It was a staple of British television for more than half a century, yet A Question of Sport will be disappearing from our television screens.
The beloved sports panel show was axed by the BBC after the number of viewers kept on down-sliding. It went through a major revamp in 2020 with legendary broadcaster and ex-tennis star Sue Barker being swapped for former 'Take Me Out' presenter Paddy McGuiness and the team captains also changed.
Unfortunately, it was all in vain as the show's popularity with the new cast did not increase. With the show now set to say goodbye to viewers after more than 53 years of entertaining fans, Daily Star Sport takes a look at some of the most memorable and shocking moments in its history.
Princess Anne's handbag 'threat' to Liverpool legend
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In 1987, 19 million people tuned into A Question of Sport to watch Princess Anne's appearance – it was, by far, the most viewed episode in the show's history. Her role as a guest was relatively controversial due to the fact team captain and Liverpool legend Emlyn Hughes had previously guessed a picture showed the jockey John Reid, when it was actually Princess Anne. When told who it really was, he said "don't put that out – they'll hang me!" to the amusement of viewers.
When Her Royal Highness was on the show, she was put on the same team as Hughes. She wasted no time in teasing him about his apparent inability to spot a man from a woman. Later on, he tried to hug the Princess, who immediately responded by threatening to whack him over the head with her handbag if he tried to hug her.
Matt Dawson's 'enormous' fart
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There were many times when the likes of team captains England cricket hero Phil Tufnell and rugby star Matt Dawson were so overcome with hysterics, they surrendered some control of their bodily functions. One of the most memorable came when the latter was laughing so hard during a challenge, that a rather enormous noise emanated from his exterior.
Recalling the incident, he said: "I was in such a position that I tried to get out and let out this enormous fart uncontrollably which set us all alight!”
Ally McCoist not recognising himself
Glasgow Rangers and Scotland legend Ally McCoist was a successful footballer, manager and now broadcaster. However, when it comes to identifying videos of himself, he turned out to be no good. There was a time when he and his opponents had to try and identify a figure who was dressed as a showjumper.
Unbelievably, McCoist failed to spot that the showjumper was actually himself. Fans and contestants were left in a fit of giggles. Maybe he needed to have spent more time looking in the mirror.
The controversial change-up
In 2020, BBC producers broke many hearts when they suddenly decided to axe team captains Dawson and Tufnell, while also getting rid of Barker. They were swapped for McGuiness, Team GB hockey hero Sam Quek and England rugby union ace Ugo Monye.
Tufnell said to the Telegraph: "I was really enjoying myself [on the show]. It wasn't like going to work. It was just turning up and having a good time with your mates. And then, they sort of said, 'Right, OK, we're going to take it in a new direction'. And we sort of went, 'Oh, crikey. That's a shame'."
Matt Dawson's alter-ego
The mystery guest was one of everybody's favourite challenges in the program. This would require an athlete to dress up and perform lots of different acts on screen while panellists tried to guess who they were.
In one video, a picture of a person wearing a bright pink dress, shaved their legs on screen and applied makeup. Viewers could not believe it when it turned out to be regular captain Dawson. What a look!
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