Fighting Talk
Encyclopedia
Fighting Talk is a topical sports show broadcast on BBC Radio 5 Live
BBC Radio 5 Live
BBC Radio 5 Live is the BBC's national radio service that specialises in live BBC News, phone-ins, and sports commentaries...

 during the English football season. Its first series aired in October 2003, and was presented by Johnny Vaughan
Johnny Vaughan
Jonathan Randall Vaughan is an English broadcaster and journalist. Vaughan has become well known as a television and radio personality and has also built a reputation as a film critic. He co-presented Capital Breakfast alongside Lisa Snowdon on 95.8 Capital FM between 2004 and 2011...

. The second series featured Christian O'Connell
Christian O'Connell
Christian O'Connell is an English radio DJ who presents the Absolute Radio weekday breakfast show.He has formerly hosted BBC Radio Five Live's weekend sports game show Fighting Talk alongside the weekday breakfast show on indie music station Xfm London...

. It is currently hosted by Colin Murray
Colin Murray
Colin Murray is a Northern Irish sports and music radio and television presenter. He is the current host of the BBC Television show Match of the Day 2 on BBC Two, and the BBC Radio 5 Live shows 5 Live Sport and Fighting Talk, as well as a show on BBC Radio Ulster. He has previously hosted regular...

 and is aired on Saturday mornings for an hour between 11:00 and 12:00. It is currently in its ninth series. In 2011 the show won a second prestigious gold Sony Radio Academy Award in the sports programme category. Judges paid tribute to the old-fashioned Music Hall
Music hall
Music Hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment which was popular between 1850 and 1960. The term can refer to:# A particular form of variety entertainment involving a mixture of popular song, comedy and speciality acts...

 style of the show and Martin Kelner
Martin Kelner
Martin B. Kelner is a British journalist, author, comedian and radio presenter, educated at Stand Grammar School, in Whitefield near Manchester....

's many anecdotes.

Format

Colin Murray
Colin Murray
Colin Murray is a Northern Irish sports and music radio and television presenter. He is the current host of the BBC Television show Match of the Day 2 on BBC Two, and the BBC Radio 5 Live shows 5 Live Sport and Fighting Talk, as well as a show on BBC Radio Ulster. He has previously hosted regular...

 chairs the show where four guest pundits are invited to expound in turn, preferably with wit and knowledge, their views and opinions on a series of topical sporting events. Most sports are thrown into the fray but there is a strong emphasis on English top-flight football and other sports covered by the British news media
News media
The news media are those elements of the mass media that focus on delivering news to the general public or a target public.These include print media , broadcast news , and more recently the Internet .-Etymology:A medium is a carrier of something...

.

The penultimate discussion topic on the show is known as 'Any Other Business' (AOB
Agenda (meeting)
An agenda is a list of meeting activities in the order in which they are to be taken up, by beginning with the call to order and ending with adjournment. It usually includes one or more specific items of business to be discussed. It may, but is not required to, include specific times for one or...

) where the guests are given the opportunity to talk about anything they wish, and encouraged to comment on topics or issues that have irked, annoyed or incensed them in past week, regardless of relevance to sport. There have been several notable AOBs; a particularly good example of wit and rant was Steve Bunce
Steve Bunce
Steve Bunce is a freelance television and radio sport pundit and newspaper columnist. He has regularly appeared as a pundit on the BBC sports programme Inside Sport and on BBC Radio Five Live's Fighting Talk...

's recollections of an interrupted stay at a London hotel.

Listener participation

The programme is interspersed with 'listeners' homework
Homework
Homework, or homework assignment, refers to tasks assigned to students by their teachers to be completed outside of class. Common homework assignments may include a quantity or period of reading to be performed, writing or typing to be completed, problems to be solved, a school project to be built...

' - listeners are asked to submit answers to one of the questions posed to the panel (normally question two) by e-mail or text message. During the course of the show, the presenter will read out the 'best' responses, with the most entertaining answers being read out the following week. Homework questions often involve likening sports people to objects, animals or concepts: for example, “If footballers were houses, what would they be?”.

Prizes were introduced to encourage respondents; in the first series, the prize for the 'best' entry was a 'soundbite' recording of a commentator or sportsman - being a brief piece of sporting commentary involving the winning respondent or recollections of the respondents' sporting prowess (both fictional). Contributors included Chris Waddle, Barry Fry and Jonathan Pierce. In keeping with the Park incident (see below), the results of this competition have been 'rigged' on occasion - for example, Giles Boden (writer - see below) is a previous 'winner'; his prize was a soundbite recorded for him by former Chelsea manager Claudio Ranieri.

During the second series, a tangible prize was introduced in the form of a Fighting Talk mug
Mug
A mug is a sturdily built type of cup often used for drinking hot beverages, such as coffee, tea, or hot chocolate. Mugs, by definition, have handles and often hold a larger amount of fluid than other types of cup. Usually a mug holds approximately 12 fluid ounces of liquid; double a tea cup...

 - and as an added incentive, listeners were offered the chance to appear as guest pundits. Jim Thane was the first listener to be invited to compete live on the show, appearing in series two alongside Steve Bunce, Greg Brady
Greg Brady (broadcaster)
Greg Brady is a Canadian sports talk radio host on Sportsnet 590 The FAN, and is a regular pundit scheduled on the docket of BBC Five Live show Fighting Talk and holds the record for most wins on the show.-Biography:...

 and Dominic Holland
Dominic Holland
Dominic Holland is an English comedian, and author. He also performs at corporate functions. He won the Perrier Best Newcomer Award in Edinburgh in 1993.-Appearances:...

. Richard Seymour was the second guest listener, appearing in the third series next to Steve Bunce, Bob Mills, and Kriss Akabusi
Kriss Akabusi
Kriss Kezie Uche Chukwu Duru Akabusi MBE is a former sprint and hurdling athlete from the United Kingdom. During his career, he won the gold medal in the 400 metres hurdles at the 1990 European Championships, a gold in the 4 x 400 metres relay at the 1991 World Championships, and a silver medal in...

. During the fourth series, Christopher Briggs joined a panel consisting of Will Buckley, John Rawling, and Bob Mills.

Prizes were suspended during series 5 due to the BBC's blanket ban on hosting phone-in competitions, which came as a result of various phone-in and interactive voting scandals. Listeners were still encouraged to text and e-mail in answers by the presenter, immediately followed by a sarcastic remark from Colin about Blue Peter
Blue Peter
Blue Peter is the world's longest-running children's television show, having first aired in 1958. It is shown on CBBC, both in its BBC One programming block and on the CBBC channel. During its history there have been many presenters, often consisting of two women and two men at a time...

, one of the BBC's programmes accused of misleading viewers. When considered in the context of the arbitrary nature of the show's scoring systems, the suspension seems somewhat ironic, particularly given that presenter corruption is tolerated to the point of being encouraged.

In the latest series, listeners have been asked to submit a question, rather than answer the set question. The listener who is selected to pose the question is also given the power to award two bonus points to any panellist of his or her choice.

Defend the Indefensible

In order to decide the week’s ultimate winner the two highest scoring pundits are invited to 'Defend the Indefensible'. Each pundit is called to vigorously support a topical theme for twenty seconds that is either distasteful, politically incorrect, plainly wrong, self-derisory or entirely contrary to the pundit's known opinions. Previous examples of defending the indefensible include "I’d gladly drink a pint of Maradona’s liposuction
Liposuction
Liposuction, also known as lipoplasty , liposculpture suction lipectomy or simply lipo is a cosmetic surgery operation that removes fat from many different sites on the human body...

 fat for Comic Relief"; "Cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...

 has been cheapened now common people
Proletariat
The proletariat is a term used to identify a lower social class, usually the working class; a member of such a class is proletarian...

 and ladies have jumped on the bandwagon
Bandwagon effect
The bandwagon effect is a well documented form of groupthink in behavioral science and has many applications. The general rule is that conduct or beliefs spread among people, as fads and trends clearly do, with "the probability of any individual adopting it increasing with the proportion who have...

" and "I believe the annual Oxford-Cambridge boat race
The Boat Race
The event generally known as "The Boat Race" is a rowing race in England between the Oxford University Boat Club and the Cambridge University Boat Club, rowed between competing eights each spring on the River Thames in London. It takes place generally on the last Saturday of March or the first...

 should take place in Iranian territorial waters
2007 Iranian seizure of Royal Navy personnel
Iranian military personnel seized 15 Royal Navy personnel during 2007 and held them for 13 days. On 23 March 2007, 15 British Royal Navy personnel, from HMS Cornwall, searching a merchant vessel were surrounded by the Navy of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and subsequently detained off the...

".

The shortest ever DTI was recorded on 26 January 2008, when Jim Jeffries lasted just five seconds after being asked to defend the statement "Just like Ashley Cole, vomiting is a vital part of my lovemaking". Jeffries responded, "Fair enough, because sometimes you need lube". Presenter Colin Murray immediately implied it would be Jeffries' last regular appearance on the show. However, this was not the case, with Jeffries appearing on FT on 18 October 2008, in a typically controversial performance, and made one last appearance on a pre-recorded comics special that aired on Boxing Day
Boxing Day
Boxing Day is a bank or public holiday that occurs on 26 December, or the first or second weekday after Christmas Day, depending on national or regional laws. It is observed in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and some other Commonwealth nations. In Ireland, it is recognized as...

 2009.

On occasion, the DTI round has been specifically designed for the pundit who has to answer. Examples include propositions posed to former England football manager Graham Taylor
Graham Taylor (football manager)
Graham Taylor OBE is a football pundit, ex-football manager, and a former player. He is best known as the manager of the England national football team, as well as being manager of Watford, a club he took from the Fourth Division to the First in the space of five years, then from bottom of the...

 and Henning Wehn
Henning Wehn
Henning Wehn is a German stand-up comedian based in London.-Career:Since October 2003 Wehn has been self-styled the "German Comedy Ambassador in London"...

. After the resignation of Sven-Göran Eriksson
Sven-Göran Eriksson
Sven-Göran Eriksson , in Sweden commonly referred to just by his nickname Svennis, is a Swedish ex-football manager. From October 2010 to October 2011 he managed Football League Championship side Leicester City....

 from the position of England Manager, Taylor
Graham Taylor (football manager)
Graham Taylor OBE is a football pundit, ex-football manager, and a former player. He is best known as the manager of the England national football team, as well as being manager of Watford, a club he took from the Fourth Division to the First in the space of five years, then from bottom of the...

 was invited to defend the statement "The next England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...

 manager should be Graham Taylor". In a later series, Wehn
Henning Wehn
Henning Wehn is a German stand-up comedian based in London.-Career:Since October 2003 Wehn has been self-styled the "German Comedy Ambassador in London"...

 was asked to defend "The German football team
Germany national football team
The Germany national football team is the football team that has represented Germany in international competition since 1908. It is governed by the German Football Association , which was founded in 1900....

 should wear PVC Nazi outfits as a show of support to Max Mosley
Max Mosley
Max Rufus Mosley is the former president of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile , a non-profit association that represents the interests of motoring organisations and car users worldwide...

", in reference to the latter's court battle following revelations about Mosley's personal life.

Finalists who refuse to take part in the round forfeit the round and by extension, the game - for example, John Rawling refused to criticise his wife's cooking on the Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...

 2006 show, with the win being awarded to fellow panellist Des Kelly. Rawling was again asked to defend the proposition exactly a year later, and did so successfully.
Two episodes of Fighting Talk were won by pundits who did not have to participate in the DTI round:
  • On 17 September 2005, Bob Mills
    Bob Mills (comedian)
    Robert Edward "Bob" Mills is a British comedian, notable for his appearances in cult TV series such as In Bed with Medinner and The Show, the latter an attempt to do a non-fictional British version of The Larry Sanders Show.Born in Chester, after a very short spell training for the Merchant Navy,...

     won a show after fellow finalist Steve Bunce refused to defend "John Rawling's debut as ITV
    ITV
    ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...

     boxing commentator was mediocre at best"; Bunce was replaced in the final by John Rawling, who was subsequently unable to respond to the proposition "Boxing's so gay, but that's why I like it".
  • In November 2006, Trevor Nelson
    Trevor Nelson
    Trevor Nelson MBE is an English DJ and presenter.Born in Hackney to a family of St Lucian heritage, he attended Central Foundation Boys' Grammar School in Cowper St, Islington, London EC2 and Westminster Kingsway College...

     was awarded a win after finalists Ian Stone and Clare Balding
    Clare Balding
    Clare Balding is a BBC sports presenter, journalist and jockey.-Early life:In 1989 and 1990, Balding was a leading amateur flat jockey and Champion Lady Rider in 1990....

    's efforts were deemed too terrible to win.
  • Martin Kelner became the first (and to date, only) person to be sent off from the DTI final on 25 April 2009 after Murray had had his lot with this type of Bobby Gould
    Bobby Gould
    Robert Anthony "Bobby" Gould is an English former footballer and manager.-Playing career:Born in Coventry, Gould started his career at Coventry City, making his debut for the club whilst still an apprentice at the age of 16. He did not sign professional until June 1964...

    -esque behaviour, with John Oliver
    John Oliver (comedian)
    John Oliver is a British stand-up comedian, actor, and writer. He is best known for his work on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, for which he won an Emmy in 2009. He also plays a recurring character, Professor Ian Duncan, on the television series Community...

     taking Kelner's place against Gary O'Reilly
    Gary O'Reilly
    Gary O'Reilly is a former professional English footballer who played for Tottenham Hotspur, Brighton & Hove Albion, Crystal Palace and Grays Athletic as a central defender....

    .

Scoring

Guests earn arbitrary points for 'good punditry', but lose them if they waffle
Waffle (speech)
The term waffle, particularly outside the U.S., denotes language without meaning; blathering, babbling, droning. One might waffle throughout an essay or a presentation, when not having enough material, or needing to fill in time. Etymologists say the term was derived from waff, a 17th-century...

, use predictable clichés, or attempt to ingratiate themselves with the host. Scoring is accompanied by a variety of appropriate and humorous sound effects.
Cash Register Kerching One Point (this sound is actually cribbed from the video game Sonic the Hedgehog, and can be heard at the end of a level)
Arrow hitting the target Two Points
Hallelujah chorus Three Points
Be-uuwww minus One point


In the 24 January 2009 show, a new sound effect (being the start up music from Microsoft Windows XP) was introduced, to indicate a points deduction for a 'fact' that had been blatantly pulled by the contestant from Wikipedia or other online source.

Disordered and by no means fair, the system is sufficiently flexible to accommodate the presenter’s moods, likes and dislikes and personal bias.. Pundits can start the game on positive scores, with points having been awarded for complimentary comments about the presenter; by contrast, many start on minus scores, with points having been deducted due to interruptions or negative comments about the presenter.

At the beginning of series four, Colin Murray introduced the "Golden Envelope" round. The presenter places his or her own answer to a particular question into an envelope prior to the show and poses the question to the pundits during the second half of that show: matching the answer in the envelope is worth ten bonus points.

Presenters can also 'fix' the outcome of show results for personal gain. Colin Murray
Colin Murray
Colin Murray is a Northern Irish sports and music radio and television presenter. He is the current host of the BBC Television show Match of the Day 2 on BBC Two, and the BBC Radio 5 Live shows 5 Live Sport and Fighting Talk, as well as a show on BBC Radio Ulster. He has previously hosted regular...

 arranged for Richard Park
Richard Park (broadcaster)
Richard Park is a Scottish media personality and businessman, who is Executive Director of Global Radio. He was previously a media consultant and broadcaster in the UK and has also made appearances as the 'Headmaster' of BBC TV's Fame Academy programmes.-Professional career:Voted most influential...

 to win a show in 2007 because Park was a judge in the TV show Comic Relief does Fame Academy
Comic Relief Does Fame Academy
Comic Relief Does Fame Academy is a spin-off of the original Fame Academy show where celebrities sing as students of the Academy. The programme was launched in 2003 to help raise money for the charities supported by Comic Relief, with the final of the show occurring on Red Nose Day...

, in which Murray was a contestant. At one point, Park was in last place, but Murray put him into the final and gifted him the win, without listening to the Defend the Indefensible round answer from fellow contestant Jim White
Jim White (journalist)
Jim White is a British journalist and presenter who has fronted STV's coverage of the UEFA Champions League for the 2006/07 season by accident. He attended Manchester Grammar School and went on to read English at Bristol University.-Writing:White has covered major sporting events for the Daily...

.

Murray also decided an FA Cup Third Round show on 3 January 2009 in favour of former Wimbledon
Wimbledon F.C.
Wimbledon Football Club was an English professional association football club from Wimbledon, south-west London. Founded in 1889 as Wimbledon Old Central Football Club, the club spent most of its history in amateur and semi-professional non-League football before being elected to the Football...

 FA Cup Final goalscorer and Northern Ireland national football team
Northern Ireland national football team
The Northern Ireland national football team represents Northern Ireland in international association football. Before 1921 all of Ireland was represented by a single side, the Ireland national football team, organised by the Irish Football Association...

 manager Lawrie Sanchez
Lawrie Sanchez
Lawrence Philip "Lawrie" Sanchez is a former Northern Irish football manager, and a former player. He is currently the manager of League Two side Barnet...

, after both Sanchez and fellow finalist Martin Kelner
Martin Kelner
Martin B. Kelner is a British journalist, author, comedian and radio presenter, educated at Stand Grammar School, in Whitefield near Manchester....

 failed to meet the 20 seconds required in Defend the Indefensible.

History

The first series began in October 2003 and was hosted by Johnny Vaughan
Johnny Vaughan
Jonathan Randall Vaughan is an English broadcaster and journalist. Vaughan has become well known as a television and radio personality and has also built a reputation as a film critic. He co-presented Capital Breakfast alongside Lisa Snowdon on 95.8 Capital FM between 2004 and 2011...

