SUPERSTARS VPO PACK - · PDF fileSuperstars Introduction ... Paul Hunter (snooker) Heat 4 Graham Bell (skiing) Martin Bell (skiing) ... in the 1991 Welsh Schools Championships. Alain

Superstars

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2List of competitors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4Competitor biographies and home towns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5Superstars rules and events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11Superstars history and top facts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13Past Superstars records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16Where are they now? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18BBC Sport website guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19Presenter biographies

Johnny Vaughan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20Suzi Perry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Contents

Superstars is back on BBC One after a 19-yearabsence.The legendary sports-entertainmentshow returns with brand-new presenters, asizzling location and the crème de la crème ofsporting talent.The new series begins onThursday 16 October on BBC One at 8pm.TheWomen’s Final will be shown on 13 Novemberand the Men’s Final on 20 November.

Superstars is a six-part series hosted bypopular presenters Johnny Vaughan and SuziPerry.The men battle it out over four heatswith the top two contestants in each showclaiming a place in the grand final.The women,not to be outdone, compete in a special one-off championship.

Presenter Johnny Vaughan says:“Superstars wasa great show; everyone has fond memories of

it.The public demand to bring it back has beenhuge and this time we’ve got a real mix from allareas of sport. Footballers like [Dennis] Wiseand [Stuart] Pearce are bound to spice thingsup and I can’t wait to see the girls in action!”

Co-host Suzi Perry says:“When I was growingup, I absolutely loved Superstars, seeingdifferent sports favourites in differentchallenges against each other. For me, BrianJacks, was the man! I’m sure the contestantswill be taking this very seriously and, whateverthey say or show on the outside, you knowdeep down that they really want to win.”

Based in La Manga in Southern Spain, topsports stars such as Colin Jackson, DennisWise, Stuart Pearce, Mark Foster, DarrenCampbell, Ricky Hatton,Tony Underwood, Paul

2Superstars

Introduction

Superstars is backon BBC ONE

Hunter, Richard Dunwoody,Annabel Croft andKatharine Merry have signed up to take part ina variety of disciplines, ranging from theinfamous gym tests (dips and squats), tomountain biking, the 100m sprint, target golfand swimming.

The contestants are based at the world-famousLa Manga Club, where they live and competetogether.The gym tests are held at the beautifulLa Cala beach, swimming at Bellaluz Pool andkayaking on the Mar de Cristal.

The original Superstars, presented by DavidVine, ran for 11 years on BBC One from1974-1985 and featured memorable momentssuch as Brian Jacks’s outstanding gym

performances, Kevin Keegan falling off a bike athigh speed and Malcolm Macdonald setting arecord for the 100m.

Superstars is produced by TWI andcommissioned by Lorraine Heggessey,Controller of BBC One, and Jane Lush,Controller of Entertainment for the BBC.

3Superstars

Introduction

Heat 1

Mark Foster (swimming)Colin Jackson (athletics)John Regis (athletics)Wayne McCullough (boxing)Greg Searle (rowing)Henry Olonga (cricket)Stuart Pearce (football)Johnny Searle (rowing)Phil de Glanville (rugby)

Heat 2

Chris Boardman (cycling)Darren Campbell (athletics)Steve Collins (boxing)Dermot Reeve (cricket)Peter Scudamore (horse racing)Iwan Thomas (athletics)Tony Underwood (rugby)Rory Underwood (rugby)Steve Claridge (football)

Heat 3

Jimmy Adams (cricket)Simon Archer (badminton)Jamie Baulch (athletics)Alain Baxter (skiing)Jamie Delgado (tennis)Richard Dunwoody (horse racing)Gavin Hastings (rugby)Derek Redmond (athletics)Paul Hunter (snooker)

Heat 4

Graham Bell (skiing)Martin Bell (skiing)Chris Lewis (cricket)Brian Hooper (athletics)Ricky Hatton (boxing)Du’aine Ladejo (athletics)Martin Offiah (rugby)Dennis Wise (football)Richie Richardson (cricket)

Women’s Final

Annabel Croft (tennis)Liz McColgan (athletics)Katharine Merry (athletics)Leanda Cave (triathlon)Fiona May (athletics)Zoë Baker (swimming)Lesley McKenna (snowboarding)Kate Howey (judo)

4Superstars

The competitors

The competitors

Heat 1

Mark FosterBorn: Billericay, Essex, grew up in Southend

At 6ft 6in, Mark towers above most people andis just as dominant in the internationalswimming pool, where he has competed in fourOlympic Games, broken eight world recordsand collected five World Championship golds.

