CAN I HAVE a P please, Bob?
Veteran quiz show presenter Bob Holness died in his sleep today at the age of 83.
In a career that spanned almost 60 years, Holness had an accomplished career as a theatre actor and a radio broadcaster in the UK.
However he is best known as the host of Blockbusters, the word game quiz which he hosted for 11 years. The ITV show, in which student contestants answered questions from the iconic hexagonal board, was a celebration of the cerebral as contestants battled it out to make it to the ‘gold run’ at the end of the show.
So here, in no particular order are our picks of the best bits from Blockbusters (including Zig and Zag, weird mascots, and sex jokes…)
1. If you ever watched Blockbusters then you know about The Dance. Ah, The Dance. The so-called “hand jive” was apparently started by a contestant who was bored waiting for his turn on the show and was one of the most well known elements of the show. Do you remember how it goes?
2. “There’s a rumour going around that you were once called Boob” “Yes, that’s true”. Bob Holness appeared with Zig and Zag on Channel 4′s Big Breakfast to play probably the best game of Blockbusters you’ve ever seen. Surreal, brilliant, hilarious:
3. Unintentional sex jokes at any age are awkward. Unintentional sex jokes when you’re a teenager on national television on a a quiz show are… even more awkward:
4. This brief 2007 review of the show covers many of the best bits of the show: the gaffes, the nerdosity, the strange mascots…
5. And finally, the theme tune. Ah, the legendary theme tune:
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