''Opportunity Knocks'' is a

British television Regular television broadcasts in the United Kingdom started in 1936 as a public service which was free of advertising, which followed the first demonstration of a transmitted moving image in 1926. Currently, the United Kingdom has a collection ...

and radio

talent show A talent show is an event in which participants perform the arts of singing, dancing, lip-syncing, acting, martial arts, playing an instrument, poetry, comedy or other activities to showcase skills. Many talent shows are performances rather ...

originally hosted by Hughie Green, with a late-1980s revival hosted by

Bob Monkhouse Robert Alan Monkhouse (1 June 1928 – 29 December 2003) was an English comedian, writer and actor. He was the host of television game shows including ''The Golden Shot'', '' Celebrity Squares'', '' Family Fortunes'' and '' ''Wipeout'. Ear ...

, and later by previous winner

Les Dawson Leslie Dawson Jr. (2 February 1931 – 10 June 1993) was an English comedian, actor, writer, and presenter, who is best remembered for his deadpan style, curmudgeonly persona and jokes about his mother-in-law and wife. Early life Les Dawson w ...

. From its origin on BBC Radio in 1949 the show provided a platform to fame for acts such as

Spike Milligan Terence Alan "Spike" Milligan (16 April 1918 – 27 February 2002) was an Irish actor, comedian, writer, musician, poet, and playwright. The son of an English mother and Irish father, he was born in British Colonial India, where he spent his ...

and

Frankie Vaughan Frankie Vaughan (born Frank Fruim Abelson; 3 February 1928 – 17 September 1999) was an English singer and actor who recorded more than 80 easy listening and traditional pop singles in his lifetime. He was known as "Mr. Moonlight" after his ...

. One of the most popular shows on British television, in the 1960s and 1970s it had a weekly audience of 20 million viewers. The original

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a tr ...

version started on the

BBC Light Programme The BBC Light Programme was a national radio station which broadcast chiefly mainstream light entertainment and light music from 1945 until 1967, when it was replaced by BBC Radio 2 and BBC Radio 1. It opened on 29 July 1945, taking over the ...

, where it ran from 18 February to 29 September 1949, but moved to

Radio Luxembourg Radio Luxembourg was a multilingual commercial broadcaster in Luxembourg. It is known in most non-English languages as RTL (for Radio Television Luxembourg). The English-language service of Radio Luxembourg began in 1933 as one of the earlies ...

in the 1950s. 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 The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

. During this period Bob Sharples was musical director.Bob Sharples obituary, ''The Guardian'', 9 September 1987 p. 34 Green presented a single episode of ''Opportunity Knocks'' for

RTÉ (RTÉ) (; Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the national broadcaster of Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, whil ...

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.

Kiki Dee Pauline Matthews (born 6 March 1947), better known by her stage name Kiki Dee, is an English singer. Known for her blue-eyed soul vocals, she was the first female singer from the UK to sign with Motown's Tamla Records. Dee is best known for h ...

's hit single "Star" became the theme song for the revived BBC series.

Voting system

Unlike its rival ''

New Faces ''New Faces'' is a British television talent show that aired in the 1970s and 1980s. It has been hosted by Leslie Crowther, Derek Hobson and Marti Caine. It was produced for the ITV network by ATV, and later by Central. Original series: 197 ...

'', 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 A clap-o-meter, clapometer or applause meter is a measurement instrument that purports to measure and display the volume of clapping or applause made by an audience. It can be used to indicate the popularity of contestants and decide the result ...

, 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 Susan Georgina Pollard (born 7 November 1949) is an English actress and singer. Her career has spanned over 45 years; she is most famous for her role in the sitcom '' Hi-de-Hi!''. She also appeared in ''You Rang, M'Lord?'' and '' Oh, Doctor Bee ...

was beaten into second place by a singing dog.

Famous alumni

Entertainers who appeared included Freddie Starr and the Delmonts,

Paul Daniels Newton Edward Daniels (6 April 1938 – 17 March 2016), known professionally as Paul Daniels, was an English magician and television presenter. He achieved international fame through his television series ''The Paul Daniels Magic Show'', which ...

Darren Day Darren Day is an English actor, singer and television presenter, well known for his West End theatre starring roles. Early life Day's paternal grandfather was a support act to George Formby in the days of music hall. Day undertook drama classe ...

, Pete the Plate Spinning Dog, Los Caracas, later to become Middle of the Road,

Mary Hopkin Mary Hopkin (born 3 May 1950), credited on some recordings as Mary Visconti from her marriage to Tony Visconti, is a Welsh singer-songwriter best known for her 1968 UK number 1 single "Those Were the Days". She was one of the first artists ...