Colin JacksonBorn: Cardiff

Sensational Olympic silver medallist and worldrecord-holder over 110m hurdles. Recentlyretired, he leaves behind an impressive honoursboard of two world and three European titles.

John RegisBorn: Lewisham, London

Hugely talented and experienced over theshorter distances, John set numerous indoorand outdoor British records over 200m. Hewas also part of the record-settingCommonwealth and European 4x400m teamand ran away with an unprecedented four goldmedals at the 1990 European Championships.

Wayne McCulloughBorn: Belfast

The Ulsterman they call the Pocket Rocket,because of his all-action style, won silver at the Barcelona Olympics in 1992 before turning professional and becoming WBC bantam-weight champion.

Greg Searle Born: Ashford, Middlesex,grew up in Chertsey, Surrey

Olympic gold medal-winning rower turnedocean yacht racing sailor.With his brother,Johnny, he won his gold in the coxless pairs at the Barcelona games, adding the world title12 months later and moving on to become agrinder in Britain’s America’s Cup boat.

Stuart PearceBorn: Shepherd’s Bush, London

Known as “Psycho” because of his competitivenature on the football pitch for Coventry,Nottingham Forest, Newcastle,West Ham,Manchester City and England.Who can forgethis emotional response to scoring a penalty in Euro ‘96?

5Superstars

Competitor biographiesand home towns


Everything is going swimmingly for Colin Jackson

Phil De GlanvilleBorn: Loughborough

Outstanding rugby union centre-three-quarterwho captained England to the 1996 FiveNations Championship. Highly regarded for histactical knowledge gained from an impressive52 international caps.

Henry OlongaBorn: Lusaka, Zimbabwe

The youngest-ever player to representZimbabwe, the out-and-out fast bowler has 30caps to his name, not to mention somememorable moments, such as three wickets infive balls to dismiss India in the 1999 WorldCup Group match.

Johnny SearleBorn: Ashford, Middlesex, grew up inChertsey, Surrey

This Oxford-born rowing hero partnered hisbrother, Greg, to Golden glory in the coxlesspairs at the Barcelona Olympics.

Heat 2

Chris BoardmanBorn: Manchester

The man from the Wirral became a householdname with his revolutionary Lotus-built bikewinning the 4,000m individual pursuit at theBarcelona Olympics. He took his stamina andbravery to the Tour de France where he worethe yellow jersey, although not quite managingto carry it across the finishing line.

Darren CampbellBorn: Manchester

World-class sprinter who almost left athleticsafter winning four gold medals and two silver in International Junior Championships.He had a spell of playing football for NewportCounty and Weymouth but returned to thetrack at the highest level and still finds time to fulfil obligations on the fashion catwalk.

Steve CollinsBorn: Dublin

The boxer known as “The Celtic Warrior”emerged from Dublin as the super-middleweight who effectively ended thecareers of Chris Eubank and Nigel Benn on hisway to holding the WBO title.Although he’sretired, he is thinking of a comeback.

Dermot ReeveBorn: Kowloon, Hong Kong

Dermot is described by Wisden, the cricketbible, as “the best one-day cricketer inEngland.” With Sussex,Warwickshire, Somersetand England he scored runs quickly, bowledmeanly and emerged as one of the game’sgreat entertainers.

Peter ScudamoreBorn: Hereford

One of the most stylish riders in NationalHunt racing, a sport in which bone fracturesare accepted as an inevitable fact of life.For all that,“Scu” rode an astonishing 1,678winners, including two victories inCheltenham’s Champion Hurdle.

