The BBC’s LEGENDARY Question of Sport panel has ended after more than 50 years.
Bosses say declining ratings and iPlayer’s limited appeal have forced them to shelve the show, which first aired in 1970.
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BBC panel show Question of Sport ends after more than 50 years Sue Barker presented the show alongside Matt Dawson (left) and Phil Tufnell (right) Credit: PA
The Beeb insists it is not for sale and says it reserves the right to return it in the future.
A BBC spokesman told the Mirror: “Due to inflation and funding challenges, difficult decisions have to be made, so Question of Sport is not currently in production.”
For 24 years, the show was hosted by former Wimbledon tennis star Sue Barker.
Notable team captains included former England rugby legend Matt Dawson, former cricketer Phil Tufnell and former Scottish footballer Ally McCoist.
Ian Botham and jockey Frankie Dettori also starred as captains in the show which ran for 1,365 episodes between 1970 and 2021.
It peaked in the 1980s and broke records in 1987 when more than 19 million tuned in to watch Princess Anne.
Under Barker, the quiz averaged four to five million viewers each episode.
But in September 2020, it was announced that Barker, then 66, would be replaced as presenter by Paddy McGuinness.
Former Team GB hockey star and Morning Live presenter Sam Quek and former rugby international Ugo Monye replaced captains Dawson and Tufnell.
But Barker’s departure was mired in controversy after she claimed her bosses forced her to put her name on a statement saying she left alone.
Speaking on BBC Breakfast last year, the presenter described the corporation’s handling of her departure as “insulting”.
She added: “I would never leave a job I love. I don’t mind being replaced. Absolutely fine.
“They wanted to refresh the program and that’s perfectly fine.
“They asked me to announce that I was leaving for the good of the show. I was stunned.
“Was it because I was too old or not good enough? Either way, it was insulting. Did they expect me to fire myself?
“Naively, I expected more after 24 years. Why have we been shown so little respect?”
The re-brand was the death knell for the viewing figures, falling to a record low of 730,000 on August 19 last year.
The others tuned in to watch Britain’s Trendiest Farm Shops on Channel 5 that evening.
On Friday, insiders told the Mirror that presenters and presenters had been informed of the show’s fate and were “at a loss”.
It is a particular blow to McGuinness, 50, who recently lost his role as host of Top Gear after the programme’s creators axed the motoring show he had hosted since 2018.
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