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Galashiels stars in It's a Knockout - 1967

10 January
  • Host McDonald Hobley with the It's a Knockout scoreboard

It's a rare occasion when one of the UK's most popular TV shows comes to town, but that's what happened in 1967, when a team from Galashiels hosted the BBC's 'It's a Knockout', with a local team taking on rivals in a UK heat of the pan-European show.

The programme was the third in the 1967 series of It's a Knockout, and although the programme had not yet reached the popularity and massive audiences of the 1970s, the arrival in the town of the BBC crew was a major event.

The games were played at Scott Park in Galashiels on Sunday 28th May 1967, and the programme was broadcast live - going out from 4.40-5.25pm in the afternoon.

Part of the programme still exists in the BBC archive - about 20 minutes or so - and part of that has been posted online as part of a documentary originally shown in 1980. It's the earliest piece of surviving footage from any It's a Knockout programme.

The Galashiels team that day included Christine Hardy (19), Alex Gilchrist (21 - Electrician), Turnbull Henry (29 - Grocer's Manager), John Pheasant (20 - Engineer), and Peter Fairburn (17 - Student).

Some of the weird and wonderful games played included the distance cycling (Marathon), 'Mini Jelly Rally', 'Anchors Aweigh', and 'Celtic Chivalry'. The giant circular water tank used for the 'Anchors Aweigh' game was specially constructed and filled by the Galashiels Fire Brigade.

You can see some of the remaining footage from the Galashiels v Hawick show here - a game from the Galashiels show is 11 minutes into the clip - commentary is by David Vine, who was one of the programme's hosts at the time.

You can read more about the Galashiels programme - and about It's a Knockout - here.

The winning team from Hawick went on to take part in an edition of the European show, Jeux Sans Frontieres later in the year - although they finished last in their heat which was held in Pisa, Italy.

Did you, or do you know anyone who took part in the programme? Or maybe you were in the crowd on the day? Let us know - and share your memories and photos here.

And if you have any other memories of Galashiels - the town or the people - appearing on television - or even in the movies, then share them with everyone here on s1galashiels


11 January | 8:41:29

Donato Forte says

I remember that! I was 10 at the time. Brilliant stuff I remembered being mad about Hawick beating us LOL..

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