6Superstars


Iwan ThomasBorn: Farnborough, Kent

Flies like the wind over 400m in bothindividual and relay races.Was perhapsproudest of all when representing Walesagainst his GB team mates at theCommonwealth Games.

Rory UnderwoodBorn: Middlesbrough

An RAF pilot in single-seater jets and hugetransport planes. During an exceptional 85-capcareer with the England rugby union side, hescored 49 tries, including a record five in onematch against Fiji in 1989.

Tony UnderwoodBorn: Ipoh, Malaysia

Flier on the wing with Leicester Tigers,Newcastle Falcons and the England rugbyunion side for whom he played 29 times,scoring 13 tries and running up 65 points.

Steve ClaridgeBorn: Portsmouth

One of football’s great characters, his sense ofhumour and forthright views are evident bothon and off the field. Following a long career atLeicester City, Portsmouth and Millwall, he isnow player-manager at Weymouth.

Heat 3

Jimmy AdamsBorn: Port Maria, St Mary, Jamaica

The all-rounder’s all-rounder, Jimmy was anoutstanding batsman, once scoring 208 not outin a Test match for the Windies, often keepingwicket and, on other occasions, bowlingtantalisingly, slow left-arm tweakers.

Simon ArcherBorn: Leamington Spa, lives in Worcester

Almost stole the show, in partnership with Joanne Goode, in the mixed pairsbadminton during the Sydney Olympics. In the end they settled for bronze but it was anoutstanding performance.

Jamie BaulchBorn: Nottingham, lives in Cardiff

One of Britain’s stars over 400m, he won theWorld Indoor title in 1999 and was a keymember of the GB relay team. He was anoutstanding junior once he switched from hisfirst love, trampolining, in which he came secondin the 1991 Welsh Schools Championships.

Alain BaxterBorn: Edinburgh

The Highlander from Aviemore is a world-classskiing champion who has achieved fourth placein the World Cup Finals.

7Superstars


Richard DunwoodyBorn: Chelsea, London

One of the greatest jump jockeys of all timewith 1,699 winners, including two GrandNationals. He is also an intrepid adventurer,having raced single-seat cars and madedaunting polar treks.

Gavin HastingsBorn: Portsmouth

Rugby’s Braveheart, he played 61 times forScotland and in six Test matches for the BritishLions before retiring after the 1995 SouthAfrica World Cup, by which time he hadscored more than 700 points. A mean golfer,he plays off a handicap of six over the testingGullane Links.

Derek RedmondBorn: Stow-on-the-Wold

A record-breaking 400m runner who notchedup a silver medal at the World Championshipsin 1987, and a gold in the World, European andCommonwealth Championships 4x400m. Hiscareer was famously and tragically cut short atthe Barcelona Olympics when he pulled upwith a hamstring injury.

Paul HunterBorn: Leeds

Master of the green baize, Paul started playingsnooker as a boy in Leeds. His dedication topractice has been a major factor in his winning five World Championship events.

Jamie DelgadoBorn: Birmingham

Current British tennis number 11, Jamie hit acareer high world ranking of 121 and has facedsome of the world’s top players, includingAndre Agassi and fellow countryman GregRusedski. He has also been a key member ofthe Davis Cup team, representing Great Britainon numerous occasions.

Heat 4

Graham BellBorn: Edinburgh

International skier who now takes to theslopes with the BBC’s Ski Sunday commentaryteam as well as making regular appearances asa reporter on Wish You Were Here.

Martin BellBorn: Edinburgh

Dazzling skier from Edinburgh, earning seventop 10 World Cup finishes in a decade ofAlpine skiing at the highest level. Finished eighth in the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary.

Chris LewisBorn: Shrewsbury, Shropshire

One of cricket’s most gifted all-rounders, heplayed in 32 Test matches for England and 53one-day internationals.Whenever Chrismarched to the wicket, the spectators were ontheir toes but he suffered with injuries andsome say his immense talent went unfulfilled.