. The inaugural show featured a panel consisting of Greg Brady
Greg Brady (broadcaster)
Greg Brady is a Canadian sports talk radio host on Sportsnet 590 The FAN, and is a regular pundit scheduled on the docket of BBC Five Live show Fighting Talk and holds the record for most wins on the show.-Biography:...

, Will Buckley, Bradley Walsh and the eventual winner, Stan Collymore
Stan Collymore
Stanley Victor "Stan" Collymore is an English football pundit and former footballer, who played from 1990 until 2001. He held the British transfer record when he moved from Nottingham Forest to Liverpool for £8.5 million in 1995 and was capped three times at senior level by the England...

. After the first series ended in April 2004, Vaughan left to present the Capital FM breakfast show.

Christian O'Connell
Christian O'Connell
Christian O'Connell is an English radio DJ who presents the Absolute Radio weekday breakfast show.He has formerly hosted BBC Radio Five Live's weekend sports game show Fighting Talk alongside the weekday breakfast show on indie music station Xfm London...

 was the show's second presenter, and completed a successful second series from 2004–2005, culminating in a gold award for the show at the 24th Sony Radio Academy Awards
24th Sony Radio Academy Awards
The 24th Sony Radio Academy Awards were held on 8 May 2006 at the Grosvenor House Hotel, Park Lane in London.There were 29 categories of award and two special awards.-Programme awards and winners:...

. He left to focus on his new Virgin Radio
Virgin Radio
Absolute Radio is one of the UK's three Independent National Radio stations. The station rebranded to its current name at 7.45am on 29 September 2008.The station is based in London and plays popular rock music...

 breakfast show at the end of 2005. His last show was in December 2005, and featured his four favourite guests - John Rawling, Steve Bunce, Greg Brady
Greg Brady (broadcaster)
Greg Brady is a Canadian sports talk radio host on Sportsnet 590 The FAN, and is a regular pundit scheduled on the docket of BBC Five Live show Fighting Talk and holds the record for most wins on the show.-Biography:...

 and Bob Mills. That show also briefly featured the wives of three of those panellists, who were invited to answer (via telephone) a question on behalf of their husbands. Bob Mills' wife was unavailable for comment.

Colin Murray
Colin Murray
Colin Murray is a Northern Irish sports and music radio and television presenter. He is the current host of the BBC Television show Match of the Day 2 on BBC Two, and the BBC Radio 5 Live shows 5 Live Sport and Fighting Talk, as well as a show on BBC Radio Ulster. He has previously hosted regular...

 is the show's current presenter, having started back in February 2006.

Vaughan came back for 'one week only' on 10 March 2007 because Murray was appearing in the reality television programme Comic Relief does Fame Academy
Comic Relief Does Fame Academy
Comic Relief Does Fame Academy is a spin-off of the original Fame Academy show where celebrities sing as students of the Academy. The programme was launched in 2003 to help raise money for the charities supported by Comic Relief, with the final of the show occurring on Red Nose Day...

. However, he has since made two other guest appearances as chairman while Murray has been away. The show has also had a number of other guest presenters to cover for when the host is unavailable, including well-known British broadcasters such as Dickie Davies
Dickie Davies
Richard "Dickie" Davies is a British television presenter, best known for presenting World of Sport from 1968 until 1985....

, Kelly Dalglish
Kelly Dalglish
Kelly Cates is a Scottish television presenter for ESPN. Born in Glasgow, Scotland, she is the daughter of former Liverpool player, and current manager, Kenny Dalglish and the sister of retired ex-Celtic, Newcastle United, Houston Dynamo, and Livingston midfielder Paul Dalglish.-TV career:Cates...

, Jimmy Tarbuck
Jimmy Tarbuck
Jimmy Tarbuck OBE or Tarby is an English comedian. Growing up he was a schoolmate of John Lennon.His first television show was It's Tarbuck 65! on ITV in 1964. He has also hosted numerous quiz shows, including Winner Takes All, Full Swing, and Tarby's Frame Game...

, Gabby Logan
Gabby Logan
Gabby Logan is a television presenter and radio presenter, as well as a former Wales international gymnast. She currently hosts programmes for BBC Sport, mainly focusing on football.- Early life :...

, Terry Wogan
Terry Wogan
Sir Michael Terence Wogan, KBE, DL , or also known as Terry Wogan, is a veteran Irish radio and television broadcaster who holds dual Irish and British citizenship. Wogan has worked for the BBC in the United Kingdom for most of his career...

, Phil Williams
Phil Williams (presenter)
Phil Williams is a British radio news reporter and presenter, currently presenting the BBC Radio 5 Live weekend breakfast show with Anna Foster....

, and Nick Hancock.

Assistant Producer Mike Holt has also had to present the show for one question when Colin Murray could not bring himself to adjudicate a round questioning his favourite team by asking "What's wrong with Liverpool Football Club
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...

?" Murray left the studio for the duration of the question.

Simon Crosse has produced every series of Fighting Talk.

The 'Stuart Hall incident'

Fighting Talk made national news with an episode broadcast on 12 March 2005. The panel consisted of Danny Kelly, Will Buckley, John Rawling and Stuart Hall. The presenter, Christian O'Connell, asked the panel "What other former all-conquering nations, clubs or individuals would you like to see have a renaissance?". Stuart Hall responded "Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...

", and criticised what Robert Mugabe
Robert Mugabe
Robert Gabriel Mugabe is the President of Zimbabwe. As one of the leaders of the liberation movement against white-minority rule, he was elected into power in 1980...

 had done to the country, saying "...don your flannels, black up, play leather on willow with Mugabe cast as a witch doctor. Imagine him out at Lords casting a curse; tincture of bat's tongues, gorilla's gonads, tiger's testicles...". Shortly afterwards, O'Connell was heard to ask studio staff "Are we still on air?" During the same show, Hall was also asked for his opinion on sporting stars acting as role models for young people. In his response, he defended swearing by footballers suggesting that "your average 10-year-old can instruct you in oral or anal sex". The incidents were widely reported in the national press, although neither attracted significant criticism from listeners.

Pundits

Pundits are generally British sports journalists
Sports journalism
Sports journalism is a form of journalism that reports on sports topics and events.While the sports department within some newspapers has been mockingly called the toy department, because sports journalists do not concern themselves with the 'serious' topics covered by the news desk, sports...

, sportspeople or stand-up comics
Stand-up comedy
Stand-up comedy is a comedic art form. Usually, a comedian performs in front of a live audience, speaking directly to them. Their performances are sometimes filmed for later release via DVD, the internet, and television...

. However, some non-UK pundits make appearances, notably Greg Brady
Greg Brady (broadcaster)
Greg Brady is a Canadian sports talk radio host on Sportsnet 590 The FAN, and is a regular pundit scheduled on the docket of BBC Five Live show Fighting Talk and holds the record for most wins on the show.-Biography:...

 (who participates regularly by ISDN from Toronto, Canada). On Saturday 27 October 2007, Greg made an appearance in the studio due to being in London for the first NFL regular season game to be played outside the USA. He has since made appearances in the UK every year, including

Other non-UK contestants include Australian comedians Charlie Pickering
Charlie Pickering
Charlie Pickering he grew up in Melbourne, Australia and attended an Independent Anglican Boys' School; Brighton Grammar...

 and Jim Jeffries
Jim Jeffries (comedian)
Geoffery James Nugent, aka Jim Jeffries is an Australian stand-up comedian .-Early life:...

, English-born New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

 comedian Al Pitcher and German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 comedian Henning Wehn
Henning Wehn
Henning Wehn is a German stand-up comedian based in London.-Career:Since October 2003 Wehn has been self-styled the "German Comedy Ambassador in London"...

. American comic Doug Stanhope
Doug Stanhope
Douglas Gene "Doug" Stanhope is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and author known for his abrasive comedy routines.-Life and career:Stanhope quit high school after his freshman year...

 made an appearance on the 13 September 2008 episode, as he was touring Britain at the time.

Nicknames in Fighting Talk

Certain pundits who have appeared on the show have been allocated nicknames. These tend to be allocated to regular pundits or those who have made previous notable appearances. ! Real Name
! Nickname>
Kriss Akabusi
Kriss Akabusi
Kriss Kezie Uche Chukwu Duru Akabusi MBE is a former sprint and hurdling athlete from the United Kingdom. During his career, he won the gold medal in the 400 metres hurdles at the 1990 European Championships, a gold in the 4 x 400 metres relay at the 1991 World Championships, and a silver medal in...

 
Ak, Ak, Ak, Ak
Dougie Anderson
Dougie Anderson
Dougie Anderson is a Scottish radio and television presenter and voice-over artist.In 2003 Scotland on Sunday ranked him Scotland's 26th "Most Eligible Man".-Radio:...

 
11 Answers, The Husky Voiced Scotsman, And while we're at it, "3 Answers", Ando
Roger Black
Roger Black
Roger Anthony Black MBE is a retired British athlete. During his athletics career, he won individual silver medals in the 400 metres sprint at both the Olympic Games and World Championships, two individual gold medals at the European Championships, and 4x400 metres relay gold medals at both the...

 
Roger Pretty Boy
John Bishop
John Bishop (comedian)
John Joseph Bishop is an award-winning comedian.His television debut came on The Panel. As an actor, he has appeared in the E4 teen drama Skins as Mr Fitch, father of twins, Katie and Emily and in the Ken Loach film Route Irish...

 
"We'll have no Bashing of the Bishop"
Greg Brady
Greg Brady (broadcaster)
Greg Brady is a Canadian sports talk radio host on Sportsnet 590 The FAN, and is a regular pundit scheduled on the docket of BBC Five Live show Fighting Talk and holds the record for most wins on the show.-Biography:...

 
Sleepy Eyes, The Beast, "Our American-Canadian" , Morning Glory
Mark Bright
Mark Bright
Mark Abraham Bright is a former English footballer who is now a sports pundit and BBC London's sport presenter, as well as a coach at Crystal Palace....

 
Under-rated, Mr. Brightside
Will Buckley
Will Buckley (journalist)
Will Buckley is senior sports writer at the Observer, author of The Man Who Hated Football, and a frequent radio and television sport commentator in the United Kingdom. He has appeared numerous times on BBC Radio 5 Live show Fighting Talk, where he has won eight games in eight seasons, at an...

 
Son of Psycho, The Mild-Mannered Man of Fighting Talk, The Meek
Steve Bunce
Steve Bunce
Steve Bunce is a freelance television and radio sport pundit and newspaper columnist. He has regularly appeared as a pundit on the BBC sports programme Inside Sport and on BBC Radio Five Live's Fighting Talk...

 
The Aubergine, The Shirt, The 4th BeeGee, The Seagull, Birdman, Buncey
Steve Cram
Steve Cram
Stephen "Steve" Cram MBE is a British retired athlete. Along with fellow Britons Sebastian Coe and Steve Ovett, he was one of the world's dominant middle distance runners during the 1980s. Nicknamed "The Jarrow Arrow", Cram set world records in the 1500 metres, 2000 metres and the mile during a...

 
Lights Out
David Croft David "I'm Going For The Obvious" Croft
Andy Goldstein
Andy Goldstein
Andrew 'Andy' Goldstein is a British TV presenter.Well known for his rather long nose, homosexuality, dodgy briefs and dapple faced complextion....

 
The New Martin Kelner
Stuart Hall  Crayzee Talker!!
Ian Holloway
Ian Holloway
Ian Scott Holloway is an English football manager and former player. He became the manager of Blackpool in May 2009. Holloway is well-known amongst football fans for his off-the-wall interviews, with a wide selection of quotes and soundbites being printed. Holloway's playing career spanned 18...

 
The Lunchbox Legend
Hazel Irvine
Hazel Irvine
Hazel Irvine , is a television presenter from the United Kingdom.- Life and career :Educated at Hermitage Academy in Helensburgh, she achieved an M.A. in History of Art at the University of St. Andrews, and competed in golf, netball and athletics at university level. In her final year she was...

 
The Female Martin Kelner
Iyare  Ninja
Jim Jeffries
Jim Jeffries (comedian)
Geoffery James Nugent, aka Jim Jeffries is an Australian stand-up comedian .-Early life:...

 
The Foreigner
Des Kelly
Des Kelly
Des Kelly is a British journalist and broadcaster. The award-winning sports columnist for The Daily Mail appears In the paper every Saturday, having joined in 2004....

 
The Fonz, The Bristol Fonzerelli, The Fruit Machine
Martin Kelner
Martin Kelner
Martin B. Kelner is a British journalist, author, comedian and radio presenter, educated at Stand Grammar School, in Whitefield near Manchester....

 
King of the One-liners, The Thinking Man's Martin Kelner, King of the Bad-Gags
Steve Lamacq
Steve Lamacq
Steve Lamacq , sometimes known by his nicknames Lammo or "The Cat" is an English disc jockey, currently working with the BBC radio stations BBC 6 Music and BBC Radio 2.-Early career:He was born in Basingstoke, Hampshire...

 
Lammo
Bob Mills
Bob Mills (comedian)
Robert Edward "Bob" Mills is a British comedian, notable for his appearances in cult TV series such as In Bed with Medinner and The Show, the latter an attempt to do a non-fictional British version of The Larry Sanders Show.Born in Chester, after a very short spell training for the Merchant Navy,...

 
The spokesman for lower league football
Sue Mott  Her with the teeth
Eleanor Oldroyd
Eleanor Oldroyd
Eleanor Oldroyd is an English sports broadcaster with BBC Radio.Eleanor Oldroyd was educated at Oxford High School. She was married to fellow BBC sports presenter Nick Mullins and has two children. She started her career at BBC Radio Shropshire before moving to London in 1988...

 
The First Lady
First Lady
First Lady or First Gentlemanis the unofficial title used in some countries for the spouse of an elected head of state.It is not normally used to refer to the spouse or partner of a prime minister; the husband or wife of the British Prime Minister is usually informally referred to as prime...

 of Fighting Talk
Gavin Peacock
Gavin Peacock
Gavin Keith Peacock is a former English professional football player who played primarily in midfield but often as a striker...

 
Fu Manchu
Fu Manchu
Dr. Fu Manchu is a fictional character introduced in a series of novels by British author Sax Rohmer during the first half of the 20th century...

Richard Park
Richard Park
Richard Park is a Korean-born American professional ice hockey forward currently playing for the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League .-Playing career:Park moved to Southern California near Los Angeles with his family at the age of three...

 
The Name-Dropper
Jeff Probyn
Jeff Probyn
Jeff Probyn is an English former Rugby Union player.The Askeans, Streatham and Wasps prop was selected in England's squad for the 1987 Rugby World Cup, but Probyn did not make his international debut until 1988, at the age of 31, against France...

 
The Lion
John Rawling
John Rawling
John Rawling is a Boxing and Athletics commentator. Currently commentating for boxing on Sky Television and BoxNation, he was the lead commentator for Channel 4 in their coverage of the 2011 IAAF World Championship in Korea. He is also lead commentator on yachting for the Americas Cup World Series...

 
Psycho, J.R., The Boy Rawlings, Sir John of Rawling
Ian Stone
Ian Stone
Ian Stone is a British stand-up comedian, mainly famous for appearing as a guest on shows such as the comedy panel show Mock the Week. Stone is also a regular guest on BBC Radio 5's Fighting Talk.-Career:...

 
Ian "Heart Of" Stone, The Cypriot Warrior, Stand Easy for Ian Stone, The Officer of Comedy
Tom Watt
Tom Watt
Tom Watt is a pro scout for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Prior to joining the leafs, Tom worked with the Florida Panthers on August 16, 2005, as Pro Scout. He previously worked in Player Development for the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. He originally joined the Mighty Ducks on January 5, 2001 as Special...

 
"An Annoyance" "Crow-face" "The Interrupter"
Mark Watson
Mark Watson (comedian)
Mark Andrew Watson is an English stand-up comedian and novelist.-Early life:Watson was born in Bristol to Welsh parents and attended Henleaze Junior school and then Bristol Grammar School, where he won the prize of 'Gabbler of the year', before going to Queens' College, Cambridge, where he studied...

 
"100% Mark Watson" "Metrosexual"
Henning Wehn
Henning Wehn
Henning Wehn is a German stand-up comedian based in London.-Career:Since October 2003 Wehn has been self-styled the "German Comedy Ambassador in London"...

 
In it to win it, Schnell Schnell Jawohl

Pundit themes

Recurring and even guest pundits on Fighting Talk are and have sometimes been given their own themes, which are played during their introduction at the beginning of the show. Most make some kind of comedic reference to the relevant pundit.
! Pundit
! Theme>
  Kriss Akabusi
Kriss Akabusi
Kriss Kezie Uche Chukwu Duru Akabusi MBE is a former sprint and hurdling athlete from the United Kingdom. During his career, he won the gold medal in the 400 metres hurdles at the 1990 European Championships, a gold in the 4 x 400 metres relay at the 1991 World Championships, and a silver medal in...

 
When You're Smiling
When You're Smiling
"When You're Smiling" is a song by Larry Shay, Mark Fisher, and Joe Goodwin , and made famous by Louis Armstrong, who recorded it at least three times, in 1929, 1932, and 1956...

 by Bing Crosby
Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....

  Terry Alderton
Terry Alderton
Terry Alderton is an English comedian who had some high profile acting and presenting roles in the early 2000's before returning to stand-up comedy a decade later....

 
theme from Terry and June
Terry and June
Terry and June is a British sitcom that was broadcast on BBC1 from 1979 to 1987. The programme is largely a continuation of Happy Ever After, and stars Terry Scott and June Whitfield as a middle-class suburban couple, Terry and June Medford...