Bonnie Langford Bonita Melody Lysette "Bonnie" Langford (born 22 July 1964) is an English actress, dancer and singer. She came to prominence as a child star in the 1970s, when she had a notable role in the TV series ''Just William''. In the 1980s, she played c ...

, Maureen Myers, Barry Cummings, Royston Vasey (later to find fame as

Roy 'Chubby' Brown Roy Chubby Brown (born 3 February 1945) is an English stand-up comedian whose act consists of offensive humour, high profanity, forthright social commentary and outspoken disdain for political correctness. Early life Roy Chubby Brown (born ...

Little and Large ''Little and Large'' were a British comedy double act comprising straight man Syd Little (born Cyril John Mead; 19 December 1942) and comic Eddie Large (born Edward Hugh McGinnis; 25 June 1941 – 2 April 2020). Comedy duo They formed their p ...

Bobby Crush Robert Nicholas Crush (born 23 March 1954) is an English pianist, songwriter, actor and television presenter, originally from Leyton in East London. Biography Bobby Crush first came to public attention after six winning appearances on Hughie ...

Berni Flint Bernard Flint (born 26 May 1952, in Southport, Lancashire, England)IMDb.com – accessed July 2009

, Tony Holland (The Muscle Man), Millican & Nesbitt, Neil Reid, Peters and Lee, Lena Zavaroni,

Frank Carson Hugh Francis Carson KSG (6 November 1926 – 22 February 2012) was a Northern Irish comedian and actor from Belfast. He was best known for being a regular face on television for many years from the 1970s onwards, appearing in series su ...

Max Boyce Maxwell Boyce, (born 27 September 1943) is a Welsh comedian, singer and entertainer. He rose to fame in the mid-1970s with an act that combined musical comedy with his passion for rugby union and his origins in a South Wales mining community ...

, Pam Ayres, Juniper Green,

Gerry Monroe Gerry Monroe (20 January 1933 – October 1989) was an English pop singer, who enjoyed brief popularity in the early 1970s. Born Henry Morris in South Shields, County Durham, England, Monroe scored five Top 40 hits on the UK Singles Chart in 19 ...

, Debra Stephenson,

Tammy Jones Tammy Jones (born Helen Wyn Jones, 12 March 1944), is a singer from Bangor, Gwynedd, Bangor, North Wales. Musical career Jones began singing at an early age, winning many Eisteddfod competitions, and was soon established as a regular on both radio ...

, Paper Lace, Barry and Paul Elliott and

Tony Monopoly Tony Monopoly (3 December 1944 – 21 March 1995) was an Australian-born cabaret singer and actor who enjoyed success in the United Kingdom. Born Antonio Rosario Monopoli in Adelaide, he was a regular on the national radio show, ''Kangaroos on ...

. Several winners of ''Opportunity Knocks'' (notably Tammy Jones, Champagne, Tony Monopoly) later attempted to represent the UK at the

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...

, taking part in the

A Song for Europe A, or a, is the first Letter (alphabet), letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, Latin alphabet, used in the English alphabet, modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name ...

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 ''Britain's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated to ''BGT'') is a televised British talent show competition, and part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. Presented by Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly (colloqui ...

'', which was created by record company executive

Simon Cowell Simon Phillip Cowell (; born 7 October 1959) is an English television personality, entrepreneur and record executive. He is the creator of '' The X Factor'' and ''Got Talent'' franchises which have been sold around the world. He has judged on ...

. 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 The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

' first live performance of " Yesterday" at Blackpool Night Out.

George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician and singer-songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian c ...

introduces the song, saying "For Paul McCartney of Liverpool, opportunity knocks!". This version appears on '' Anthology 2''.

Transmissions

BBC Light Programme

ITV

BBC1

References

External links

*
''Opportunity Knocks (1964–1968)''
at BFI
''Opportunity Knocks (1968–1978)''
at BFI
''Opportunity Knocks (1990)''
at BFI *{{UKGameshow, Opportunity_Knocks, Opportunity Knocks 1950s British television series 1960s British television series 1970s British television series 1980s British television series 1956 British television series debuts 1990 British television series endings BBC Light Programme programmes BBC television game shows BBC Television shows Black-and-white British television shows English-language television shows ITV game shows Lost television shows Talent shows Television series by Fremantle (company) Television series by ITV Studios British television series revived after cancellation Television shows produced by ABC Weekend TV Television shows produced by Associated-Rediffusion Television shows produced by Thames Television Television shows shot at BBC Elstree Centre Television shows shot at Teddington Studios