8Superstars


Brian HooperBorn:Woking, Surrey

Pole-vaulter extraordinaire, he was always afeature at the big events and won bronze atthe 1978 Commonwealth Games. He nowcoaches Janine Whitlock, who competed atSydney 2000, and lectures in Sports Science.

Ricky HattonBorn: Manchester

The Manchester fighter they call “The Hitman”has outfought every domestic rival and is keento look west towards the big names of the American ring, where he will, as usual, wear hisManchester City shorts and enter the ring tothe music of Blue Moon.

Du’aine LadejoBorn: Paddington, London

One of track and field’s most compellingpersonalities, after a successful couple ofseasons competing in the decathlon andhurdles, he is back on the flat and doing whathe knows best in the 400m.

Martin OffiahBorn: Hackney, London

The rugby league legend known as “Chariots”scored an astonishing 500-plus tries in a careerthat spanned 14 seasons of powerful runningand cunning side-stepping.

Dennis WiseBorn: Kensington, London

Pugnacious midfield player who started on thewing as one of Wimbledon’s original “CrazyGang”. Played 165 games for Wimbledon, 445for Chelsea, 17 for Leicester and won 21England caps. He now channels his energy intoMillwall’s midfield.

Richie RichardsonBorn: Leeward Islands,West Indies

The man from the Leeward Islands was Wisden'sCricketer of the Year in 1992. He captained theWest Indies and played in 86 Test matches,scoring 5,949 runs, with 16 centuries. He wasalmost as prolific in one-day internationals, hittingfive hundreds in 224 limited-over games.

9Superstars


Dennis wises up to the gym tests

Women’s Final

Katharine MerryBorn: Dunchurch,Warwickshire

Britain’s most promising female sprinter foryears, she eventually moved up to 400m andcollected bronze in that memorable night atthe Sydney Olympics when Cathy Freemanwon her gold. Katharine is on the way backafter injury problems.

Kate HoweyBorn: Andover, Hampshire, went to BathUniversity

British judo champion at 70kg, she becameworld champion at the same weight in 1997.Kate won Olympic bronze in 1992, reached thequarter-final in 1996 and took silver in 2000.

Liz McColganBorn: Dundee, Scotland

Her fame was found over running longdistances and her World Championship win inTokyo in 1991 was one of the greatest trackperformances of all time, as she led almostfrom the start to win the 10,000m on a hot,humid night. A few months later, she went onto win the New York Marathon.

Zoë BakerBorn: Sheffield, lives Loughborough and NewZealand

One of the beaming faces of Manchester 2002,she won the Commonwealth Games goldmedal in the 50m breaststroke. Previously shefelt she had been jinxed at the big events butthe hard work seems to be paying off and nowall her training is geared towards Athens 2004.

Lesley McKennaBorn: Aviemore, Scotland

A star in the world of snowboarding, Lesley isfourth ranked world-wide with her inventivehalf-pipe riding. She was a promising youngskier in Aviemore before the snowboard tookher fancy.

Fiona MayBorn: Slough, Berkshire; lived/trained inDerby; now lives in Florence, Italy, andrepresents Italy

The English girl who moved to Italy, married,and now competes in Olympic and WorldChampionships in the blue of her adoptedcountry. She has won medals galore, includingthe 1995 world long jump gold.

Annabel CroftBorn: London, grew up in Kent

The darling of British tennis, when Annabelwas 15 she became the youngest player for100 years to appear at Wimbledon and wasthe 1984 junior champion. She retired at 21when ranked in the top 25 in the world. Nowmarried with three children, she still managesto fit in plenty of media work.

Leanda Cave Born: Louth, Lincolnshire; grew up inAustralia; now lives in Bath

Stunned the triathlon world by winning in theheat and humidity of Mexico. She also tooksilver at the Manchester CommonwealthGames in this most gruelling and demanding ofevents, involving swimming, cycling and running.

10Superstars


Heats consist of eight events with eachcompetitor taking part in six.The final isdecided over nine events with eachcompetitor taking part in seven.