  Brian Alexander  Always Look on the Bright Side of Life
Always Look on the Bright Side of Life
"Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" is a popular song written by Eric Idle that was originally featured in the 1979 film Monty Python's Life of Brian and has gone on to become a common singalong at public events such as football matches as well as funerals.-History:Whilst trying to come up...

 by Eric Idle
Eric Idle
Eric Idle is an English comedian, actor, author, singer, writer, and comedic composer. He was as a member of the British comedy group Monty Python, a member of the The Rutles on Saturday Night Live and author of the play, Spamalot....

 (from Monty Python's Life of Brian
Monty Python's Life of Brian
Monty Python's Life of Brian, also known as Life of Brian, is a 1979 British comedy film written, directed and largely performed by the Monty Python comedy team...

)
  Keith Allen
   John Barnes
John Barnes (footballer)
John Charles Bryan Barnes MBE is an English football manager and former player.During his playing career, Barnes had successful periods at Watford and Liverpool in the 1980s and 1990s, winning the First Division twice, the FA Cup twice, and playing for England 79 times...

 
World in Motion
World in Motion
"World in Motion" is a song by English musical group New Order. It is New Order's only UK number one single. The song was produced for the England football team's 1990 FIFA World Cup campaign, and features several members of the 1990 English team, as well as comedian Keith Allen, who co-wrote the...

 by New Order
New Order
New Order are an English rock band formed in 1980 by Bernard Sumner , Peter Hook and Stephen Morris...


(England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...

's 1990 World Cup song, which was written by Allen; Barnes was introduced with the portion of the song which includes his rap)
  Dougie Anderson
Dougie Anderson
Dougie Anderson is a Scottish radio and television presenter and voice-over artist.In 2003 Scotland on Sunday ranked him Scotland's 26th "Most Eligible Man".-Radio:...

 
Holding Out for a Hero
Holding Out for a Hero
"Holding Out for a Hero" is a song written by Jim Steinman and Dean Pitchford, originally recorded by Bonnie Tyler. It was released in 1984 on the soundtrack to the film Footloose. It later appeared on Tyler's Secret Dreams and Forbidden Fire album. It hit #96 for the first time in UK in 1984,...

 by Bonnie Tyler
Bonnie Tyler
Bonnie Tyler is a Welsh singer, most notable for her hits in the 1970s and 1980s including "It's a Heartache", "Holding Out for a Hero" and "Total Eclipse of the Heart".-Early life:...

 (later Total Eclipse of the Heart
Total Eclipse of the Heart
"Total Eclipse of the Heart" is a song written and produced by Jim Steinman and recorded by Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler for her fifth studio album, Faster Than the Speed of Night...

 by Bonnie Tyler)
A new theme was offered during Series 8: Who Let The Dogs Out?
Who Let the Dogs Out?
"Who Let the Dogs Out?" is a song written and originally recorded by Anslem Douglas for Trinidad and Tobago's Carnival season of 1998. It was heard and taped on a float by hairdresser Keith from the London salon Smile, who played it to Jonathan King, who recorded it and released it under the name...

 by Baha Men
Baha Men
The Baha Men are Bahamian singers in a Bahamian band. They play a modernised style of Bahamian music called Junkanoo.-Early career as High Voltage :...

  Guillem Balagué
Guillem Balague
Guillem Balague is a Sky Sports Spanish football expert. He is a regular pundit on Sky Sports' show Revista de la Liga and has also written for some of Britain's newspapers as well as several popular Spanish newspapers....

 
Macarena
Macarena
-Places:* Nuestra Señora de la Esperanza de la Macarena , a church in Macarena, Seville* Macarena, Seville, a neighborhood in Seville, Spain, where "La Macarena" is located* Serranía de la Macarena, a range of mountains in Colombia...

 by Los Del Río
Los del Río
Los Del Rio, also known as "The Del Rios," was a Spanish Latin dance group formed in 1992 and broke up in mid-2007. They were best known by their smash-hit and hot dance single Macarena originally released in early 1994. The song peaked at the Hot Dance Singles and Billboard 200 by mid-1994. The...

  Clare Balding
Clare Balding
Clare Balding is a BBC sports presenter, journalist and jockey.-Early life:In 1989 and 1990, Balding was a leading amateur flat jockey and Champion Lady Rider in 1990....


  Cornelius Lysaght
Cornelius Lysaght
Cornelius Lysaght is the horse racing correspondent of the BBC, usually broadcasting on Radio 5 Live. He took up this position in June 2001, succeeding the late Peter Bromley, who had held the position since 1959....

 
Galloping Home theme from The Adventures of Black Beauty
The Adventures of Black Beauty
The Adventures of Black Beauty is a British children's television drama series produced by London Weekend Television and shown by ITV in the United Kingdom between 1972 and 1974...

  Martin Bayfield
Martin Bayfield
Martin Christopher Bayfield is an English former rugby union footballer who played lock forward for Northampton Saints, Bedford Blues and England, gaining 31 England and 3 Lions caps.Bayfield was born in Bedford...

 
theme from Police Academy
Police Academy (film)
Police Academy is a 1984 comedy film directed by Hugh Wilson, and starring Steve Guttenberg, Kim Cattrall and G.W. Bailey. It grossed approximately $146 million worldwide and spawned six more films in the Police Academy series.-Plot:...

  John Bishop
John Bishop (comedian)
John Joseph Bishop is an award-winning comedian.His television debut came on The Panel. As an actor, he has appeared in the E4 teen drama Skins as Mr Fitch, father of twins, Katie and Emily and in the Ken Loach film Route Irish...

 
theme from Bread
Bread (TV series)
Bread was a British television sitcom, written by Carla Lane, produced by the BBC and screened on BBC1 from 1 May 1986 to 3 November 1991....

  Roger Black
Roger Black
Roger Anthony Black MBE is a retired British athlete. During his athletics career, he won individual silver medals in the 400 metres sprint at both the Olympic Games and World Championships, two individual gold medals at the European Championships, and 4x400 metres relay gold medals at both the...

 
Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)
Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)
-Australia CD Maxi:-Europe CD Maxi:-Composition and lyrics:Beginning with a sample of the pseudo-German nonsense phrase "Gunter glieben glauchen globen" from Def Leppard's song "Rock of Ages," chanted as a replacement for the traditional "1, 2, 3, 4" to start the recording, the song ridicules a...

 by The Offspring
The Offspring
The Offspring is an American punk rock band from Huntington Beach, California, formed in 1984. Known as Manic Subsidal until 1986, the band consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Dexter Holland, lead guitarist Kevin "Noodles" Wasserman, bassist Greg K. and drummer Pete Parada...

   Greg Brady
Greg Brady (broadcaster)
Greg Brady is a Canadian sports talk radio host on Sportsnet 590 The FAN, and is a regular pundit scheduled on the docket of BBC Five Live show Fighting Talk and holds the record for most wins on the show.-Biography:...

 
Put Your Hands Up 4 Detroit
Put Your Hands Up 4 Detroit
"Put Your Hands Up 4 Detroit" is a house/Electro single written and produced by Fedde le Grand, and based upon a direct vocal sample from Matthew Dear & Disco D's "Hands Up for Detroit."...

 by Fedde le Grand
Fedde le Grand
Fedde le Grand is a Dutch house DJ and producer whose single "Put Your Hands Up For Detroit" / "Put Your Hands Up 4 Detroit" reached number one on the UK's singles and the top 5 in the Dutch singles chart, and spent five weeks in the Spanish dance chart...

.
A new theme was offered for Series 6: The Hockey Song
The Hockey Song
"The Hockey Song" is a song written and originally performed by Canadian folksinger Stompin' Tom Connors.The song first appeared on Connors' 1973 album, Stompin' Tom and the Hockey Song. However, the song did not reach its tremendous popularity until 1997. It was at this time that the song was...

 by Stompin' Tom Connors
Stompin' Tom Connors
Charles Thomas "Stompin' Tom" Connors, OC is one of Canada's most prolific and well-known country and folk singers.He lives in Wellington County, Ontario.- Early life :...

.
  Kevin Bridges
Kevin Bridges
Kevin Bridges is a Scottish stand-up comedian.-Stand-up:Bridges began performing on the small stage when he left school shortly after his 17th birthday, doing stand-up comedy gigs at The Stand Comedy Club in Glasgow and then throughout the UK. At 18 he reached the final of Channel 5's So you think...

 
Bridge over Troubled Water
Bridge over Troubled Water (song)
"Bridge Over Troubled Water" is the title song of Simon & Garfunkel's album of the same name. The single was released on January 26, 1970, though it also appears on the live album Live 1969, released in 2008. It reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on February 28, 1970, and stayed at...

 by Simon and Garfunkel
Simon and Garfunkel
Simon & Garfunkel are an American duo consisting of singer-songwriter Paul Simon and singer Art Garfunkel. They formed the group Tom & Jerry in 1957 and had their first success with the minor hit "Hey, Schoolgirl". As Simon & Garfunkel, the duo rose to fame in 1965, largely on the strength of the...

 (previously an instrumental version of same)
  Mark Bright
Mark Bright
Mark Abraham Bright is a former English footballer who is now a sports pundit and BBC London's sport presenter, as well as a coach at Crystal Palace....

 
Mr. Brightside
Mr. Brightside
"Mr. Brightside" is a song performed by Las Vegas-based rock band The Killers. The song is featured on the group's debut album Hot Fuss and was written by Brandon Flowers and Dave Keuning....

 by The Killers
  Will Buckley
Will Buckley (journalist)
Will Buckley is senior sports writer at the Observer, author of The Man Who Hated Football, and a frequent radio and television sport commentator in the United Kingdom. He has appeared numerous times on BBC Radio 5 Live show Fighting Talk, where he has won eight games in eight seasons, at an...

 
Country House
Country House (song)
"Country House" is a song by English alternative rock band Blur. It was released as the lead single from the band's fourth album The Great Escape on 14 August 1995...

 by Blur
Blur (band)
Blur is an English alternative rock band. Formed in London in 1989 as Seymour, the group consists of singer Damon Albarn, guitarist Graham Coxon, bassist Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree. Blur's debut album Leisure incorporated the sounds of Madchester and shoegazing...


Stacy's Mom
Stacy's Mom
"Stacy's Mom" is a hit single by American band Fountains of Wayne, released in 2003 and taken from their album Welcome Interstate Managers....

 by Fountains of Wayne
Fountains of Wayne
Fountains of Wayne is an American power pop band that formed in New York City in 1996. The band consists of members Chris Collingwood, Adam Schlesinger, Jody Porter and Brian Young.-Early years:...

 or Not Fair
Not Fair
"Not Fair" is a song by British recording artist Lily Allen from her second studio album, It's Not Me, It's You. Written by Allen and produced by Greg Kurstin, the song was released as the second single from the album on 19 February 2009 by Regal Recordings. The song incorporates country music as...

 by Lily Allen
Lily Allen
Lily Rose Beatrice Cooper , better known as Lily Allen, is an English recording artist and fashion designer. She is the daughter of actor and musician Keith Allen and film producer Alison Owen. In her teenage years, her musical tastes evolved from glam rock to alternative...


I Fought the Law
I Fought the Law
"I Fought the Law" is a song written by Sonny Curtis of The Crickets and became popularized by a cover by the Bobby Fuller Four, which went on to become a top-ten hit for the band in 1966 and was also recorded by The Clash in 1979...

 by The Clash
The Clash
The Clash were an English punk rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk. Along with punk, their music incorporated elements of reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap, dance, and rockabilly...


Theme from L.A. Law
L.A. Law
L.A. Law is a US television legal drama that ran on NBC from September 15, 1986 to May 19, 1994. L.A. Law reflected the social and cultural ideologies of the 1980s and early 1990s and many of the cases featured on the show dealt with hot topic issues such as abortion, racism, gay rights,...

  Steve Bull
Steve Bull
Stephen George "Steve" Bull, MBE, is an English former footballer who is best remembered for his 13-year spell at Wolverhampton Wanderers...

 
Wooly Bully
Wooly Bully
"Wooly Bully" is a popular song originally recorded by novelty rock 'n' roll band Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs in 1965. Based on a standard 12-bar blues progression, it was written by the band's leader, Domingo "Sam" Samudio. It was released as a single on the Memphis-based Pen label and...

 by Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs
  Steve Bunce
Steve Bunce
Steve Bunce is a freelance television and radio sport pundit and newspaper columnist. He has regularly appeared as a pundit on the BBC sports programme Inside Sport and on BBC Radio Five Live's Fighting Talk...

 
theme from Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em
Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em
Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em was a BBC situation comedy, written by Raymond Allen and starring Michael Crawford and Michele Dotrice.The series followed the accident-prone Frank Spencer and his tolerant wife Betty through Frank's various attempts to hold down a job, which frequently end in...


closing theme from Only Fools and Horses
Only Fools and Horses
Only Fools and Horses is a British sitcom, created and written by John Sullivan. Seven series were originally broadcast on BBC One in the United Kingdom between 1981 and 1991, with sporadic Christmas specials until 2003...

 (preceded by him saying "Put it out, right out")
  Darren Campbell
Darren Campbell
Darren Andrew Campbell MBE is a former English sprint athlete. He competed in the 100 metres and 200 metres, as well as the 4 × 100 metres relay...

 
Born to Run
Born to Run
The album's release was accompanied by a $250,000 promotional campaign by Columbia directed at both consumers and the music industry, making good use of Landau's "I saw rock 'n' roll's future—and its name is Bruce Springsteen" quote. With much publicity, Born to Run vaulted into the top 10 in its...

 by Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...

  Tim Clark
Tim Clark (comedian)
Tim Clark is a British comedian, writer and presenter on both television and radio. He currently lives in London with wife and two of his children.-Comedy & Stage:...

 
theme from Mastermind
Mastermind (TV series)
Mastermind is a British quiz show, well known for its challenging questions, intimidating setting and air of seriousness.Devised by Bill Wright, the basic format of Mastermind has never changed — four and in later contests five contestants face two rounds, one on a specialised subject of the...

  Gideon Coe
Gideon Coe
Gideon "The Guv'nor" Coe is a radio DJ, presenter, sportscaster, voiceover artist and journalist.Coe was one of the child presenters of the BBC 1 children's programme "Why Don't You?"....

 
theme from Why Don't You?
Why Don't You?
Why Don't You? or Why Don't You Just Switch Off Your Television Set and Go Out and Do Something Less Boring Instead? was a cult BBC children's television series broadcast in 42 series between 20 August 1973 and 21 April 1995. It went out on weekday mornings during the school holidays...

  Mike Costello
Mike Costello
Mike Costello is a British sports broadcaster. He is currently the main commentator for boxing and athletics for BBC Radio, having taken over this role when John Rawling moved to television...

 
The Intermezzo
Intermezzo
In music, an intermezzo , in the most general sense, is a composition which fits between other musical or dramatic entities, such as acts of a play or movements of a larger musical work...

 from Cavalleria rusticana
Cavalleria rusticana
Cavalleria rusticana is an opera in one act by Pietro Mascagni to an Italian libretto by Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti and Guido Menasci, adapted from a play written by Giovanni Verga based on his short story. Considered one of the classic verismo operas, it premiered on May 17, 1890 at the Teatro...

 by Pietro Mascagni
Pietro Mascagni
Pietro Antonio Stefano Mascagni was an Italian composer most noted for his operas. His 1890 masterpiece Cavalleria rusticana caused one of the greatest sensations in opera history and single-handedly ushered in the Verismo movement in Italian dramatic music...

 (theme from Raging Bull)
  John Crace
John Crace (writer)
John Crace is a British journalist writing for The Guardian.Crace is probably best known for his "The Digested Read" column, in which he reviews new fiction by condensing it into short narratives of about 700 words in the style of the book itself...

 
Vertigo by U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...

  David Croft
David Croft (broadcaster)
David Croft is a BBC TV and Radio Broadcaster.-Early career:Croft spent three years working at BBC Three Counties Radio, first as a sports reporter then as Sports Editor...


  Jake Humphrey
Jake Humphrey
Jacob John "Jake" Humphrey is an English television presenter, currently best known for his work with BBC Sport, being the youngest ever presenter to host Football Focus, Match of the Day and Final Score. He currently presents the BBC's Formula One coverage and BBC Sports Personality of the Year...

 
The bridge of The Chain
The Chain
"The Chain" is a song from Fleetwood Mac's best-selling album Rumours. "The Chain" is unique in being the only song credited to all five members of the Rumours-era Fleetwood Mac lineup: Lindsey Buckingham, Mick Fleetwood, Christine McVie, John McVie, Stevie Nicks; this is partly because John McVie...

 by Fleetwood Mac
Fleetwood Mac
Fleetwood Mac are a British–American rock band formed in 1967 in London.The only original member present in the band is its eponymous drummer, Mick Fleetwood...

 (as used in BBC's Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...

 coverage)
  Matt Dawson
Matt Dawson
Matthew James Sutherland "Daws" Dawson, MBE is a retired English rugby union player who played scrum half for Wasps and Northampton Saints. During his international career he toured with the British and Irish Lions three times and was part of England's 2003 Rugby World Cup winning side...

 
theme from A Question of Sport
A Question of Sport
A Question of Sport is a long-running BBC quiz show which started on 2 December 1968 and continues to this day. It is currently recorded at The Studios, MediaCityUK...


I Don't Want to Wait
I Don't Want to Wait
"I Don't Want to Wait" is a song written, performed and produced by Paula Cole. It was Cole's second single from her album This Fire and later served as the opening theme for the TV-series Dawson's Creek. The single was #10 on the 1998 Hot 100 Singles on the Billboard year end summary...

 by Paula Cole
Paula Cole
Paula Cole is an American singer/songwriter. Her single "Where Have All the Cowboys Gone" reached the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100 in 1997, and the following year she won a Grammy Award for Best New Artist.-Early life:...

 (theme from Dawson's Creek
Dawson's Creek
Dawson's Creek is an American teen drama television series which debuted on January 20, 1998, on The WB Television Network and was produced by Sony Pictures Television. The show is set in the fictional seaside town of Capeside, Massachusetts, and in Boston, Massachusetts, during the later seasons...

