of the biggest names in British and International sport have appeared on the programme since its early days. In four decades the show has only had three presenters. The first A Question of Sport aired on 5th January 1970 and was hosted by David Vine. The first team captains were boxer Henry Cooper and Wales Rugby Union star Cliff Morgan. They were joined by guests George Best, Ray Illingworth, Lillian Board, and Tom Finney. The Seventies David Vine hosted the show for five series before moving on to present late-night Snooker and Ski Sunday. His replacement was the sports presenter and commentator, David Coleman. Further changes were made to the team in 1979 as former Liverpool and England star Emlyn Hughes and Welsh Rugby hero Gareth Edwards became the new captains. The Eighties Emlyn and Gareth were the captains for the next three years until 1982. Then, former England Rugby Union captain Bill Beaumont teamed up with jockey Willie Carson whose distinctive laugh quickly became a trademark. In 1984 Emlyn returned as captain and battled Bill for the next five series. Princess Anne appeared on the show in 1987 only a week after Emlyn mistook her for a male jockey on the Picture Board! Cricketing icon Ian Botham joined the show in 1989 taking over from Emlyn and the show had two of the most competitive captains in its history. Bill and Beefy became a staple throughout the Nineties running in tandem for eight series. Bill generally had the upper hand and was helped by a very controversial moment. On the final round of the final show of the series scores were neck and neck and there was just one picture left on the photo board. It was down to Beefy to get it right and win the game. He knew the answer but was interrupted when the fire alarm went off and everyone had to evacuate the studio. When filming resumed, the production team had changed the photo and Beefy lost the game. When the pair finally left Bill had clocked up a then record 319 appearances on the show. The Nineties In 1996 it was all change. Scotland and Rangers striker Ally McCoist and former Snooker World Champion John Parrott became the new captains. David Coleman was in charge for Ally and John's first series, however he retired from the show in May 1997 to be replaced by current host Sue Barker. Ally and John were soon up to no good, mainly at Sue's expense. The Noughties In 2002 John vacated his seat and Ally and Sue were joined by jockey Frankie Dettori who was a bit better at racing horses than he was at quizzes! With Frankie's continuing success in the saddle he decided to give up the captaincy in 2004 to be replaced by one of England's successful Rugby World Cup winners, Matt Dawson. On 18th May 2007, due to his commitments at Rangers, Ally McCoist made his last appearance as a team captain on the show. He had clocked up a record busting 363 appearances. After a brief spell of guest captains, former England cricketer Phil Tufnell was made the permanent replacement for Ally in February 2008 and only the 13th regular team captain. A Question of Sport Team The Presenter Sue Barker DOB: 19/4/1956. Grand Slam Titles: 1, French Open 1976. Most likely to say: “Do you understand Phil?!” Sue, the former French Open Tennis champion, has presented A Question of Sport since 1997. Described by her coach Arthur Roberts as ‘a natural athlete with an especially potent forehand’, Sue won the French Open in 1976 when she was only 20. In the following year she reached the semi-finals at Wimbledon. This helped her reach a career high world ranking of number four. Sue began her television career with Channel Seven in Australia. Since joining the BBC, Sue has presented many great sporting events, including the Summer and Winter Olympics, Wimbledon, Grandstand and Sports Review of the Year. The Captains Phil Tufnell DOB: 29/4/1966. 121 wickets in 42 Tests. Most likely to say: “What’s his name, oh I know his name!!” As a slow left-arm orthodox spin bowler, Phil played 42 Tests and 20 One Day Internationals for England between 1990 and 2001, as well as 316 first-class matches. Tuffers could be inspiring with the ball, taking 11-93 against Australia at the Oval in 1997 (for which he won the Man of the Match award after England won by 19 runs). Phil also took seven wickets in an innings against the West Indies at the Oval in 1990. He took his 121 Test wickets. Nicknamed 'The Cat' due to his tendency to sleep in the dressing room, he was also called 'Two Sugars' due to his love of tea. During his long career spanning over a decade with Middlesex, Phil achieved a great feat in taking more than 1,000 first class wickets in the English game. Phil took over the captaincy reigns from Ally McCoist in February 2008. Matt Dawson DOB: 31/10/1972. England World Cup winner, 2003. Most likely to say: “I haven't a Scooby!” Matt is a former London Wasps, Northampton Saints, England and British & Irish Lions scrum half who was part of England's World Cup winning side in 2003. Making his England debut in 1995 against Samoa, Matt won 77 England caps scoring 16 tries in the process. In 2000, in the absence of Martin Johnson, Matt captained a victorious England at the Six Nations Championship and was part of the side that retained the title a year later. Matt was ever present in the England side that defeated all three of the southern hemisphere sides in the autumn of 2002 to become number one in the World. Matt's finest moment, however, was as part of the England team that won the World Cup under the noses of the hosts, Australia, in November 2003. He made a dramatic start to his Lions career scoring a remarkable match-winning try against South Africa in the First Test in Durban in 1997. He subsequently toured Australia with the Lions in 2001, followed by New Zealand in 2005. Matt played Cricket for Buckinghamshire Under-18s as a wicketkeeper-batsman and played Football for Chelsea Schoolboys as a winger before deciding to concentrate on Rugby.