Programme-makers determine oneevent each competitor has to withdrawfrom (usually that closest to their ownsport, where applicable) and eachcompetitor chooses the second.

The Events

100m

• Run 100m from starting blocks on pavedesplanade.

Kayak

• Open kayaking with standard paddles overcourse of approx 120m.• Heats of two competitors with fastest twoprogressing to the final.

800m

• Run 800m.

Swim

• Two lengths, any stroke, of 25m pool.

Mountain bike

• Race over 600m course up a gravel road.

Gym tests

• Two disciplines – dips and squat thrusts.• Dips performed individually on parallel barsare counted when competitor, from straight-arm position, bends arm to 90 degrees atelbow to contact judge’s hand and thenreturns to straight-arm position.• Squat thrusts will be counted whencompetitor, from “press up” position, moveslegs forward over 30cm strip and then back tostarting position.Arms must be kept straight.Sliding of feet is allowed.• One minute for each discipline and scorecalculated on the total of both disciplines.

11Superstars

John Regis competes in the gruelling gym tests at La Manga

Superstars rulesand events


Target golf

• Three shots each hit from tee to green 50m away.• Green is ringed at 1m intervals from acentral flag with points awarded at 5:4:3:2:1 (5 being closest).• 10 points for a hole in one.

Football

• Starting from point 36m from goal,competitors dribble between posts beforeattempting a shot on goal.They have to beatthe goalkeeper then return to the start pointto repeat the exercise (three times in total).• Winner is competitor who scores most goalsin the quickest time.Time is taken whencompetitor returns to the start point after thethird shot.• Goalkeeper must stay inside 6m “D” area.Players may not enter “D”. If they do, the goalwill be disallowed.

Tennis

• Challenge is one of volleying across the netinto areas where points are scored.• There are three scoring zones – the closerto the base line the higher the score.• Balls are fed manually – forehand thenbackhand.• Between shots, competitor returns to seaton service line.

Archery

• Three warm-up arrows, followed by fivecompetitive shots fired at a 122cm ringedtarget set at 15m from shooting platform.• Highest total wins.

12Superstars


UK and European

1973

Crystal Palace National Sports Centre

The first Superstars took place in 1973 atCrystal Palace, London. It was presented byDavid Vine, with commentary and technicalexplanations by Ron Pickering.The programmefeatured the “Magnificent 7” – Bobby Moore,Jackie Stewart, Barry John, Roger Taylor, JoeBugner,Tony Jacklin and David Hemery. JoeBugner beat Olympic-shot Jackie Stewart inthe pistol shooting, but Hemery went on toimpress in most events and win. He was the1968 Olympic hurdles champion, retired fromathletics the year before, just after the MunichOlympics, and had made Superstars his goalbeyond athletics.

1974

Crystal Palace National Sports Centre

This year saw boxer John Conteh win Superstarsas well as his World light heavyweight title. Hebeat reigning Superstars champion DavidHemery, who was the first to congratulate him.

1975

Malmo, Sweden

The Superstars concept spread to the rest ofEurope, and England football striker MalcolmMacdonald represented Great Britain in theEuropean event. In the 100m, there was a false

start by Johansson of Sweden, but no onestopped the race.“SuperMac” still beat himand in a record 11 seconds. Commentator and judge Ron Pickering was not happy and saidthe race had to be re-run. No one believedthat Macdonald would be able to run that fastagain straight away. He ran the race, won itagain, and beat his own record with an amazing 10.9 seconds. He held the European record forseven years until Des Drummond ran the 100min 10.85 seconds in the 1982 InternationalSuperstars in Hong Kong. Macdonald still holdsthe UK record at 11 seconds.

European Final, Rotterdam, Holland

Malcolm Macdonald and David Hemeryrepresented Great Britain. Hemery was madeto start 40m behind the rest of the field in thesteeplechase as the event was deemed to bevery close to his own speciality of hurdles. Hecaught the field and was in the lead when hesuffered a horrific landing at the waterjump.Hemery picked himself up and carried on tofinish third in the race.At the finish, his anklehad already swollen badly and he was out ofaction for the rest of the competition.