)
  Simon Day
Simon Day
Simon Day is a British comedian most famous for his roles in the sketch show The Fast Show, sitcom Grass and a series of comedic adverts for Powergen.-Life and career:...

 
Beautiful Day
Beautiful Day
"Beautiful Day" is a song by the rock band U2. It is the first track from their 2000 album, All That You Can't Leave Behind, and it was released as the album's lead single. It was a commercial success, helping launch the album to multi-platinum status, and is one of U2's biggest hits to date...

 by U2
Debutant pundits Funeral march
  Neil Delamere  "NEIL DELAMERE!" voiceover à la The X Factor
The X Factor (UK)
The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. Created by Simon Cowell, it began in September 2004 and is contested by aspiring singers drawn from public auditions. It is the originator of the international X Factor franchise. The seven series of the show to date...

 (no music)
  Mick Dennis
Mick Dennis
Mick Dennis is a sports writer and broadcaster. He has written for The Sun, The Sunday Times, The Daily Mirror, The Daily Telegraph and the London Evening Standard. Since December 2003, he has been the football correspondent of The Daily Express...

 
Theme from The A-Team
The A-Team
The A-Team is an American action adventure television series about a fictional group of ex-United States Army Special Forces personnel who work as soldiers of fortune, while on the run from the Army after being branded as war criminals for a "crime they didn't commit". The A-Team was created by...

   Tony Dorigo
Tony Dorigo
Anthony Robert Dorigo is a retired English football player who played for Aston Villa, Chelsea, Leeds United and the England national side as a left-back.-Career:...

 
Soul Glo jingle from Coming to America
Coming to America
Coming to America is a 1988 comedy film directed by John Landis. The screenplay was written by David Sheffield and Barry W. Blaustein, from a story by Eddie Murphy, who also stars in the film. Murphy plays an African prince, who heads to the United States in hopes of finding a woman he can marry...

  Jill Douglas
Jill Douglas
Jill Douglas is a Scottish sports presenter, currently working for the BBC. She grew up in Hawick in the Scottish Borders and worked as a journalist for the Southern Reporter before studying for an NCTJ in print journalism at Napier College in Edinburgh....

 
Chocolate Girl
Chocolate Girl
Chocolate Girl is the fourth song released as a single from the album Raintown by the Scottish group Deacon Blue. The single version differs somewhat from the album version of the song...

 by Deacon Blue
Deacon Blue
Deacon Blue are a Scottish pop band formed in Glasgow during 1985. Their name was taken from the title of the Steely Dan song "Deacon Blues". The band consists of vocalist Ricky Ross and Lorraine McIntosh, keyboard player James Prime and drummer Dougie Vipond....

  Dion Dublin
Dion Dublin
Dion Dublin , is a retired English footballer. He was capped four times for England. Dublin started his career as a centre back with Norwich City, but made his name at Cambridge United as a goal-scoring centre forward. However, in his later years he showed his versatility by becoming an...

 
Baker Street
Baker Street (song)
"Baker Street" is a ballad written and first recorded by Scottish singer-songwriter Gerry Rafferty. Released as a single in 1978, it reached #1 in Canada, #2 in the US, #3 in the UK, #1 in Australia and #9 in the Netherlands...

 by Gerry Rafferty
Gerry Rafferty
Gerald "Gerry" Rafferty was a Scottish singer songwriter best known for his solo hits "Baker Street", "Right Down the Line", "Days Gone Down", "Night Owl", "Get It Right Next Time", and with the band Stealers Wheel, "Stuck in the Middle with You". Rafferty was born into a working-class family in...

  Gail Emms
Gail Emms
Gail Elizabeth Emms MBE is a retired English badminton player who has achieved international success in doubles tournaments....

 
Sisters Are Doin' It for Themselves
Sisters Are Doin' It for Themselves
"Sisters Are Doin' It for Themselves" is a hit duet recorded between British pop duo Eurythmics and American soul/R&B musician Aretha Franklin, released as a single by RCA Records in October 1985...

 by Eurythmics
Eurythmics
Eurythmics were a British pop rock duo, formed in 1980, currently disbanded, but known to reunite from time to time. Consisting of members Annie Lennox and David A...

 and Aretha Franklin
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Although known for her soul recordings and referred to as The Queen of Soul, Franklin is also adept at jazz, blues, R&B, gospel music, and rock. Rolling Stone magazine ranked her atop its list of The Greatest Singers of All...


A new theme was offered for Series 6: Crying by Roy Orbison
Roy Orbison
Roy Kelton Orbison was an American singer-songwriter, well known for his distinctive, powerful voice, complex compositions, and dark emotional ballads. Orbison grew up in Texas and began singing in a rockabilly/country & western band in high school until he was signed by Sun Records in Memphis...

  Barry Fantoni
Barry Fantoni
Barry Ernest Fantoni is a writer, comic strip cartoonist and jazz musician of Italian and Jewish descent, most famous for his work with the magazine Private Eye, for whom he also created Neasden F.C. As of 2005 he remains a shareholder in the company that owns Private Eye, Pressdram Limited...

 (or contestants)
Italian National Anthem
  Les Ferdinand
Les Ferdinand
Leslie "Les" Ferdinand MBE is a former English footballer. His playing career included spells at Queens Park Rangers, Besiktas J.K., Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United and Bolton Wanderers F.C., during which period he earned a number of appearances for England...

 
theme from Airwolf
Airwolf
Airwolf is an American television series that ran from 1984 until 1987. The program centers on a high-tech military helicopter, code named Airwolf, and its crew as they undertake various missions, many involving espionage, with a Cold War theme....

  Kevin Garside Viva Las Vegas
Viva Las Vegas
Viva Las Vegas is a 1964 American romantic musical movie starring music icon Elvis Presley and actress/dancer Ann-Margret. This movie is regarded by many fans of these actors and by film critics as one of Presley's best movies, and it is noted for the apparent on-screen chemistry between Presley...

 by Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....

  Bobby Gould
Bobby Gould
Robert Anthony "Bobby" Gould is an English former footballer and manager.-Playing career:Born in Coventry, Gould started his career at Coventry City, making his debut for the club whilst still an apprentice at the age of 16. He did not sign professional until June 1964...

 
Crazy
Crazy (Willie Nelson song)
"Crazy" is a ballad composed by Willie Nelson. It has been recorded by several artists, most notably by Patsy Cline, whose version was a #2 country hit in 1962....

 by Patsy Cline
Patsy Cline
Patsy Cline , born Virginia Patterson Hensley in Gore, Virginia, was an American country music singer who enjoyed pop music crossover success during the era of the Nashville sound in the early 1960s...


Gold
Gold (Spandau Ballet song)
"Gold" is a 1983 single by the British new wave band Spandau Ballet from their flagship third album True.The song is Spandau Ballet's 2nd best-charting single behind their previous release "True", reaching #2 on the UK Singles Chart , and #29 on the U.S Billboard Hot 100 chart...

 by Spandau Ballet
Spandau Ballet
Spandau Ballet are a British band formed in London in the late 1970s. Initially inspired by, and an integral part of, the New Romantic fashion, their music has featured a mixture of funk, jazz, soul and synthpop. They were one of the most successful bands of the 1980s, achieving ten Top Ten singles...

  Perry Groves
Perry Groves
Perry Groves is a former English footballer, known chiefly for his time at Arsenal. He was a fast-paced player who usually played as winger, and occasionally as a striker...

 
We All Live in a Perry Groves World by Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...

 Fans (to tune of "Yellow Submarine
Yellow Submarine (song)
"Yellow Submarine" is a 1966 song by The Beatles, written by Paul McCartney , with lead vocals by Ringo Starr. It was included on the Revolver album and issued as a single, coupled with "Eleanor Rigby". The single went to number 1 on every major British chart, remained at number 1 for four weeks...

" by The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...

)
  Stuart Hall  Bean Bag by Herb Alpert
Herb Alpert
Herbert "Herb" Alpert is an American musician most associated with the group variously known as Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass, Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass, or TJB. He is also a recording industry executive — he is the "A" of A&M Records...

 and the Tijuana Brass, well-known as the theme from It's A Knockout
Jeux Sans Frontieres
Jeux Sans Frontières was a Europe-wide television game show.In its original conception, it was broadcast from 1965 to 1999 under the auspices of the European Broadcasting Union and featured teams from different European countries in outlandish costumes competing to complete bizarre tasks in funny...

, which Hall used to present on BBC TV
  Austin Healey
Austin Healey
Austin Sean Healey is a former English rugby union player, who played as a utility back for Leicester Tigers, and has represented the England national rugby union team and the British Lions....

 
Tiny Dancer
Tiny Dancer
"Tiny Dancer" is a 1971 song by Elton John with lyrics by Bernie Taupin. It appears on John's fourth album, Madman Across the Water, and was released as a single in 1972...

 by Elton John
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...

  Rob Heeney
Rob Heeney
Rob Heeney is a British comedian, born and raised on the Isle of Man. Heeney represented the Isle of Man in table tennis at the Commonwealth Games, in addition to prior careers as a physicist, a taxi driver, and training as a systems analyst....

 
Light and Tuneful by Keith Mansfield
Keith Mansfield
Keith Mansfield is a British composer and arranger known for his creation of prominent television theme tunes, including the Grandstand theme for the BBC...

 (opening theme of the BBC's Wimbledon
The Championships, Wimbledon
The Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon , is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, considered by many to be the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the other three Majors...

 coverage)
Just a Song About Ping Pong
Just a Song About Ping Pong
Just a Song About Ping Pong is the third EP/single released by the Australian band Operator Please from their debut album Yes Yes Vindictive. It had existed before its official release in a different version which was originally included on Operator Please's first release, On the Prowl, which was...

 by Operator Please
Operator Please
Operator Please are an Australian pop band, originating on the Gold Coast of Queensland, in 2005. Their current lineup consists of vocalist and guitarist Amandah Wilkinson, drummer Tim Commandeur, keyboardist Chris Holland, Ashley McConnell on bass guitar, and violinist Taylor Henderson.The...

  Dean Holdsworth
Dean Holdsworth
Dean Christopher Holdsworth is an English former professional football player, now manager. As a striker he scored 193 goals in 610 league games over a 22 year career. Despite playing for 16 clubs in 19 spells the majority of his goals and appearances came at Brentford, Wimbledon, and Bolton...

 
theme from The Littlest Hobo
The Littlest Hobo
The Littlest Hobo is a Canadian television series based upon a 1958 American film of the same name directed by Charles R. Rondeau. The series first aired from 1963 to 1965 in syndication, and was revived for a popular second run on CTV from October 11, 1979 to March 7, 1985.All three productions...

  Dominic Holland
Dominic Holland
Dominic Holland is an English comedian, and author. He also performs at corporate functions. He won the Perrier Best Newcomer Award in Edinburgh in 1993.-Appearances:...

 
No Limit by 2 Unlimited
  Matt Holland
Matt Holland
Matthew Rhys "Matt" Holland is a former English-born Irish footballer, who represented Republic of Ireland at international level...

 
Tulips from Amsterdam by Max Bygraves
Max Bygraves
Max Bygraves OBE is an English comedian, singer, actor and variety performer. He appeared on his own television shows, sometimes performing comedy sketches between songs...


Theme from One Foot in the Grave
One Foot in the Grave
One Foot in the Grave is a BBC television sitcom series written by David Renwick. The show ran for six series, including seven Christmas specials, two Comic Relief specials, over an eleven year period, from early 1990 to late 2000...


A new theme was offered for Series 8: Wot? by Captain Sensible
Captain Sensible
Captain Sensible is a singer, songwriter, guitarist who grew up in Croydon, England, and co-founded the punk rock band The Damned in 1976. After leaving the band, he reinvented himself as an alternative pop singer with a rebellious, self-conscious image...

  Ian Holloway
Ian Holloway
Ian Scott Holloway is an English football manager and former player. He became the manager of Blackpool in May 2009. Holloway is well-known amongst football fans for his off-the-wall interviews, with a wide selection of quotes and soundbites being printed. Holloway's playing career spanned 18...

 
Theme from Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere
Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere
Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere was an award-winning British comedy television show on Channel 4 starring and written by Peter Kay and Patrick McGuinness. All the episodes were also directed by Kay. It began on 12 November 2004 and ran for six 30 minute episodes up until 17 December 2004, with each...

  Iyare Igiehon
Iyare Igiehon
-Early life:Igiehon grew up in London and studied Pop Music Studies at the University of Leeds and graduated with 1st class honours. Returning to London he worked as a recording engineer, mixing house tunes for Studio 33 in West London...

 
Volare
Volare (song)
"Nel blu dipinto di blu" , popularly known as "Volare" , is Domenico Modugno's signature song....

 by Dean Martin (with Colin singing "Iyare" over the chorus)
  Jim Jeffries
Jim Jeffries (comedian)
Geoffery James Nugent, aka Jim Jeffries is an Australian stand-up comedian .-Early life:...

 
theme from Home and Away
Home and Away
Home and Away is an Australian soap opera that has been produced in Sydney since July 1987 and is airing on the Seven Network since 17 January 1988. It is the second-longest-running drama and most popular soap opera on Australian television...


Down Under
Down Under (song)
"Down Under" is a pop song recorded by Men at Work for their debut album Business as Usual . The song went to #1 on American, British, Canadian and Australian charts....

 by Men at Work
Men at Work
Men at Work are an Australian rock band who achieved international success in the 1980s. They are the only Australian artists to have a simultaneous #1 album and #1 single in the United States . They achieved the same distinction of a simultaneous #1 album and #1 single in the United Kingdom...

  Eddie Kadi
Eddie Kadi
Eddie Kadi is a UK comedian, presenter, actor and MC.-Early life:A resident of Little Ilford School, West London since 1992, he is a past student of Fulham Primary School, Henry Compton Secondary School, William Morris Academy and Kingston University from which he graduated with BSc Honours in...

 
I'm Alright
Caddyshack
Caddyshack is a 1980 American comedy film directed by Harold Ramis and written by Brian Doyle-Murray, Ramis, and Douglas Kenney. It stars Chevy Chase, Rodney Dangerfield, Ted Knight, Michael O'Keefe, Cindy Morgan, and Bill Murray...

 by Kenny Loggins
Kenny Loggins
During the next decade, Loggins recorded so many successful songs for film soundtracks that he was referred to as, King of the Movie Soundtrack.He began with "I'm Alright" , "Mr. Night", and "Lead the Way" from Caddyshack...

  Danny Kelly  theme from ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...

's World of Sport
World of Sport
World of Sport can refer to:*World of Sport made by London Weekend Television and broadcast nationwide.*World of Sport seen on Melbourne's HSV Channel 7...

  Des Kelly
Des Kelly
Des Kelly is a British journalist and broadcaster. The award-winning sports columnist for The Daily Mail appears In the paper every Saturday, having joined in 2004....

 
theme from Happy Days
Happy Days
Happy Days is an American television sitcom that originally aired from January 15, 1974, to September 24, 1984, on ABC. Created by Garry Marshall, the series presents an idealized vision of life in mid-1950s to mid-1960s America....


theme from Desmond's
Desmond's
Desmond's is a British television situation comedy broadcast by Channel 4 from 1989 to 1994. The first series was shot in 1988, with the first episode broadcast in January 1989...


sound of a fruit machine
Slot machine
A slot machine , informally fruit machine , the slots , poker machine or "pokies" or simply slot is a casino gambling machine with three or more reels which spin when a button is pushed...

  Martin Kelner
Martin Kelner
Martin B. Kelner is a British journalist, author, comedian and radio presenter, educated at Stand Grammar School, in Whitefield near Manchester....

 
A drumroll-cymbal rimshot
Rimshot
A rimshot is the sound produced by hitting the rim and the head of a drum simultaneously, with a drum stick. Rimshots are usually played to produce a more accented note, and are typically played loudly. However, soft rim shots are possible....

 - also regularly used when he cracks a one-liner
Hammer to Fall
Hammer to Fall
"Hammer to Fall" is a 1984 song by the British rock group Queen. Written by guitarist Brian May, the song is the eighth track on their 1984 album The Works....

 by Queen (used on the Series 9 Football League special on 6 August 2011)
  Steve Lamacq
Steve Lamacq
Steve Lamacq , sometimes known by his nicknames Lammo or "The Cat" is an English disc jockey, currently working with the BBC radio stations BBC 6 Music and BBC Radio 2.-Early career:He was born in Basingstoke, Hampshire...

 
Mack the Knife
Mack the Knife
"Mack the Knife" or "The Ballad of Mack the Knife", originally "Die Moritat von Mackie Messer", is a song composed by Kurt Weill with lyrics by Bertolt Brecht for their music drama Die Dreigroschenoper, or, as it is known in English, The Threepenny Opera. It premiered in Berlin in 1928 at the...

 by Bobby Darin
Bobby Darin
Bobby Darin , born Walden Robert Cassotto, was an American singer, actor and musician.Darin performed in a range of music genres, including pop, rock, jazz, folk and country...

  Graeme Le Saux
Graeme Le Saux
Graeme Pierre Le Saux is a retired English footballer of French ancestry who played for the Premier League clubs Chelsea, Blackburn Rovers and Southampton, and for the England national football team. Primarily a left back, he was sometimes also played in midfield or on the left wing.After...

 
theme from Bergerac
Bergerac (TV series)
Bergerac was a British television show set on Jersey. Produced by the BBC in association with the Seven Network, and screened on BBC1, it starred John Nettles as the title character Detective Sergeant Jim Bergerac, a detective in "Le Bureau des Étrangers" Bergerac was a British television show...

