In April 1999, Channel 5 bought the rights to the show,[2] and started filming on 15 August in Reading, Berkshire with new presenters Keith Chegwin and Lucy Alexander, alongside referee Frank Bruno and scorekeeper Nell McAndrew.
It was developed for Channel 5 with Alan Nixon, and the first show featured Stuart Hall tied up with rope in his garage wishing the new presenters well with the series.
[4] Teams representing a town or city complete tasks in absurd games, often dressed in large foam rubber suits.
Limited budgets meant games were often a variation on what could be done with a long piece of elastic, a lot of water, a portable swimming pool and a roundabout.
In its earliest form, the show emphasised skill or organisation applied in a bizarre way, for instance picking up eggs with an industrial excavator, as well as traditional village sports such as climbing a greasy pole.
[5] The complaints eventually drove the managing director of BBC Television Huw Weldon to have the event withdrawn.
The original presenter was McDonald Hobley, but he stayed for just one series before handing over to Katie Boyle, who in turn was replaced by David Vine and Eddie Waring.
It was hosted by Tim Evans and Brendan Edwards and featured Sean Kramer and Australian Rules player Ron Barassi.
[7] This version aired in Mexico on the TV Cable Network Multivisión and was a success in 1992, and also in the U.S. on KCAL-TV in Los Angeles & WWOR-TV in New York in 1990–91.
Due to insurance costs, the show was filmed in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and ran for eight 1-hour episodes between December 2011 and January 2012 and featured teams of 15 from each state of Australia.
It won the time slot on Thursday nights against reruns of The Waltons on CBS and a short-lived Ben Vereen variety show (Comin' at Ya!)
Sports announcers Charlie Jones and Lynn Shackelford were the play-by-play and color men on this version which featured small towns across America playing the games.
Sam Riddle, who was one of the producers, served as field reporter in 1975 along with Dick Whittington, the latter being replaced by Regis Philbin in 1976.
In a showdown, Boulder City beat Chambersburg and a celebrity all-star team (the "Hollywood Tinsel Towners").
The Grand Knockout Tournament of 1987 featured four teams of celebrities, each figureheaded by a member of the British royal family.
The event, held at the Alton Towers theme park, was widely derided as a failure, particularly in terms of public perception of the royal family.
Games took place around Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, US, and featured celebrity teams representing Australia, UK and US.
The words "Jeux Sans Frontieres" are repeated as the chorus of the song by Kate Bush, and the phrase "it's a knockout!"