Aldershot

The gym tests were always a controversialevent, and squash player Jonah Barringtonstormed out after disagreeing with his scoreand the way he was judged in the squats.Thejudge awarded him a third of the amount hethought he got. He came back the next yearand joked that he would stay in thecompetition and not walk out.

13Superstars

Superstars history and top facts

Superstars historyand top facts

1976

European Final,Vichy, France

Welsh rugby star Gareth Edwards representedBritain and ended up playing table tennisagainst new Wimbledon champion Bjorn Borg.Edwards managed to take four points fromhim! Borg won the event, and that, coupledwith wins in canoeing, football and thesteeplechase, ensured that Borg won.

1976

Bracknell

Kevin Keegan came off his bike on a cindertrack, and most of the skin came off his backand arms. Keegan was racing against theBelgian football captain.They both went off ata cracking speed but, suddenly, Keegan’s biketouched the back wheel of his opponent’s onthe first bend and he came off, sliding acrossthe track for what seemed like an eternity.Keegan wasn’t worried as he was the only manin the stadium who couldn’t see his back. Heraced again, won, then went on to win thesteeplechase and the whole event. Literallyfrom the ashes, Keegan was champion.

Aldershot

Stan Bowles and Malcolm Macdonald bothsank during the canoeing. During the pistolshooting event (held at Bisley) Stan Bowlestook a shot and, as he rested his pistol on thetable, another shot went off, firing through thetable. Everyone dived for cover, no one washurt, but half the table was missing!

Cwmbran

Cwmbran in Wales was a favourite venue for Superstars. It was the scene of Brian Jacks’sdebut in 1978. He trained every day for five weeks, doing a minimum of 400 squats and dips. Jacks went on to become the masterof the gym tests, constantly smashing his own records.

Commentator Ron Pickering referred to thegym as the “Emporium of fitness” or the“Muscle Factory”. In later years, racing driverJody Scheckter created the most controversyin the squats by smearing his shoes in engineoil and using a sliding technique. Brian Jackssaw this and had special shoes made withplastic toe caps so he could slide withouthurting his feet.

In 1980 Daley Thompson believed he was theman to beat Brian Jacks. He won weightliftingand, during the squats, placed his wristwatch infront of him to try to psyche Jacks out. Jackswas unmoved and, when Thompson hadfinished, he walked over and replaced thewristwatch with one of his trademark oranges!He beat Thompson, and got a Jaffa orangeadvert out of it.

Cwmbran was also where former Olympiclong jumper Lynn Davies made his Superstarsdebut in 1979. He lifted 8.3kg over his ownbodyweight in the weightlifting and set the tonefor the rest of the programme. He won otherevents, won the whole competition and laterrepresented Great Britain in the World finals.

14Superstars


Kevin Keegan gets on his bike

World Superstars

1977

Georgia, USA

Superstars went world-wide! John Conteh andGareth Edwards were the Britishrepresentatives. Edwards had to score five goalsout of five in the football to win. He scored fourand needed the fifth goal to go past goalkeeperPaul Hammond. Edwards struck the ball andHammond saved it! Edwards was gutted.

1978

Bahamas

Keith Fielding represented Britain in theBahamas. He was a rugby league player, and thecompetition became rugby league versusAmerican football. In the 100m sprint aCanadian player got a great start but Fieldingcaught him and dipped on the line. Replaysshowed that Fielding appeared to have got it,but the result went the Canadian’s way. Duringthe 800m in the 96-degree heat, Fieldingcollapsed from heat exhaustion and waswhisked away in an ambulance. Following icebaths and treatment, he came back to continuecompeting. Canadian Brian Budd won, and wenton to win three World Superstars in a row.

1982Florida

British pole-vaulter Brian Hooper wanted tobreak Budd’s run and competed in WorldSuperstars in Florida. Hooper was boxed in onthe cycle event by five Americans and hemanaged to take the two leaders on theinside, leading the Americans to complain thathe’d gone off the track and therefore hadcheated.Video evidence showed Hooper’smanoeuvre was legal and his win stood. Hebeat the Americans in their own back yard andwas the only Briton to win World Superstars.