  Former Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...

 players
Ferry Cross the Mersey
Ferry Cross the Mersey
"Ferry Cross the Mersey" is a song written by Gerry Marsden. It was first recorded by his band Gerry and the Pacemakers and released in late 1964 in the UK and in 1965 in the United States. It was a hit on both sides of the Atlantic, reaching number six in the United States and number eight in the...

 by Gerry & the Pacemakers
Gerry & the Pacemakers
Gerry and the Pacemakers were a British beat music group prominent during the 1960s. In common with The Beatles, they came from Liverpool, were managed by Brian Epstein and recorded by George Martin. They are most remembered for being the first act to reach number one in the UK Singles Chart with...


You'll Never Walk Alone
You'll Never Walk Alone
You'll Never Walk Alone is a song from the musical Carousel, a pop standard and football club anthem, for example that of Liverpool F.C.You'll Never Walk Alone may also refer to:* You'll Never Walk Alone , studio album...

 by Gerry & the Pacemakers
  Kenny Logan
Kenny Logan
Kenny Logan is a rugby union footballer who played wing for London Scottish.- Career :As a schoolboy, Logan had football trials as a goalkeeper for Dundee United and Hearts. He left school at 16 and began his rugby career with Stirling County, making his senior debut at 17.In 1996, he joined Wasps...

 
Danger Zone by Kenny Loggins
Kenny Loggins
During the next decade, Loggins recorded so many successful songs for film soundtracks that he was referred to as, King of the Movie Soundtrack.He began with "I'm Alright" , "Mr. Night", and "Lead the Way" from Caddyshack...

  Katherine Merry  Christmas music
The Lady in Red by Chris de Burgh
Chris de Burgh
Chris de Burgh is a British/Irish singer-songwriter. He is most famous for his 1986 love song "The Lady in Red".-Early life:...

  Bob Mills
Bob Mills (comedian)
Robert Edward "Bob" Mills is a British comedian, notable for his appearances in cult TV series such as In Bed with Medinner and The Show, the latter an attempt to do a non-fictional British version of The Larry Sanders Show.Born in Chester, after a very short spell training for the Merchant Navy,...

 
theme from Steptoe & Son
closing theme from Only Fools and Horses
Only Fools and Horses
Only Fools and Horses is a British sitcom, created and written by John Sullivan. Seven series were originally broadcast on BBC One in the United Kingdom between 1981 and 1991, with sporadic Christmas specials until 2003...


A new theme was offered for Series 6: Tijuana Taxi by Herb Alpert
Herb Alpert
Herbert "Herb" Alpert is an American musician most associated with the group variously known as Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass, Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass, or TJB. He is also a recording industry executive — he is the "A" of A&M Records...

.
  Danny Mills
Danny Mills
Daniel John Mills is a former English professional footballer best known for his time at Leeds United. His main position was right-back, though he could also play as central defender...

Theme from Casualty
Casualty (TV series)
Casualty, stylised as Casual+y, is a British weekly television show broadcast on BBC One, and the longest-running emergency medical drama television series in the world. Created by Jeremy Brock and Paul Unwin, it was first broadcast on 6 September 1986, and transmitted in the UK on BBC One. The...


Danny Boy
Danny Boy
-Background:The words to "Danny Boy" were written by English lawyer and lyricist Frederic Weatherly in 1910. Although the lyrics were originally written for a different tune, Weatherly modified them to fit the "Londonderry Air" in 1913, after his sister-in-law in the U.S. sent him a copy. Ernestine...

 as sung by Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash
John R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...

  Ian Moore More More More by The Andrea True Connection
  Sue Mott All Woman
All Woman
All Woman is the title of a number-one R&B single by singer Lisa Stansfield, the second single from her album, Real Love. The hit song spent one week at number-one on the US R&B chart, also reaching #56 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #20 on the UK Singles chart...

 by Lisa Stansfield
Lisa Stansfield
Lisa Stansfield is an English singer and songwriter.-Early years:Stansfield was born to Marion and Keith Stansfield in Heywood, Lancashire, in England, where she attended Redbrook School, Rochdale. Her first television appearance was on a talent programme in the Granada TV area in 1982...


You Sexy Thing
You Sexy Thing
"You Sexy Thing" is a song recorded by the British group, Hot Chocolate. It was written by Hot Chocolate's lead singer Errol Brown, and produced by Mickie Most. It reached number 2 in the UK Singles Chart in 1975, and number 3 in the US Pop charts a year later...

 by Hot Chocolate
A new series was offered for Series 6: All the Young Dudes
All the Young Dudes
All the Young Dudes is an album by Mott the Hoople, released in 1972. Their initial album for the CBS Records label , it was a turning point for the then-struggling British band. They were about to break up when David Bowie stepped in and gave them the song "All the Young Dudes"...

 by Mott the Hoople
Mott the Hoople
Mott the Hoople were a British rock band with strong R&B roots, popular in the glam rock era of the early to mid 1970s. They are popularly known for the song "All the Young Dudes", written for them by David Bowie and appearing on their 1972 album of the same name.-The early years:Mott The Hoople...

  Pat Nevin
Pat Nevin
Patrick Kevin Francis Michael "Pat" Nevin is a retired Scottish footballer. In a 20-year career, he played for Clyde, Chelsea, Everton, Tranmere Rovers, Kilmarnock and Motherwell as a winger. Nevin was a fans' favourite at Chelsea during the 1980s...

 
Sunshine on Leith
Sunshine on Leith
Sunshine on Leith is The Proclaimers' second and best known album, released in August 1988. The album had three singles, including the title track, "I'm On My Way," and "I'm Gonna Be ," which also became a hit following its inclusion on the soundtrack to Benny & Joon five years later in 1993...

 by The Proclaimers
The Proclaimers
The Proclaimers are a Scottish band composed of identical twin brothers, Charlie and Craig Reid . They are probably best known for the songs "Letter from America", "I'm On My Way" and "I'm Gonna Be ". The band tours extensively throughout Europe and other continents...

   DJ Nihal
DJ Nihal
DJ Nihal is an English radio and TV presenter, as well as club night promoter and DJ, currently broadcasting on BBC Radio 1, BBC Asian Network and since August 6, 2010 BBC Radio 5 Live...

 
Theme from Diff'rent Strokes
Diff'rent Strokes
Diff'rent Strokes is an American television sitcom that aired on NBC from November 3, 1978 to May 4, 1985, and on ABC from September 27, 1985 to March 7, 1986...


Theme from The Pink Panther
The Pink Panther
The Pink Panther is a series of comedy films featuring the bungling French police detective Jacques Clouseau that began in 1963 with the release of the film of the same name. The role was originated by, and is most closely associated with, Peter Sellers...


The River Kwai March
Ossie's Dream (Spurs Are On Their Way To Wembley)
Ossie's Dream (Spurs Are On Their Way To Wembley)
"Ossie's Dream " was a single released by the English football team Tottenham Hotspur, with uncredited accompaniment by Chas & Dave, in 1981. It reached number 5 in the UK Singles Chart. The title refers to the club's former Argentinean player Osvaldo Ardiles. It is still frequently chanted by...

 by Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....

 with Chas & Dave
(Spurs' 1981 FA Cup Final
1981 FA Cup Final
The 1981 FA Cup Final was contested by Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City at Wembley. The match finished 1–1 after extra time; Tommy Hutchison opened the scoring for City, and then scored an own-goal eleven minutes from time to bring Spurs level. In the replay, Spurs won 3–2, with...

 song; played on his last FT appearance to date on 1 May 2010)
  Dara Ó Briain
Dara Ó Briain
Dara Ó Briain is an Irish stand-up comedian and television presenter, noted for hosting topical panel shows such as The Panel and Mock the Week....

 
Theme from The Sopranos
The Sopranos
The Sopranos is an American television drama series created by David Chase that revolves around the New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster Tony Soprano and the difficulties he faces as he tries to balance the often conflicting requirements of his home life and the criminal organization he heads...

  Eleanor Oldroyd
Eleanor Oldroyd
Eleanor Oldroyd is an English sports broadcaster with BBC Radio.Eleanor Oldroyd was educated at Oxford High School. She was married to fellow BBC sports presenter Nick Mullins and has two children. She started her career at BBC Radio Shropshire before moving to London in 1988...

 
The Lady in Red by Chris de Burgh (later given to Katherine Merry)
She's a Lady
She's A Lady
"She's a Lady" is a song written by Paul Anka and performed by Tom Jones, and released in 1971. It is his highest charting U.S. release, peaking at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. It is one of Tom Jones's most famous recordings. The song reached #4 on Billboard's Easy Listening survey and spawned a...

 by Tom Jones
Tom Jones (singer)
Sir Thomas John Woodward, OBE , known by his stage name Tom Jones, is a Welsh singer.Since the mid 1960s, Jones has sung many styles of popular music – pop, rock, R&B, show tunes, country, dance, techno, soul and gospel – and sold over 100 million records...


A new theme was suggested for Series 6: Hail to the Chief
Hail to the Chief
"Hail to the Chief" is a march primarily associated with the President of the United States. Its playing accompanies the appearance of the President at many public appearances. For major official occasions, the United States Marine Band and other military ensembles generally are the performers, so...


Folding Stars
Folding Stars
"Folding Stars" is a song by Scottish band Biffy Clyro from their 2007 album, Puzzle. It was released as the third physical single from Puzzle, on 16 July.-Overview:...

 by Biffy Clyro
Biffy Clyro
Biffy Clyro are a Scottish rock band from Kilmarnock, comprising Simon Neil , James Johnston and Ben Johnston...

   John Oliver
John Oliver (comedian)
John Oliver is a British stand-up comedian, actor, and writer. He is best known for his work on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, for which he won an Emmy in 2009. He also plays a recurring character, Professor Ian Duncan, on the television series Community...

 
Living in America
Living in America (song)
"Living in America" is a 1985 song composed by Dan Hartman and Charlie Midnight, and performed by James Brown. It was released as a single in 1985 and reached number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart...

 by James Brown
New York, New York by Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...

  Gary O'Reilly
Gary O'Reilly
Gary O'Reilly is a former professional English footballer who played for Tottenham Hotspur, Brighton & Hove Albion, Crystal Palace and Grays Athletic as a central defender....

 
The Liberty Bell March by John Philip Sousa
John Philip Sousa
John Philip Sousa was an American composer and conductor of the late Romantic era, known particularly for American military and patriotic marches. Because of his mastery of march composition, he is known as "The March King" or the "American March King" due to his British counterpart Kenneth J....

 (as heard on Monty Python's Flying Circus
Monty Python's Flying Circus
Monty Python’s Flying Circus is a BBC TV sketch comedy series. The shows were composed of surreality, risqué or innuendo-laden humour, sight gags and observational sketches without punchlines...

)
"Let's hear it for Gary O'Reilly!" by The Miami Dolphin Cheerleaders
(The clip fades out as O'Reilly exclaims "Oh, ladies!", to which Colin has been known to often make reference)
  Richard Park
Richard Park
Richard Park is a Korean-born American professional ice hockey forward currently playing for the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League .-Playing career:Park moved to Southern California near Los Angeles with his family at the age of three...

 (or Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 contestants)
Bagpipes
  Mike Parry
Mike Parry
Mike Parry is a British journalist and radio presenter.-Early life:Born in Chester, Parry attended The King's School, Chester, and later Trent Polytechnic.-Journalism career:...

 
Theme from Z-Cars
Z-Cars
Z-Cars is a British television drama series centred on the work of mobile uniformed police in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby in the outskirts of Liverpool in Merseyside. Produced by the BBC, it debuted in January 1962 and ran until September 1978.-Origins:The series was developed by...

 (Everton
Everton F.C.
Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...

 anthem)
  Andy Parsons
Andy Parsons
Andy Parsons is an English comedian and writer, who regularly appears on Mock the Week. With comedy partner Henry Naylor, he has written and presented nine seasons of Parsons and Naylor’s Pull-Out Sections for BBC Radio 2.-Early life:...

 
You're the Voice
You're the Voice
As a lead promotion for their first live album Rock the House Live! in 1991, US rock band Heart released their live version of "You're the Voice" as a single. It was captured during the US leg of their Brigade world tour in November 1990...

 by John Farnham
John Farnham
John Peter Farnham, AO, formerly billed as Johnny Farnham , is an English-born Australian pop singer. He was a teen pop idol from 1964 to 1979, and has since forged a career as an adult contemporary singer. His career has mostly been as a solo artist although he briefly replaced Glenn Shorrock as...


Shipbuilding
Shipbuilding (song)
"Shipbuilding" is a song written by Elvis Costello and Clive Langer . Written during the Falklands War of 1982, Costello's lyrics discuss the contradiction of the war bringing back prosperity to traditional shipbuilding areas of Merseyside , North East England and Belfast to build new ships to...

 by Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello , born Declan Patrick MacManus, is an English singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s and later became associated with the punk/New Wave genre. Steeped in word play, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader...


A new theme was offered for Series 8: Mandy
Mandy (song)
"Mandy", originally titled "Brandy", is a song jointly written and composed by Scott English and Richard Kerr."Brandy" had been a hit in 1971 for Scott English in the UK and in 1972 for Bunny Walters in New Zealand...

 by Barry Manilow
Barry Manilow
Barry Manilow is an American singer-songwriter, musician, arranger, producer, conductor, and performer, best known for such recordings as "Could It Be Magic", "Mandy", "Can't Smile Without You", and "Copacabana ."...

  Colin Paterson
Colin Paterson
Colin Paterson is a Scottish journalist and broadcaster who is currently the entertainment correspondent on BBC Radio 5 Live and was a presenter and reporter on BBC Three's Liquid News.-Early life:...

 
Hooray for Hollywood instrumental
  Gavin Peacock
Gavin Peacock
Gavin Keith Peacock is a former English professional football player who played primarily in midfield but often as a striker...

 
Opening guitar riff of Turning Japanese
Turning Japanese
"Turning Japanese" is a song released by the English band The Vapors from their album New Clear Days, and the song for which they are known best. The song's lyrics consist mainly of the singer talking about pictures of his love...

 by The Vapors
The Vapors
The Vapors were a New Wave and power pop band from England, that existed between 1979 and 1981. They had a hit with the song "Turning Japanese" in 1980, which reached #3 in the UK Singles Chart, and #36 in the U.S...

  Charlie Pickering
Charlie Pickering
Charlie Pickering he grew up in Melbourne, Australia and attended an Independent Anglican Boys' School; Brighton Grammar...

 
theme from Neighbours
Neighbours
Neighbours is an Australian television soap opera first broadcast on the Seven Network on 18 March 1985. It was created by TV executive Reg Watson, who proposed the idea of making a show that focused on realistic stories and portrayed adults and teenagers who talk openly and solve their problems...

  Al Pitcher Haka of the All Blacks
Haka (sports)
The Haka is a traditional Maori war dance from New Zealand. There are thousands of Haka that are performed by various tribes and cultural groups throughout New Zealand. The best known Haka of them all is called "Ka Mate". It has been performed by countless New Zealand teams both locally and...

  Tayo Popoola
Tayo Popoola
Tayo, born Tayo Popoola on Aug 21, 1975, is an English musician, and DJ.-History:Tayo was a pupil at Christ's Hospital School in Horsham and later attended Goldsmiths, University of London, where he studied English and Drama...

 
Boom Boom Boom by The Outhere Brothers
The Outhere Brothers
The Outhere Brothers are an American hip-hop duo from Chicago, Illinois, consisting of lyricist Keith "Malik" Mayberry and producer/remixer Lamar Mahone....

 
Colin sang 'Tayo' over the 'Way-o - Way-oooo' section of the track, which rather fell flat on its face
  Jeff Probyn
Jeff Probyn
Jeff Probyn is an English former Rugby Union player.The Askeans, Streatham and Wasps prop was selected in England's squad for the 1987 Rugby World Cup, but Probyn did not make his international debut until 1988, at the age of 31, against France...

 
Swing Low, Sweet Chariot
Swing Low, Sweet Chariot
"Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" is a historic African-American spiritual. The first recording was in 1909, by the Fisk Jubilee Singers of Fisk University....


MGM lion roar
  John Rawling
John Rawling
John Rawling is a Boxing and Athletics commentator. Currently commentating for boxing on Sky Television and BoxNation, he was the lead commentator for Channel 4 in their coverage of the 2011 IAAF World Championship in Korea. He is also lead commentator on yachting for the Americas Cup World Series...

 
O Fortuna
O Fortuna
"O Fortuna" is a medieval Latin Goliardic poem written early in the thirteenth century, part of the collection known as the Carmina Burana. It is a complaint about fate, and Fortuna, a goddess in Roman mythology and personification of luck....


theme from Psycho
Psycho (1960 film)
Psycho is a 1960 American suspense/psychological horror film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Janet Leigh and Anthony Perkins. The film is based on the screenplay by Joseph Stefano, who adapted it from the 1959 novel of the same name by Robert Bloch...


theme from Dallas
Dallas (TV series)
Dallas is an American serial drama/prime time soap opera that revolves around the Ewings, a wealthy Texas family in the oil and cattle-ranching industries. Throughout the series, Larry Hagman stars as greedy, scheming oil baron J. R. Ewing...

  Adil Ray
Adil Ray
Adil Ray is a British radio and television presenter, and actor born 26 April 1974 in Birmingham, England.- Background :Adil Ray is of Pakistani and Kenyan origin. He began his career as a radio host on a pirate radio station in Huddersfield while studying at the University of Huddersfield and...

 
Ray of Light
Ray of Light
Ray of Light is the seventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Madonna, released on March 3, 1998 by Maverick Records and distributed by Warner Bros. Records. After giving birth to her daughter Lourdes, Madonna collaborated with Patrick Leonard and William Orbit in developing the album...

 by Madonna
Madonna (entertainer)
Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...

 (only used once)
  Jon Richardson
Jon Richardson (entertainer)
Jon Joel Richardson is a British comedian.Jon co-hosted a Sunday morning radio show on BBC 6 Music with fellow comedian and friend Russell Howard, and continued to present the show himself after Howard left, until 7 March 2010...

