Opportunity Knocks (British TV series)
Opportunity Knocks is a British television and radio talent show originally hosted by Hughie Green, with a late-1980s revival hosted by Bob Monkhouse, and later by previous winner Les Dawson.
| Opportunity Knocks | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Bob Says Opportunity Knocks (1987–89) |
| Genre | Talent show |
| Presented by | Hughie Green (1949–78) Bob Monkhouse (1987–89) Les Dawson (1990) |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 1 (BBC Light Programme) 18 (ITV) 4 (BBC1) |
| No. of episodes | 33 (BBC Light Programme) 472 (ITV) 48 (BBC1) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 50 minutes (BBC1) |
| Production company(s) | Associated-Rediffusion (1956) ABC (1964–8) Thames (1968–78) |
| Distributor | Fremantle |
| Release | |
| Original network | BBC Light Programme (1949) Radio Luxembourg (1950s) ITV (1956–78) BBC One (1987–90) |
| Picture format | 4:3 |
| Original release | 18 February 1949 – 2 June 1990 |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows | New Faces |
The original radio version started on the BBC Light Programme, where it ran from 18 February to 29 September 1949, but moved to Radio Luxembourg in the 1950s.[1] It was shown on ITV from 20 June 1956 to 29 August 1956, produced by Associated Rediffusion. A second run commenced on 11 July 1964 and lasted until 20 March 1978, produced first by ABC and then by Thames. Green presented a single episode of Opportunity Knocks for RTÉ in 1979. It was revived by the BBC from 21 March 1987 to 2 June 1990, hosted initially by Monkhouse from 1987 to 1989 (under the title Bob Says Opportunity Knocks!) and subsequently by Dawson in 1990.
Voting system
Unlike its rival New Faces, the winning acts on Opportunity Knocks were decided not by a panel of experts but by the viewing public. In the ITV version this took the form of a postal vote, the winner of which was announced the following week. The BBC revival was notable for being the first TV show to decide its winner using the now-standard method of a telephone vote. In both versions the studio audience reaction to each act was measured by a clap-o-meter, but this did not count towards the final result.
The programme was recorded the Friday before transmission, so votes had to be in by Thursday. They also, according to host Hughie Green, largely to ensure fairness, had to be in "your own handwriting".
Although Opportunity Knocks did produce a number of talented acts, the method of putting the contest to a public vote did sometimes result in victories for novelty acts, in particular those involving children or animals. On one notorious occasion, the young Su Pollard was beaten into second place by a singing dog.
For the Monkhouse-fronted revival, the voting system was radically changed, making it the first British TV show to use telephone voting in order to get a more immediate result (although an updated electronic "clap-o-meter-style" on-screen indicator, using stars, was used during the show). The telephone voting system is now common on British TV.
Famous alumni
Entertainers who appeared included Freddie Starr and the Delmonts, Su Pollard, Paul Daniels, Darren Day, Pete the Plate Spinning Dog, Los Caracas, later to become Middle of the Road, Mary Hopkin, Bonnie Langford, Les Dawson, Maureen Myers, Barry Cummings, Royston Vasey (later to find fame as Roy 'Chubby' Brown), Little and Large, Bobby Crush, Berni Flint, Tony Holland (The Muscle Man), Millican & Nesbitt, Neil Reid, Peters and Lee, Lena Zavaroni, Frank Carson, Max Boyce, Pam Ayres, Juniper Green, Gerry Monroe, Debra Stephenson, Tammy Jones, Paper Lace, Barry and Paul Elliott and Tony Monopoly. Several winners of Opportunity Knocks (notably Tammy Jones, Champagne, Tony Monopoly) later attempted to represent the UK at the Eurovision Song Contest, taking part in the A Song for Europe competition. Lee Evans appeared in 1986 but was rejected and did not make it past the initial audition. Kaz Hawkins appeared in the 1980s' revival as a child.
Influence
Today, most of the elements of this show are visible on the ITV talent search Britain's Got Talent, which was created by record company executive Simon Cowell. The method of deciding a winner by telephone is used on that show and many other similar programmes around the world.
A reference to the show can be heard on the Beatles' first live performance of "Yesterday" at Blackpool Night Out. George Harrison introduces the song, saying "For Paul McCartney of Liverpool, opportunity knocks!". This version appears on Anthology 2.
Transmissions
BBC Light Programme
| Series | Start date | Final date | Episodes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18 February 1949 | 29 September 1949 | 33 |
ITV
| Series | Start date | Final date | Episodes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20 June 1956 | 29 August 1956 | 11 |
| 2 | 11 July 1964 | 3 October 1964 | 13 |
| 3 | 3 July 1965 | 25 December 1965 | 26 |
| 4 | 2 July 1966 | 24 December 1966 | 26 |
| 5 | 29 April 1967 | 23 December 1967 | 35 |
| 6 | 16 March 1968 | 27 July 1968 | 20 |
| 7 | 21 August 1968 | 6 November 1968 | 12 |
| 8 | 25 December 1968 | 23 June 1969 | 27 |
| 9 | 8 September 1969 | 2 March 1970 | 26 |
| 10 | 15 June 1970 | 7 December 1970 | 26 |
| 11 | 15 March 1971 | 6 September 1971 | 26 |
| 12 | 8 November 1971 | 1 May 1972 | 26 |
| 13 | 7 August 1972 | 30 April 1973 | 39 |
| 14 | 6 August 1973 | 29 April 1974 | 39 |
| 15 | 5 August 1974 | 28 April 1975 | 39 |
| 16 | 29 September 1975 | 22 March 1976 | 26 |
| 17 | 27 September 1976 | 4 April 1977 | 28 |
| 18 | 19 September 1977 | 20 March 1978 | 27 |
18 of the ITV episodes survived, which were Episode 5 of Series 3, Episode 19 of Series 6, Episodes 7-8, 22 & 25 of Series 12, Episodes 13 & 23 of Series 13, Episode 22 of Series 15, Episodes 13-14 of Series 16, Episodes 1, 7 & 15 of Series 17 and Episodes 16 and 25-27 of Series 18.[2]
BBC1
| Series | Start date | Final date | Episodes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 21 March 1987 | 20 June 1987 | 13 |
| 2 | 5 March 1988 | 4 June 1988 | 13 |
| 3 | 4 March 1989 | 3 June 1989 | 13 |
| 4 | 31 March 1990 | 2 June 1990 | 9 |
All 48 BBC1 episodes survived.[3]