Top appearances

David Hemery appeared in nine Superstarsprogrammes He won three times, including thefirst-ever Superstars, and was second threetimes. He was a great competitor but sufferedtwo bad falls at the steeplechase water jump(Aldershot 1975, and in the European final inHolland, 1975).

Highest score

Lynn Davies scored a maximum 70 points(seven of nine events) in the UK Past Mastersprogramme at Oxford in 1982.

Most programme wins

Brian Hooper came first in six programmes.He was also the one UK competitor to winWorld Superstars in America.

UK male competitors

161

UK female competitors

37

Countries where UK Superstarscompeted

UKSwedenHollandBelgiumFranceSwitzerlandSpainIsraelHong KongNew ZealandCyprusUSA

15Superstars


Top facts

Event: 100mRecord: 10.85secsYear: 1982Record-holder: Des DrummondVenue: International Superstars

Event: 100mRecord: 10.9secs (Held for a long time) Year: 1975Record-holder: Malcolm MacdonaldVenue: Malmo in Sweden

Event: Swim 50ydsRecord: 28.0secsYear: 1979Record-holder: Danny NightingaleVenue: UK Final, Cwmbran

Event: Swim 66.66 ydsRecord: 36.30secsYear: 1982Record-holder: Vic Charles (Karate)Venue: UK Final, Cosford

Event: Swim 50yds (International)Record: 26.34secsYear: 1982Record-holder: Jody ScheckterVenue: World Superstars, Florida

Event: ArcheryRecord: 35 ptsYear: 1982Record-holder: Andy IrvineVenue: Nottingham

Event: Archery (5 shots/15m)Record: 40 ptsYear: 2002 (Sport Relief special)Record-holder: Steve RedgraveVenue: Bath

Event: Gym Tests (Composite Event)Record: 78 Squats

71 Press Ups54 Sit Ups106 Bar Jumps

Total: 309Year: 1984Record-holder: Robin BrewVenue: UK Superstars, Cosford

Event: Squats (UK)Record: 105/103Year: 1980Record-holder:Duncan Goodhew/Brian JacksVenue: UK Superstars

Event: Squats (International/European)Record: 113Year: 1980Record-holder: Jody ScheckterVenue: International Superstars, Israel (Questionable style – he oiled his toe caps)

Event: Squats (International/European)

Record: 87

Year: 1981

Record-holder: Loftus and Des Drummond

Venue: International Superstars

16Superstars

Past Superstars records


Event: Squats (World)Record: 118Year: 1980Record-holder: Brian JacksVenue: World IV

Event: Parallel dipsRecord: 100Year: 1980Record-holder: Brian JacksVenue: UK

Event: Canoe 125mRecord: 29.5secsYear: 1980Record-holder: Jim FoxVenue: Past Masters, Blackpool

Event: Canoe 125mRecord: 30.6Year: 1980Record-holder: Brian Jacks/Keith FieldingVenue: UK

17Superstars


Brian Hooper

The former pole-vaulter is now trainingSuperstars of the future at Woking Collegewhere he lectures in sports science. He alsoworks with private clients as a “metabolictyper” – a new science that involves studyinga person’s metabolism to work out whichnutrients they require to maintain a healthylife and which diet would best suit their makeup. He took part in the new series ofSuperstars, where all the athletes were askingfor tips and techniques.

Brian Jacks

Since he hung up his judogi, the former judoand Superstars champion has set up the BrianJacks Martial Arts Centre which he runs inOrpington. He also has a company thatorganises and runs children’s birthday parties.He divides his time between Kent and Thailand.

David Hemery (pictured left)

Since retiring from athletics in 1972, DavidHemery has worked as a coach and performanceconsultant for other young athletes. In 1998 hewas appointed as the first president of UKAthletics, a term that ended in November 2002.He still works with them on their mentoringcourses and is a director of Developing PotentialLtd, a company that runs courses fortransforming organisations. He also works withthe Coach Education Programme for UKAthletics and is a representative on the ExecutiveBoard of the British Olympic Association.