 
Oompa Loompa, Doompa-Dee-Do theme from Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory is a 1971 musical film adaptation of the 1964 novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl, directed by Mel Stuart, and starring Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka. The film tells the story of Charlie Bucket as he receives a golden ticket and visits Willy...


Short People
Short People
"Short People" is a song by Randy Newman from his 1977 album Little Criminals, reaching #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart. The verses and chorus seem to be a pointed attack on the short...

 by Randy Newman
Randy Newman
Randall Stuart "Randy" Newman is an American singer-songwriter, arranger, composer, and pianist who is known for his mordant pop songs and for film scores....

   Ian Robertson
Ian Robertson (rugby commentator)
Ian Robertson is a Scottish-born broadcaster, writer and former international rugby player. He is best known as a rugby union commentator for BBC Radio.-Early life:...

 
World in Union (Rugby World Cup
Rugby World Cup
The Rugby World Cup is an international rugby union competition organised by the International Rugby Board and held every four years since 1987....

 theme)
  Leroy Rosenior
Leroy Rosenior
Leroy Rosenior is a professional football coach and pundit. He is a former professional footballer whose clubs included Fulham, Queens Park Rangers , Bristol City and West Ham United.As one of the few black football managers in England, Rosenior has spoken openly about the racism...

 
Theme from The X Files
Fame
Fame (Irene Cara song)
"Fame" is a pop song, written by Michael Gore and Dean Pitchford that was released in 1980, and achieved chart success as the theme song to the Fame film and TV series. The song was performed by Irene Cara, who played the role of Coco Hernandez in the original movie...

 by Irene Cara
Irene Cara
Irene Cara is an American singer and actress. Cara won an Academy Award in 1984 in the category of Best Original Song for co-writing "Flashdance... What a Feeling." She is also known for her recording of the song "Fame", and she also starred in the 1980 film Fame.She married Hollywood stuntman...

  Lawrie Sanchez
Lawrie Sanchez
Lawrence Philip "Lawrie" Sanchez is a former Northern Irish football manager, and a former player. He is currently the manager of League Two side Barnet...

 
Mexican Hat Dance (though he's Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...

ian on his mother's side of the family)
  Robbie Savage
Robbie Savage
Robert William "Robbie" Savage is a football pundit and former Welsh professional footballer who played predominantly as a midfielder. During his career he captained Derby County, and also played for the Welsh national team. He now presents 606 on BBC Radio Five Live on Sunday evenings alongside...

 
Suicide Blonde
Suicide Blonde
"Suicide Blonde" is the title of the first single from the INXS album X. It reached the top 10 on the US Hot 100 and Australia in 1990 and reached a peak of #11 in the UK.-Writing and recording:...

 by INXS
INXS
INXS are an Australian rock band, formed as The Farriss Brothers in 1977 in Sydney, New South Wales. Mainstays are Garry Gary Beers on bass guitar, Andrew Farriss on guitar/keyboards, Jon Farriss on drums, Tim Farriss on lead guitar and Kirk Pengilly on guitar/sax...

  Paul Sinha
Paul Sinha
Paul Sinha is a British stand-up comedian and broadcaster. Sinha is openly gay, a subject he has discussed on stage.-Education:Sinha was educated at Dulwich College and St George's Hospital Medical School...

 
Music featured in Blue Oyster Club scenes from Police Academy films
Sinnerman
Sinner Man
"Sinner Man" or "Sinnerman" is an American traditional spiritual song that has been recorded by a number of performers. The song dates to the turn of the 20th century but most modern recorded versions derive from the 1956 recording by Les Baxter, further changes and additions were codified in 1959...

 by Nina Simone
Nina Simone
Eunice Kathleen Waymon , better known by her stage name Nina Simone , was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger, and civil rights activist widely associated with jazz music...

  Ian Stone
Ian Stone
Ian Stone is a British stand-up comedian, mainly famous for appearing as a guest on shows such as the comedy panel show Mock the Week. Stone is also a regular guest on BBC Radio 5's Fighting Talk.-Career:...

 
Hava Nagila
Hava Nagila
"Hava Nagila" is a Hebrew folk song that has become a staple of band performers at Jewish weddings and Bar/Bat Mitzvahs.-History:...


Brothers in Arms
Brothers in Arms (song)
"Brothers in Arms" is a 1985 song by Dire Straits, appearing as the closing track on the album of the same name. It is in G# minor.-History:There are two studio recorded versions of this song: the album version which is 6:55 seconds, and the shorter version which is 6:05 seconds and features...

 by Dire Straits
Dire Straits
Dire Straits were a British rock band active from 1977 to 1995, composed of Mark Knopfler , his younger brother David Knopfler , John Illsley , and Pick Withers .Dire Straits' sound drew from a variety of musical influences, including jazz, folk, blues, and came closest...

  Matthew Syed
Matthew Syed
Matthew Syed is a British journalist and broadcaster. He used to be an English table tennis international, and was the English number one for many years...

 
Boris Johnson
Boris Johnson
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson is a British journalist and Conservative Party politician, who has been the elected Mayor of London since 2008...

 quote from after the 2008 Olympic Games: "And I say to the Chinese, and I say to the world: ping-pong is coming home."
   Iwan Thomas
Iwan Thomas
Iwan Gwyn Thomas MBE is a sprinter who represented Great Britain and Northern Ireland at the Olympic Games in the 400 m, and Wales at the Commonwealth Games. Thomas is the current UK record holder at 400 m with a time of 44.36 seconds and is a former European and Commonwealth games champion...

 
theme from Chariots of Fire
Chariots of Fire
Chariots of Fire is a 1981 British film. It tells the fact-based story of two athletes in the 1924 Olympics: Eric Liddell, a devout Scottish Christian who runs for the glory of God, and Harold Abrahams, an English Jew who runs to overcome prejudice....

 by Vangelis
Vangelis
Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou is a Greek composer of electronic, progressive, ambient, jazz, pop rock and orchestral music, under the artist name Vangelis...

  Michael Vaughan
Michael Vaughan
Michael Paul Vaughan OBE is a retired cricketer who represented Yorkshire and England. A classically elegant right-handed batsman and occasional off-spinner, Vaughan was ranked one of the best batsmen in the world following the 2002/3 Ashes, in which he scored 633 runs, including three centuries...

 
Michael, Row the Boat Ashore
  Mark Watson
Mark Watson (comedian)
Mark Andrew Watson is an English stand-up comedian and novelist.-Early life:Watson was born in Bristol to Welsh parents and attended Henleaze Junior school and then Bristol Grammar School, where he won the prize of 'Gabbler of the year', before going to Queens' College, Cambridge, where he studied...

 
When the Red Red Robin Comes Bob-Bob Bobbin' Along by Al Jolson
Al Jolson
Al Jolson was an American singer, comedian and actor. In his heyday, he was dubbed "The World's Greatest Entertainer"....

  Tom Watt
Tom Watt (actor)
Thomas Erickson "Tom" Watt is an English radio presenter, journalist and actor, who is best known for playing the role of Lofty Holloway in the BBC soap opera EastEnders.-Acting career:...

 
Crowd chanting "You Wot?"
themes from British soap operas
Theme from Escape to Victory
Escape to Victory
Escape to Victory, known simply as Victory in North America, is a 1981 film about Allied prisoners of war who are interned in a German prison camp during World War II...

 by Bill Conti
Bill Conti
William "Bill" Conti is an American film music composer who is frequently the conductor at the Academy Awards ceremony.-Early life and career:...

   Henning Wehn
Henning Wehn
Henning Wehn is a German stand-up comedian based in London.-Career:Since October 2003 Wehn has been self-styled the "German Comedy Ambassador in London"...

 
theme from Dad's Army
Dad's Army
Dad's Army is a British sitcom about the Home Guard during the Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft and broadcast on BBC television between 1968 and 1977. The series ran for 9 series and 80 episodes in total, plus a radio series, a feature film and a stage show...

  Jack Whitehall
Jack Whitehall
Jack Peter Benedict Whitehall is an English comedian, television presenter and actor, best known for hosting the E4 show Big Brother's Big Mouth in 2008, Celebrity Big Brother's Big Mouth in January 2009, and the Channel 4 topical entertainment show the TNT Show.-Early life:Whitehall was born in...

 
theme from To The Manor Born
To the Manor Born
To the Manor Born is a British sitcom that first aired on BBC1 from 1979 to 1981. A special edition appeared in 2007. Starring Penelope Keith and Peter Bowles, the first 20 episodes and the 2007 special were written by Peter Spence, the creator, while the 1981 finale was written by Christopher...

  Josh Widdicombe Infinity
Infinity (Guru Josh song)
"Infinity", also known as "Infinity ", is a 1989 song recorded by British acid house musician Guru Josh from his album of the same name. The song was re-released in 2008 in a remixed version named "Infinity 2008" and enjoyed renewed success in many countries.-1989 release:The song was first...

 by Guru Josh Project
Guru Josh Project
Guru Josh Project was a music band formed in 2007 by Darren Bailie. The band consisted of Paul Walden a.k.a. Guru Josh, Anders Nyman, and Darren Bailie. In 2008 they released their first track, Infinity 2008, with two main remixes. One remix is by German producer Klaas and one by Jerome Isma-ae....

  Jim White
Jim White (journalist)
Jim White is a British journalist and presenter who has fronted STV's coverage of the UEFA Champions League for the 2006/07 season by accident. He attended Manchester Grammar School and went on to read English at Bristol University.-Writing:White has covered major sporting events for the Daily...

 
White Lines by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five
(Usually played with Colin saying "Bass!" during the intro)

The theme referenced Brady
Greg Brady (broadcaster)
Greg Brady is a Canadian sports talk radio host on Sportsnet 590 The FAN, and is a regular pundit scheduled on the docket of BBC Five Live show Fighting Talk and holds the record for most wins on the show.-Biography:...

's previous job working for WDFN
WDFN
WDFN is a sports-talk radio station in the Detroit, Michigan, market. It broadcasts in the AM radio band at 1130 kHz. WDFN is owned by Clear Channel Communications, and until the end of the 2008-09 NBA season, was the flagship station for the Detroit Pistons....

 radio in Detroit. The first use of the theme coincided with Brady experiencing the worst slump of his FT career, 5 defeats in a row. The run of bad form was attributed to the Detroit theme so it was changed to "It's Raining Men
It's Raining Men
"It's Raining Men" is a song written by Paul Jabara and Paul Shaffer in 1979 originally for Dave Balfour's album Stars , and originally recorded by The Weather Girls in 1982...

" for one show. The change did not help and Brady
Greg Brady (broadcaster)
Greg Brady is a Canadian sports talk radio host on Sportsnet 590 The FAN, and is a regular pundit scheduled on the docket of BBC Five Live show Fighting Talk and holds the record for most wins on the show.-Biography:...

 lost. For the next show he was returned to the Detroit theme. He won that show thus breaking the curse in a manner not unlike the New York Rangers winning the Stanley Cup
Curse of 1940
The Curse of 1940, also called Dutton's Curse, was a superstitious explanation for why the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League did not win the league's championship trophy, the Stanley Cup, from 1940 to 1994.-Popular theories:...

 in 1994. Despite Greg Brady
Greg Brady (broadcaster)
Greg Brady is a Canadian sports talk radio host on Sportsnet 590 The FAN, and is a regular pundit scheduled on the docket of BBC Five Live show Fighting Talk and holds the record for most wins on the show.-Biography:...

's saying, he actually won his first show with this theme tune, although this was with guest host, Gabby Logan. For Brady's first appearance following his return to his native Canada in 2008, the theme tune was changed to Celine Dion's My Heart Will Go On
My Heart Will Go On
"My Heart Will Go On" is the theme song/love theme of the 1997 blockbuster film Titanic. With music by James Horner, lyrics by Will Jennings, and production by Simon Franglen, James Horner and Walter Afanasieff ,, it was recorded by Céline Dion...

; later appearances featured other Canadian references including "Weird Al" Yankovic
"Weird Al" Yankovic
Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic is an American singer-songwriter, music producer, accordionist, actor, comedian, writer, satirist, and parodist. Yankovic is known for his humorous songs that make light of popular culture and that often parody specific songs by contemporary musical acts...

's Canadian Idiot.

During the early part of Colin Murray's tenure as host, Bunce and Bob Mills alternated between the two themes, given their roots in London's East End. Sometimes Bunce would be introduced by the theme from Some Mothers Do 'Ave Them, and Mills the closing theme from Only Fools and Horses.
This is due to a 'rule' introduced by Murray that no new pundits are allowed to win their first show. By contrast, several pundits have won their first show with Colin in the chair - notably Henning Wehn - although fewer debutantes have won on their first outing under Colin than the previous presenters.
No relation to Bob Mills
This is an assumed reference to Rawling's patriarchal character on the show and his initials, "JR" bearing similarities with J. R. Ewing, one of the principal characters from the former television series Dallas
Dallas (TV series)
Dallas is an American serial drama/prime time soap opera that revolves around the Ewings, a wealthy Texas family in the oil and cattle-ranching industries. Throughout the series, Larry Hagman stars as greedy, scheming oil baron J. R. Ewing...

.

This was due to Richardson's presumed status as the shortest Fighting Talk contestant, although as was confirmed in the next episode that Steve Lamacq was in fact shorter.
THe version previously used was recorded at a football ground; as of Watt's first appearance of Series 9, the chant recorded during the 2011 Champions Final is now played.
These theme tunes are ironic as Tom Watt appeared in the BBC soap opera EastEnders
EastEnders
EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...

. This is further compounded when he is introduced as Colin Murray purposely mistakes the famous soap character Tom Watt portrayed. Examples include Hayley Cropper
Hayley Cropper
Hayley Anne Cropper is a fictional character in the UK television ITV soap opera, Coronation Street...

 and Mandy Dingle
Mandy Dingle
Amanda "Mandy" Rose Dingle is a fictional character in the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale. She was played by Lisa Riley. Her large bust served as one of her main attributes and most endearing traits, and she would openly flaunt her huge chest in the direction of men she was attracted to...

. However, from 15 March 2008, the introductory tune was replaced with an audio clip of a crowd chanting "You wot? You wot?".

Music and sound effects

The show's distinctive theme tune comes from the track Sabotage
Sabotage (song)
"Sabotage" is a song by American hip-hop group Beastie Boys, released as the first single from their fourth studio album Ill Communication....

 by Beastie Boys
Beastie Boys
Beastie Boys are an American hip hop trio from New York City. The group consists of Mike D who plays the drums, MCA who plays the bass, and Ad-Rock who plays the guitar....

, which first appeared on their 1994 album Ill Communication
Ill Communication
Ill Communication is the fourth studio album by the Beastie Boys. It was released on May 24, 1994 via Grand Royal Records. It was remastered and made available on the Beastie Boys' Web site on July 7, 2009....

. The segment used is from the middle of the track. The song was replaced with a different version due to contractual reasons in 2010.

The music usually playing while the host gives the scores is the theme from the British TV show The Professionals
The Professionals (TV series)
The Professionals was a British crime-action television drama series produced by Avengers Mk1 Productions and London Weekend Television that aired on the ITV network from 1977 to 1983. In all, 57 episodes were produced, filmed between 1977 and 1981. It starred Martin Shaw, Lewis Collins and Gordon...

, and during the final segment Defending the Indefensible, the theme from the Rocky series
Rocky
Rocky is a 1976 American sports drama film directed by John G. Avildsen and both written by and starring Sylvester Stallone. It tells the rags to riches American Dream story of Rocky Balboa, an uneducated but kind-hearted debt collector for a loan shark in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania...

, Gonna Fly Now
Gonna Fly Now
"Gonna Fly Now", also known as "Theme from Rocky", is the theme song from the movie Rocky, composed by Bill Conti with lyrics by Carol Connors and Ayn Robbins, and performed by DeEtta Little and Nelson Pigford...

, is used.

Other sound effects used throughout each show include the various pundit themes; the theme from Allo Allo; Planet Funk
Planet Funk
Planet Funk is an Italian electronic dance musical ensemble.Members are Sergio Della Monica, Alex Neri, Domenico GG Canu, Marco Baroni, Alex Uhlmann and Alessandro Sommella , in addition to a series of guest singers in collaboration, like Dan Black, Sally Doherty, Raiz and John Graham...

's Chase the Sun; the German, Italian
Il Canto degli Italiani
Il Canto degli Italiani is the Italian national anthem. It is best known among Italians as Inno di Mameli , after the author of the lyrics, or Fratelli d'Italia , from its opening line...

 and American
The Star-Spangled Banner
"The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States of America. The lyrics come from "Defence of Fort McHenry", a poem written in 1814 by the 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet, Francis Scott Key, after witnessing the bombardment of Fort McHenry by the British Royal Navy ships...

 national anthems; the Indiana Jones
Indiana Jones
Colonel Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, Jr., Ph.D. is a fictional character and the protagonist of the Indiana Jones franchise. George Lucas and Steven Spielberg created the character in homage to the action heroes of 1930s film serials...

 theme; and The Lonely Man from The Incredible Hulk, among others.

Records

  • As of 20 August 2011, the highest score achieved was by Steve Bunce on 26 November 2005. Following numerous deductions by host Christian O'Connell for Bunce's petulance, Bunce's answer to "Who is the second best dressed manager in football?" was Stuart Pearce
    Stuart Pearce
    Stuart Pearce OBE is an English football manager and former player. He is currently the manager of the England national under-21 team and the Great Britain and Northern Ireland Olympic football team...

     for which O'Connell awarded 5,000 points. Bunce went on to win Defend the Indefensible. The highest "normal" score on the Show was Greg Brady`s 70 scored during the second season.
  • As of 20 August 2011, the lowest score recorded was Steve Bunce
    Steve Bunce
    Steve Bunce is a freelance television and radio sport pundit and newspaper columnist. He has regularly appeared as a pundit on the BBC sports programme Inside Sport and on BBC Radio Five Live's Fighting Talk...

