It's a Royal Knockout

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It's a Royal Knockout (officially entitled, according to IMDb, The Grand Knockout Tournament) was a one-off charity event which was shown on British television on 15 June 1987. It followed the format of It's a Knockout (the British version of Jeux Sans Frontieres), a slapstick TV gameshow which was broadcast in the UK until 1982.

[edit] Synopsis

The show featured members of the British Royal Family alongside sporting and showbiz celebrities including Jane Seymour, John Travolta, Mel Smith, Christopher Reeve, Michael Palin, Meat Loaf, George Lazenby, Kevin Kline, John Cleese, Rowan Atkinson, Ben Cross, Jenny Agutter, Jennifer O'Neill, Ian Charleson, Margot Kidder, Helen Shaver, Alexander Sharkey, Michael Brandon and Anthony Andrews. It was conceived and organised by Prince Edward who had been keen to develop a career in TV and theatre after he left the Royal Marines. The show featured Prince Edward, Princess Anne, the Duke and Duchess of York as team captains, each of whom supported a different charity. The show was hosted by Stuart Hall, Les Dawson and Su Pollard. The contestants competed in ridiculous and somewhat humiliating games; for example in one round they dress up as giant vegetables and throw fake hams at each other. Media coverage on BBC Radio 1 was was provided by Mike Smith (The Breakfast Show) and Steve Wright (The Radio 1 Roadshow).

[edit] Aftermath

Immediately after the event, Prince Edward asked the assembled journalists "well, what did you think?" [of the event]. Somewhat taken aback by such a direct question, the journalists responded with a nervous laughter. The Prince famously stormed out of the press conference, sarcastically thanking the journalists for their enthusiasm. It is reported that The Queen had not approved of the event and that her courtiers had advised against it. Neither she, the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Charles nor Princess Diana agreed to take part but for whatever reason, Edward persevered and the project went to completion. The event is now the butt of many jokes and has gone down as one of the biggest and most embarrassing failures in television history. Indeed, some commentators have gone so far as to describe it as the point at which the British public's respect for their Royal Family began a slow but steady decline. Nonetheless, the event raised over £1 million for the World Wildlife Fund (Prince Andrew), Save the Children Fund (Princess Anne), Shelter for the Homeless (Duchess of York) and the Duke of Edinburgh International Project (Prince Edward).