Kevin Keegan

One of Superstars’ most famous participantsfollowing his horrific biking accident, theformer Liverpool midfield star is now on theother side of the boss’ desk as manager atManchester City. Before taking the helm atMaine Road, Keegan managed NewcastleUnited, Fulham and the national team.

Stan Bowles

The former QPR striker holds the dubioushonour of getting the lowest Superstars score… ever! He now writes a column forFourFourTwo Magazine, does occasionalhospitality work at QPR and owns The London Tile shop in Brentford.

Malcolm Macdonald

“SuperMac”, the prolific Newcastle and Englandgoalscorer and Superstars hero, can now befound on Century FM, where he forms part ofthe “3 Legends” team. He and fellow “legends”,Eric Gates and Bernie Slaven, host a football chatshow that is broadcast across the North East.

18Superstars

Where are they now?

Where are they now?

Check out the official Superstars website atwww.bbc.co.uk/superstars. Dennis Wise’svideo diary of Superstars filming in La Mangaprovides a new level of insight, and the site willhave all the behind-the-scenes gossip, as well asresults and tables.

Brian Jacks, former Superstars champion andgym tests supremo, provides his predictionsfor each heat, and site users can access profilesof all the competitors.

Would-be Superstars can learn how to becomea Superstar in their own right, and play thebrilliant new interactive game, SuperstarsTrumps. Signed goodies are also up for grabs ineasy-to-enter competitions.

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BBC Sport website

www.bbc.co.uk/superstars

Johnny Vaughan

Johnny Vaughan’s enthusiasm and sportingknowledge makes Superstars the perfectvehicle to showcase his talents.

The presenter’s career at the BBC started in2001 when he hosted his own chat show,Johnny Vaughan Tonight, which was broadcast onboth BBC One and BBC Choice.Following on from this success, JohnnyVaughan’s World Cup Extra was launched onBBC One and BBC Choice in 2002. Johnny’spassion for the game was the driving forcebehind this show, covering the day-to-dayevents of the World Cup and includinginterviews with some of the biggest sportingnames in the industry: David Ginola, FrankieDettori, Gary Lineker and Ian Wright.

In 2003, Johnny became the face of the BBC’snew flagship digital channel, BBC Three, and hisrazor-sharp wit came into good use when hehosted the launch night. Johnny has eventurned his hand to writing: in April 2002, BBCChoice screened his one-off drama, DeadCasual, and he wrote and starred in thecomedy series ‘Orrible on BBC Two.

Johnny is currently working on a new pilot for the BBC. He is also involved in Children In Need, along with his bulldog, Harvey, in the programme Celebrity Dog School for BBC One.

Suzi Perry

Suzi’s enthusiasm for sport has been reflectedthroughout her career to date and made herthe perfect choice to present Superstars. Suzijoined BBC Sport as the presenter of itsWorld Superbike Championship coverage inFebruary 2000, bringing with her animpeccable pedigree in biking. She previouslyworked as a reporter and presenter oncoverage of the World SuperbikeChampionship, the FIM Grand Prix Series andElite League Speedway, all for Sky Television.

Suzi’s sporting knowledge was furtherenhanced when she presented Chequered Flag,a motorsport show with British Touring Carsand support races, and she regularly coveredmotorsport events for Sky News.

However, Suzi’s career hasn’t all been sportsbased.The versatile presenter is the new faceof Treasure Hunt and Suzi is currentlypresenting BBC One’s flagship daytimeprogramme Housecall. During the summer of2002 she jetted around the world, presentingBBC One’s Summer Holiday programme, andSuzi also had fun presenting Lottery On The Spotwith Des O’Connor throughout the summerof 2000.

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Presenter biographies

Presenter biographies

Documents

SUPERSTARS VPO PACK - · PDF fileSuperstars Introduction ... Paul Hunter (snooker) Heat 4 Graham Bell (skiing) Martin Bell (skiing) ... in the 1991 Welsh Schools Championships. Alain