    's -900,000 on 31 December 2006.
  • On 26 January 2008, Jim Jefferies gave the shortest ever Defend the Indefensible answer, lasting only 5 seconds. He was asked to defend 'Just Like Ashley Cole, Vomiting Is A Vital Part In My Love Making Too' and responded, 'Yeah, because sometimes... you need lube.'
  • On 11 April 2009, all of the panelists (Eleanor Oldroyd
    Eleanor Oldroyd
    Eleanor Oldroyd is an English sports broadcaster with BBC Radio.Eleanor Oldroyd was educated at Oxford High School. She was married to fellow BBC sports presenter Nick Mullins and has two children. She started her career at BBC Radio Shropshire before moving to London in 1988...

    , Bobby Gould
    Bobby Gould
    Robert Anthony "Bobby" Gould is an English former footballer and manager.-Playing career:Born in Coventry, Gould started his career at Coventry City, making his debut for the club whilst still an apprentice at the age of 16. He did not sign professional until June 1964...

    , Greg Brady
    Greg Brady (broadcaster)
    Greg Brady is a Canadian sports talk radio host on Sportsnet 590 The FAN, and is a regular pundit scheduled on the docket of BBC Five Live show Fighting Talk and holds the record for most wins on the show.-Biography:...

     and Ian Stone
    Ian Stone
    Ian Stone is a British stand-up comedian, mainly famous for appearing as a guest on shows such as the comedy panel show Mock the Week. Stone is also a regular guest on BBC Radio 5's Fighting Talk.-Career:...

    ) got the 'Golden Envelope' question correct, earning each of them 10 extra points, for the first time in the show's history. However, the answer to the question was rather obvious as the question was "What's the best sports podcast
    Podcast
    A podcast is a series of digital media files that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication...

     that you can download for free from iTunes
    ITunes
    iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....

     or other download sites?" Everyone correctly answered: "Fighting Talk" . This also meant that the show took the record of the most points scored in total on the show.
  • All the panellists also got the answer correct in the 11 November 2006 episode but this was only as Colin Murray put over 20 names in the envelope. The question was "If I wanted to get the lowest ratings in a sporting version of I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here who would I put in the jungle?" Answers included John Rawling
    John Rawling
    John Rawling is a Boxing and Athletics commentator. Currently commentating for boxing on Sky Television and BoxNation, he was the lead commentator for Channel 4 in their coverage of the 2011 IAAF World Championship in Korea. He is also lead commentator on yachting for the Americas Cup World Series...

    , Pele
    Pelé
    However, Pelé has always maintained that those are mistakes, that he was actually named Edson and that he was born on 23 October 1940.), best known by his nickname Pelé , is a retired Brazilian footballer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest football players of all time...

    , John Rawling
    John Rawling
    John Rawling is a Boxing and Athletics commentator. Currently commentating for boxing on Sky Television and BoxNation, he was the lead commentator for Channel 4 in their coverage of the 2011 IAAF World Championship in Korea. He is also lead commentator on yachting for the Americas Cup World Series...

    , Neville Neville
    Neville Neville
    Neville Neville is a former league cricketer, football agent and director. He is the father of professional association football players Gary Neville and Phil Neville and netball player Tracey Neville....

     and John Rawling
    John Rawling
    John Rawling is a Boxing and Athletics commentator. Currently commentating for boxing on Sky Television and BoxNation, he was the lead commentator for Channel 4 in their coverage of the 2011 IAAF World Championship in Korea. He is also lead commentator on yachting for the Americas Cup World Series...

  • Colin Murray put all four panelists into Defend the Indefensible on 6 February 2010, which was won by Dougie Anderson
    Dougie Anderson
    Dougie Anderson is a Scottish radio and television presenter and voice-over artist.In 2003 Scotland on Sunday ranked him Scotland's 26th "Most Eligible Man".-Radio:...

    . However, this move was not without precedent. On 8 April 2006, Bob Mills
    Bob Mills (comedian)
    Robert Edward "Bob" Mills is a British comedian, notable for his appearances in cult TV series such as In Bed with Medinner and The Show, the latter an attempt to do a non-fictional British version of The Larry Sanders Show.Born in Chester, after a very short spell training for the Merchant Navy,...

    , Oldroyd, Rawling, and Bunce all contested the DTI final, with Oldroyd emerging the winner.
  • Murray decided three-quarters of the way through the show to scrap the scoring system on the 2 April 2011 episode, thus putting all four panelists (Tom Watt
    Tom Watt (actor)
    Thomas Erickson "Tom" Watt is an English radio presenter, journalist and actor, who is best known for playing the role of Lofty Holloway in the BBC soap opera EastEnders.-Acting career:...

    , Jack Whitehall
    Jack Whitehall
    Jack Peter Benedict Whitehall is an English comedian, television presenter and actor, best known for hosting the E4 show Big Brother's Big Mouth in 2008, Celebrity Big Brother's Big Mouth in January 2009, and the Channel 4 topical entertainment show the TNT Show.-Early life:Whitehall was born in...

    , Dougie Anderson and Matthew Syed
    Matthew Syed
    Matthew Syed is a British journalist and broadcaster. He used to be an English table tennis international, and was the English number one for many years...

    ) through to the DTI final, with Anderson ultimately claiming victory.

Other statistics

A detailed breakdown of individual show statistics (prepared by listeners) from all series to date is available via Google Spreadsheets
Google Spreadsheets
Google Docs is a free, Web-based office suite, and data storage service offered by Google. It allows users to create and edit documents online while collaborating in real-time with other users. Google Docs combines the features of Writely and Spreadsheets with a presentation program incorporating...

.

Fighting Talk in other media

The show made a brief appearance on television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...

 (2004, BBC2, in an early evening slot) presented and written by Johnny Vaughan
Johnny Vaughan
Jonathan Randall Vaughan is an English broadcaster and journalist. Vaughan has become well known as a television and radio personality and has also built a reputation as a film critic. He co-presented Capital Breakfast alongside Lisa Snowdon on 95.8 Capital FM between 2004 and 2011...

 and was true to the popular radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...

 format. The scoring sound effects were juxtaposed with complementary images shown on large screens. At one stage negotiations were believed to be under way for Colin Murray to host a live style format in the Camden based MTV studios which would air on Sky One
Sky One
Sky1 is the flagship BSkyB entertainment channel available in the United Kingdom and Ireland.The channel first launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, and is the fourth-oldest TV channel in the United Kingdom, behind BBC One , ITV and BBC Two...

 during the close season.

There have been several recordings of the show in front of audiences:
  • The first was recorded/broadcast on 22 November 2004 at the Circus Tavern, Purfleet (following Sky Television
    Sky Digital (UK & Ireland)
    Sky is the brand name for British Sky Broadcasting's digital satellite television and radio service, transmitted from SES Astra satellites located at 28.2° east and Eutelsat's Eurobird 1 satellite at 28.5°E. The service was originally launched as Sky Digital, distinguishing it from the original...

    's first pay-per-view darts
    Professional Darts Corporation
    The Professional Darts Corporation is a professional darts organization, established in the United Kingdom during 1992, when a group of leading professional players split from the British Darts Organisation to form what was initially called the World Darts Council...

     event the previous day) and was hosted by Christian O'Connell
    Christian O'Connell
    Christian O'Connell is an English radio DJ who presents the Absolute Radio weekday breakfast show.He has formerly hosted BBC Radio Five Live's weekend sports game show Fighting Talk alongside the weekday breakfast show on indie music station Xfm London...

     - who was joined by pundits Dominic Holland
    Dominic Holland
    Dominic Holland is an English comedian, and author. He also performs at corporate functions. He won the Perrier Best Newcomer Award in Edinburgh in 1993.-Appearances:...

    , Gavin Peacock
    Gavin Peacock
    Gavin Keith Peacock is a former English professional football player who played primarily in midfield but often as a striker...

    , Mark Pougatch
    Mark Pougatch
    Mark Pougatch is a freelance radio and television broadcaster, a journalist and author who works mainly as a sports presenter for the BBC.-Early life:...

     and Steve Bunce
    Steve Bunce
    Steve Bunce is a freelance television and radio sport pundit and newspaper columnist. He has regularly appeared as a pundit on the BBC sports programme Inside Sport and on BBC Radio Five Live's Fighting Talk...

    .
  • The second was recorded/broadcast on 4 October 2008 at the Cedar Court Hotel, Harrogate
    Harrogate
    Harrogate is a spa town in North Yorkshire, England. The town is a tourist destination and its visitor attractions include its spa waters, RHS Harlow Carr gardens, and Betty's Tea Rooms. From the town one can explore the nearby Yorkshire Dales national park. Harrogate originated in the 17th...

     (as part of the Carnegie Sporting Words festival). Colin Murray (the host) was joined by pundits Bob Mills
    Bob Mills (comedian)
    Robert Edward "Bob" Mills is a British comedian, notable for his appearances in cult TV series such as In Bed with Medinner and The Show, the latter an attempt to do a non-fictional British version of The Larry Sanders Show.Born in Chester, after a very short spell training for the Merchant Navy,...

    , Jim White, Martin Kelner
    Martin Kelner
    Martin B. Kelner is a British journalist, author, comedian and radio presenter, educated at Stand Grammar School, in Whitefield near Manchester....

     and Will Buckley
    Will Buckley (journalist)
    Will Buckley is senior sports writer at the Observer, author of The Man Who Hated Football, and a frequent radio and television sport commentator in the United Kingdom. He has appeared numerous times on BBC Radio 5 Live show Fighting Talk, where he has won eight games in eight seasons, at an...

    .
  • The third was broadcast on 13 December 2008 from Goodison Park
    Goodison Park
    Goodison Park is a football stadium located in Walton, Liverpool, England. The stadium has been home to Everton F.C. since its completion in 1892 and is one of the world's first purpose-built football grounds...

     (as part of the BBC
    BBC
    The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

    's Sports Personality of the Year events). Murray was again the host, and was joined by Bob Mills
    Bob Mills (comedian)
    Robert Edward "Bob" Mills is a British comedian, notable for his appearances in cult TV series such as In Bed with Medinner and The Show, the latter an attempt to do a non-fictional British version of The Larry Sanders Show.Born in Chester, after a very short spell training for the Merchant Navy,...

    , John Aldridge
    John Aldridge
    John William Aldridge is a former Republic of Ireland international footballer and football manager...

    , Pat Nevin
    Pat Nevin
    Patrick Kevin Francis Michael "Pat" Nevin is a retired Scottish footballer. In a 20-year career, he played for Clyde, Chelsea, Everton, Tranmere Rovers, Kilmarnock and Motherwell as a winger. Nevin was a fans' favourite at Chelsea during the 1980s...

     and olympic gold medal winner Tim Brabants
    Tim Brabants
    Tim Brabants MBE is a British sprint kayaker who has competed since the late 1990s. Competing in three Summer Olympics, he won three medals with one gold and two bronzes .Brabants won the K-1 1000 m European championship at Szeged, Hungary in 2002, the first time a British paddler had...

    .
  • The fourth was broadcast on 24 October 2009 from the Ferens Art Gallery
    Ferens Art Gallery
    The Ferens Art Gallery is an art gallery in the English city of Kingston upon Hull. The site and money for the gallery were donated to the city by Thomas Ferens, after whom it is named. Opened in 1927,...

     in Kingston upon Hull
    Kingston upon Hull
    Kingston upon Hull , usually referred to as Hull, is a city and unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Hull at its junction with the Humber estuary, 25 miles inland from the North Sea. Hull has a resident population of...

    . Colin Murray
    Colin Murray
    Colin Murray is a Northern Irish sports and music radio and television presenter. He is the current host of the BBC Television show Match of the Day 2 on BBC Two, and the BBC Radio 5 Live shows 5 Live Sport and Fighting Talk, as well as a show on BBC Radio Ulster. He has previously hosted regular...

     hosted, with the panel made up of Martin Kelner
    Martin Kelner
    Martin B. Kelner is a British journalist, author, comedian and radio presenter, educated at Stand Grammar School, in Whitefield near Manchester....

    , John Rawling
    John Rawling
    John Rawling is a Boxing and Athletics commentator. Currently commentating for boxing on Sky Television and BoxNation, he was the lead commentator for Channel 4 in their coverage of the 2011 IAAF World Championship in Korea. He is also lead commentator on yachting for the Americas Cup World Series...

    , former Hull City
    Hull City A.F.C.
    Hull City Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, founded in 1904. The club participates in the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football...

     striker Dean Windass
    Dean Windass
    Dean Windass is an English footballer, who predominantly played as a striker, and is known for his spells at Bradford City and his hometown team Hull City...

    , and Greg Brady
    Greg Brady (broadcaster)
    Greg Brady is a Canadian sports talk radio host on Sportsnet 590 The FAN, and is a regular pundit scheduled on the docket of BBC Five Live show Fighting Talk and holds the record for most wins on the show.-Biography:...

    , who for once appeared in person rather than down the line from Canada.
  • The fifth edition came live from Headingley Stadium
    Headingley Stadium
    Headingley Stadium is a sporting complex in the Leeds suburb of Headingley in West Yorkshire, England. It is the home of Yorkshire County Cricket Club, rugby league team Leeds Rhinos and rugby union team Leeds Carnegie ....

     in Leeds on 14 November 2009, the panel consisted of Ian Stone
    Ian Stone
    Ian Stone is a British stand-up comedian, mainly famous for appearing as a guest on shows such as the comedy panel show Mock the Week. Stone is also a regular guest on BBC Radio 5's Fighting Talk.-Career:...

    , Des Kelly
    Des Kelly
    Des Kelly is a British journalist and broadcaster. The award-winning sports columnist for The Daily Mail appears In the paper every Saturday, having joined in 2004....

    , Martin Kelner
    Martin Kelner
    Martin B. Kelner is a British journalist, author, comedian and radio presenter, educated at Stand Grammar School, in Whitefield near Manchester....

     and former England cricket captain Michael Vaughan
    Michael Vaughan
    Michael Paul Vaughan OBE is a retired cricketer who represented Yorkshire and England. A classically elegant right-handed batsman and occasional off-spinner, Vaughan was ranked one of the best batsmen in the world following the 2002/3 Ashes, in which he scored 633 runs, including three centuries...

    . The third and final stage of their Kelnerpalooza - The Unblemished Tour Of Yorkshire (and their sixth live broadcast) was held in Sheffield (also the site of that year's BBC SPOTY events) on 12 December 2009 and starred John Rawling
    John Rawling
    John Rawling is a Boxing and Athletics commentator. Currently commentating for boxing on Sky Television and BoxNation, he was the lead commentator for Channel 4 in their coverage of the 2011 IAAF World Championship in Korea. He is also lead commentator on yachting for the Americas Cup World Series...

    , Martin Kelner
    Martin Kelner
    Martin B. Kelner is a British journalist, author, comedian and radio presenter, educated at Stand Grammar School, in Whitefield near Manchester....

    , John Bishop
    John Bishop (comedian)
    John Joseph Bishop is an award-winning comedian.His television debut came on The Panel. As an actor, he has appeared in the E4 teen drama Skins as Mr Fitch, father of twins, Katie and Emily and in the Ken Loach film Route Irish...

     and debutant Jake Humphrey
    Jake Humphrey
    Jacob John "Jake" Humphrey is an English television presenter, currently best known for his work with BBC Sport, being the youngest ever presenter to host Football Focus, Match of the Day and Final Score. He currently presents the BBC's Formula One coverage and BBC Sports Personality of the Year...

     with Bishop claiming victory at Ponds Forge
    Ponds Forge
    Ponds Forge International Sports Centre is a leisure complex in the City of Sheffield, England that contains an Olympic-sized swimming pool with seating for 2,600 spectators, family and kids pools, water slides and other sports facilities.-Brief history:...

    .
  • The seventh edition was broadcast on 21 August 2010 from the Royal National College for the Blind in Hereford
    Hereford
    Hereford is a cathedral city, civil parish and county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, southwest of Worcester, and northwest of Gloucester...

    , the site of the IBSA World Blind Football Championship. Des Kelly
    Des Kelly
    Des Kelly is a British journalist and broadcaster. The award-winning sports columnist for The Daily Mail appears In the paper every Saturday, having joined in 2004....

     defeated Kelner, Rawling, and Martin Allen
    Martin Allen
    Martin James Allen is a former football player and current manager of Notts County. He played more than 100 games for each Queens Park Rangers and West Ham United before finishing his playing career with Portsmouth and Southend United. Five years later, he took his first job in management, at...

     on his début.
  • As part of the 5 Live Septemberfest series of live shows recorded on Tyneside in 2010, FT was recorded at the Sage Gateshead
    Sage Gateshead
    The Sage Gateshead is a centre for musical education, performance and conferences, located in Gateshead on the south bank of the River Tyne, in the northeast of England...

     complex, and boasted the show's biggest audience to that time, breaking the 4-digit attendance barrier. The show was contested by Simon Day
    Simon Day
    Simon Day is a British comedian most famous for his roles in the sketch show The Fast Show, sitcom Grass and a series of comedic adverts for Powergen.-Life and career:...

    , John Rawling, Martin Kelner and former Hull City
    Hull City A.F.C.
    Hull City Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, founded in 1904. The club participates in the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football...

     manager and South Shields
    South Shields
    South Shields is a coastal town in Tyne and Wear, England, located at the mouth of the River Tyne to Tyne Dock, and about downstream from Newcastle upon Tyne...

     native Phil Brown. As a lifelong Sunderland fan on South Tyneside
    South Tyneside
    South Tyneside is a metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear in North East England.It is bordered by four other boroughs - Newcastle upon Tyne and Gateshead to the west, Sunderland in the south, and North Tyneside to the north. The border county of Northumberland lies further north...

    , Brown was given a traditional rough ride by the audience, but he performed well for a début appearance. Following a lacklustre DTI final, Day won after beating Kelner in an arm-wrestle.
  • The ninth edition was broadcast live from the National Exhibition Centre
    National Exhibition Centre
    The National Exhibition Centre is an exhibition centre in Birmingham, England. It is near junction 6 of the M42 motorway, and is adjacent to Birmingham International Airport and Birmingham International railway station. It has 20 interconnected halls, set in grounds of 628 acres making it the...

    , Birmingham
    Birmingham
    Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...

     on 18 December 2010, one day before that year's BBC Sports Personality of the Year
    BBC Sports Personality of the Year
    The BBC Sports Personality of the Year is an awards ceremony that takes place annually in December. Devised by Paul Fox in 1954, it originally consisted of one titular award. Several new awards have been introduced, and , eight awards are presented. The oldest of these are the Team of the Year and...

     awards programme. On the panel were Bob Mills, John Rawling, Dougie Anderson
    Dougie Anderson
    Dougie Anderson is a Scottish radio and television presenter and voice-over artist.In 2003 Scotland on Sunday ranked him Scotland's 26th "Most Eligible Man".-Radio:...

     and Steve Bunce
    Steve Bunce
    Steve Bunce is a freelance television and radio sport pundit and newspaper columnist. He has regularly appeared as a pundit on the BBC sports programme Inside Sport and on BBC Radio Five Live's Fighting Talk...

    , with Anderson claiming the win.
  • The tenth edition came live from the Empire Theatre
    Liverpool Empire Theatre
    Liverpool Empire Theatre is located on the corner of Lime Street and London Road in Liverpool, Merseyside, England. The theatre is the second to be built on the site, and was opened in 1925. It has the largest two-tier auditorium in Britain and can seat 2,350 people...

    , Liverpool
    Liverpool
    Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...

    , during Grand National
    Grand National
    The Grand National is a world-famous National Hunt horse race which is held annually at Aintree Racecourse, near Liverpool, England. It is a handicap chase run over a distance of four miles and 856 yards , with horses jumping thirty fences over two circuits of Aintree's National Course...

     weekend on 9 April 2011. The largest ever audience in the programme's history (surpassing the large attendance at Gateshead from seven months earlier) saw a panel consisting of Liverpudlian radio presenter Mike Parry
    Mike Parry
    Mike Parry is a British journalist and radio presenter.-Early life:Born in Chester, Parry attended The King's School, Chester, and later Trent Polytechnic.-Journalism career:...

     and former Liverpool
    Liverpool F.C.
    Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...

     defender Gary Gillespie
    Gary Gillespie
    Gary Thompson Gillespie was a defender who played football for Liverpool through much of their dominant period of the 1980s.-Early career:...

    , as well as Steve Bunce
    Steve Bunce
    Steve Bunce is a freelance television and radio sport pundit and newspaper columnist. He has regularly appeared as a pundit on the BBC sports programme Inside Sport and on BBC Radio Five Live's Fighting Talk...

     and comedian Ian Stone
    Ian Stone
    Ian Stone is a British stand-up comedian, mainly famous for appearing as a guest on shows such as the comedy panel show Mock the Week. Stone is also a regular guest on BBC Radio 5's Fighting Talk.-Career:...

     (standing in for Bob Mills, who pulled out the night before owing to illness).

Fighting Talk: Any Other Business

A one-off, politics-based show - using the name of Fighting Talks 'Any Other Business' round - was broadcast on Sunday 17 December 2006 at 7pm, presented by Richard Bacon
Richard Bacon (television presenter)
Richard Paul Bacon is an English television and radio presenter.Bacon's first high-profile media role was as a presenter of Blue Peter, from which he was sacked in 1998 following newspaper reports of him taking cocaine...

. A run of four further shows billed as Fighting Talk: Any Other Business were broadcast between 15 July and 5 August 2007. The host was the original Fighting Talk presenter Johnny Vaughan
Johnny Vaughan
Jonathan Randall Vaughan is an English broadcaster and journalist. Vaughan has become well known as a television and radio personality and has also built a reputation as a film critic. He co-presented Capital Breakfast alongside Lisa Snowdon on 95.8 Capital FM between 2004 and 2011...

 and guests included Alan Duncan, Diane Abbot, Stephen Pound, Arabella Weir and Robin Ince.

Internet resources

The official Fighting Talk web page can be found on the BBC Radio Five Live
BBC Radio Five Live
BBC Radio 5 Live is the BBC's national radio service that specialises in live BBC News, phone-ins, and sports commentaries...

 website.

The most popular and well known fan-site is located on the social networking website Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...

, under the name 'The Fighting Talk Appreciation Society'. It is occasionally mentioned on the show by the presenter.

In 2009 the show introduced a "secret" group on the social networking website Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...

, called 'FT316' for listeners to post their suggestions for question 2. Originally they did not give the name of the group on air, but a link was sent to anyone who requested it by email. This idea was scrapped after a couple of shows and now the presenter just tells listeners to go to the page, giving them the name of it on air. The 316 comes from the number of one of the sound effects in the BBC library, later found to be one number out from what it should be.

For Fighting Talk listeners, a fan made website has surfaced which provides all fighting talk episodes. The website is known as 'Fighting Talk Files'. The exception being that the debut episode hosted by Johnny Vaughan on 4 October 2003 is not available.

Podcast

Fighting Talk became available as an mp3
MP3
MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...

 download in October 2004, with a podcast
Podcast
A podcast is a series of digital media files that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication...

 version following as part of a BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

 trial in February 2005. Each show can be accessed for download on the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

 website in either format for one week after broadcast. Much comment is made by the presenters about the performance of the podcast in the iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....

 chart (in either the Sport or Comedy categories, or the overall podcast chart) - with a previous best of number 5 in the overall chart (series three).

Following the Russell Brand Show prank telephone calls row
Russell Brand Show prank telephone calls row
The Russell Brand Show prank telephone calls row concerned a series of voice messages that English entertainers Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross left on the answering machine of actor Andrew Sachs, which were labelled obscene by many media commentators and politicians...

, the BBC introduced a system of editing 'controversial' content of some shows before making them available as podcasts. The two most noticeable edits to date have been made to DTI rounds - the first involved the show recorded at Goodison Park (see above), where Pat Nevin was asked to defend the statement I'd gladly swap every game I played for Everton and Tranmere for just one night with Wayne Rooney
Wayne Rooney
Wayne Mark Rooney is an English footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Manchester United and the England national team...

's granny. Nevin's original answer in the live broadcast included the statement "sloppy seconds from Wayne Rooney just sounds like pure class to me" but the line was cut for the podcast. The second involved the show broadcast on 16 May 2009, when Bob Mills
Bob Mills (comedian)
Robert Edward "Bob" Mills is a British comedian, notable for his appearances in cult TV series such as In Bed with Medinner and The Show, the latter an attempt to do a non-fictional British version of The Larry Sanders Show.Born in Chester, after a very short spell training for the Merchant Navy,...

 was asked to defend a statement involving ex-cricketer Chris Lewis
Chris Lewis (cricketer)
Chris Lewis is an English cricketer, who played for Nottinghamshire, Surrey and Leicestershire in the 1990s. He played in thirty two Tests and fifty three ODIs for England from 1990 to 1998.Lewis was regarded as an aggressive lower-order batsman, fine fast-medium bowler and an able all-round fielder...

' appearance in court in relation to cocaine smuggling. Both the DTI statement and Mill's response were removed from the podcast.

Several podcasts in series 6 contain bonus audio clips that can be heard after several minutes of silence at the end of the broadcast recording. The sections generally consist of studio chatter between the host and panellists, often recorded during off-air audio level tests. The most notable can be found on the podcast recording of the show broadcast on 28 March 2009, when panellist Perry Groves
Perry Groves
Perry Groves is a former English footballer, known chiefly for his time at Arsenal. He was a fast-paced player who usually played as winger, and occasionally as a striker...

 can be heard singing along to Love Really Hurts Without You by Billy Ocean
Billy Ocean
Billy Ocean is a Trinidad-born English Grammy Award winning popular music performer who had a string of rhythm and blues international pop hits in the 1970s and 1980s. He was the most popular British-based R&B singer / songwriter of the early to mid-1980s...

.

Book

The first Fighting Talk tie-in book, Fighting Talk: Flimsy Facts, Sweeping Statements and Inspired Sporting Hunches, edited by regular pundit Will Buckley
Will Buckley (journalist)
Will Buckley is senior sports writer at the Observer, author of The Man Who Hated Football, and a frequent radio and television sport commentator in the United Kingdom. He has appeared numerous times on BBC Radio 5 Live show Fighting Talk, where he has won eight games in eight seasons, at an...

, was published by Hodder & Stoughton
Hodder & Stoughton
Hodder & Stoughton is a British publishing house, now an imprint of Hachette.-History:The firm has its origins in the 1840s, with Matthew Hodder's employment, aged fourteen, with Messrs Jackson and Walford, the official publisher for the Congregational Union...

 on 2 October 2008.

Fighting Talk specials

A political Fighting Talk 'special' hosted by regular host Christian O'Connell
Christian O'Connell
Christian O'Connell is an English radio DJ who presents the Absolute Radio weekday breakfast show.He has formerly hosted BBC Radio Five Live's weekend sports game show Fighting Talk alongside the weekday breakfast show on indie music station Xfm London...

 - featuring MPs Lembit Opik
Lembit Öpik
Lembit Öpik is a British Liberal Democrat politician. He was the Member of Parliament for the constituency of Montgomeryshire in Wales from 1997 until he lost his seat in the 2010 General Election...

, Steven Pound and Alan Duncan
Alan Duncan
Alan James Carter Duncan is a British Conservative Party politician. He is the Member of Parliament for Rutland and Melton, and a Minister of State in the Department for International Development....

, as well as regular pundit, Bob Mills - was broadcast prior to the 2005 UK General election
United Kingdom general election, 2005
The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160....

. Another one, hosted by Richard Bacon instead of regular host Colin Murray
Colin Murray
Colin Murray is a Northern Irish sports and music radio and television presenter. He is the current host of the BBC Television show Match of the Day 2 on BBC Two, and the BBC Radio 5 Live shows 5 Live Sport and Fighting Talk, as well as a show on BBC Radio Ulster. He has previously hosted regular...

, was broadcast on the Monday before the 2010 elections. It featured comedian Mark Watson
Mark Watson (comedian)
Mark Andrew Watson is an English stand-up comedian and novelist.-Early life:Watson was born in Bristol to Welsh parents and attended Henleaze Junior school and then Bristol Grammar School, where he won the prize of 'Gabbler of the year', before going to Queens' College, Cambridge, where he studied...

, the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...

's Caroline Flint
Caroline Flint
Caroline Louise Flint is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Don Valley since 1997. She served as the Minister of State for Housing and Planning in 2008, and later as the Minister for Europe until her resignation in 2009, citing the leadership of Gordon...

, the Liberal Democrat Edward Davey
Edward Davey
Edward Jonathan "Ed" Davey is a British Liberal Democrat politician. He has been the Member of Parliament for Kingston and Surbiton since 1997, and in May 2010 was appointed as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills...

, and the then-Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...

 chairman (and subsequently Communities Secretary
Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government
The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, is a Cabinet position heading the UK's Department for Communities and Local Government....

) Eric Pickles
Eric Pickles
Eric Jack Pickles is a British Conservative Party politician. Pickles was appointed Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government of the coalition government headed by Prime Minister David Cameron on 12 May 2010....

. On both occasions, the Labour politician has won the final.

At the end of the third series, Colin Murray
Colin Murray
Colin Murray is a Northern Irish sports and music radio and television presenter. He is the current host of the BBC Television show Match of the Day 2 on BBC Two, and the BBC Radio 5 Live shows 5 Live Sport and Fighting Talk, as well as a show on BBC Radio Ulster. He has previously hosted regular...

 presented a special World Cup
2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams representing 198 national football associations from all six...

 edition of Fighting Talk. The fifth series ended with a run of four Euro 2008 specials.

On 24 March 2007, Colin Murray hosted a 'women only' edition of Fighting Talk. The panel featured regular Eleanor Oldroyd
Eleanor Oldroyd
Eleanor Oldroyd is an English sports broadcaster with BBC Radio.Eleanor Oldroyd was educated at Oxford High School. She was married to fellow BBC sports presenter Nick Mullins and has two children. She started her career at BBC Radio Shropshire before moving to London in 1988...

 alongside three débutantes - Gail Emms
Gail Emms
Gail Elizabeth Emms MBE is a retired English badminton player who has achieved international success in doubles tournaments....

, Hazel Irvine
Hazel Irvine
Hazel Irvine , is a television presenter from the United Kingdom.- Life and career :Educated at Hermitage Academy in Helensburgh, she achieved an M.A. in History of Art at the University of St. Andrews, and competed in golf, netball and athletics at university level. In her final year she was...

 and Sue Mott.

At the end of the series from the 2008/2009 season there was a pre recorded 'correspondents' show to finish off the season; a similar special was broadcast at the end of the 2010/2011 season as well.

On 26 December 2009, there was a pre-recorded comedians show. The panel featured regulars Bob Mills, Jim Jeffries, John Bishop and débutant Dara O'Briain.

On 22 May 2010 a Fighting Talk Champions League special was aired. Martin Kelner who finished 5th in the rankings appeared in place of John Bishop who 'had a gig in Ireland' the night before. The three other panelists were Bob Mills, John Rawling & Dougie Anderson, with Mills earning the championship. The following week, the seventh series ended with a World Cup special, featuring Mills, Rawling, Danny Mills (no relation to Bob), and former Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...

 midfielder Perry Groves
Perry Groves
Perry Groves is a former English footballer, known chiefly for his time at Arsenal. He was a fast-paced player who usually played as winger, and occasionally as a striker...

.

On Boxing Day 2010 a Fighting Talk Tag Team Special was held, pitting four teams against one another. The teams were Martin Kelner & Will Buckley, "Bobby Darin" (Bob Mills & Darren Campbell), Eleanor Oldroyd & Katharine Merry and Simon Day & Steve Bunce.

On 28 May 2011, the second Fighting Talk Champions League special came live from the BBC Radio Theatre at Broadcasting House
Broadcasting House
Broadcasting House is the headquarters and registered office of the BBC in Portland Place and Langham Place, London.The building includes the BBC Radio Theatre from where music and speech programmes are recorded in front of a studio audience...

 in London. Tom Watt
Tom Watt (actor)
Thomas Erickson "Tom" Watt is an English radio presenter, journalist and actor, who is best known for playing the role of Lofty Holloway in the BBC soap opera EastEnders.-Acting career:...

 defeated reigning champion Bob Mills to win the championship, while Kelner and Steve Bunce rounded out the panel for the Series 8 finale.

2011 Summer specials

For the first time in the programme's history, Fighting Talk aired a series of programs from three of the major British sporting events held during the summer. The major difference was that these special broadcasts bar the third episode were broadcast live, though not in front of an audience.
  • The first episode came live from Ascot Racecourse
    Ascot Racecourse
    Ascot Racecourse is a famous English racecourse, located in the small town of Ascot, Berkshire, used for thoroughbred horse racing. It is one of the leading racecourses in the United Kingdom, hosting 9 of the UK's 32 annual Group 1 races...

     (site of the Royal Ascot) on 18 June, with Nick Hancock as compère and Ian Stone, Will Buckley, 5live horse racing correspondent Cornelius Lysaght, and former jockey Jason Weaver
    Jason Weaver (jockey)
    Jason Weaver is a former British flat racing jockey who had much of his major success in the mid 1990s. In total, Weaver rode more than 1,000 winners in a career which spanned fourteen years.-Biography:...

     on the panel.
  • The second episode of the series aired on 2 July, the final Saturday of The Wimbledon Championships
    The Championships, Wimbledon
    The Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon , is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, considered by many to be the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the other three Majors...

     atop Wimbledon's roof garden near Centre Court. Gabby Logan
    Gabby Logan
    Gabby Logan is a television presenter and radio presenter, as well as a former Wales international gymnast. She currently hosts programmes for BBC Sport, mainly focusing on football.- Early life :...

     hosted a panel consisting of Robbie Savage, Bob Mills, Martin Kelner, and 2007 Mixed Doubles champion Jamie Murray
    Jamie Murray
    Jamie Robert Murray is a British tennis player from Scotland who specialises in doubles and is Britain's number 1 doubles player. He is the older brother of Andy Murray. He won the Wimbledon mixed doubles title in 2007 with Jelena Janković. Murray had an early career partnership with Eric Butorac,...

    .
  • The third and final episode in the series was pre-recorded at the 5live studio and aired on 9 July, the weekend of the British Grand Prix
    2011 British Grand Prix
    The 2011 British Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race, held on 10 July 2011, at the Silverstone Circuit in Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire, England, and won by Fernando Alonso....

     at Silverstone Circuit
    Silverstone Circuit
    Silverstone Circuit is an English motor racing circuit next to the Northamptonshire villages of Silverstone and Whittlebury. The circuit straddles the Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire border, with the current main circuit entry on the Buckinghamshire side...

    . 5live Formula 1 trackside reporter Jake Humphrey served as host and chaired the panel of comedian Al Murray
    Al Murray
    Alastair James Hay "Al" Murray , is a British comedian best known for his stand-up persona, The Pub Landlord, a stereotypical xenophobic public house licensee. In 2003, he was listed in The Observer as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy...

     (no relation to regular host Colin Murray), F1 driver-turned-analyst Anthony Davidson
    Anthony Davidson
    Anthony Denis Davidson is a British former Formula One racing driver from England, born in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire. He has raced for Minardi, Super Aguri and been a test and/or reserve driver for the British American Racing, Honda and Brawn GP teams...

    , Humphrey's colleague David Croft, and Des Kelly.

External links

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