Fighting Talk - Fighting Talk in Other Media

Fighting Talk in Other Media

The show made a brief appearance on television (2004, BBC2, in an early evening slot) presented and written by Johnny Vaughan and was true to the popular radio format. The scoring sound effects were juxtaposed with complementary images shown on large screens. At one stage negotiations were believed to be under way for Colin Murray to host a live style format in the Camden based MTV studios which would air on Sky One during the close season.

There have been several recordings of the show in front of audiences:

• The first was recorded/broadcast on 22 November 2004 at the Circus Tavern, Purfleet (following Sky Television's first pay-per-view darts event the previous day) and was hosted by Christian O'Connell - who was joined by pundits Dominic Holland, Gavin Peacock, Mark Pougatch and Steve Bunce.
• The second was recorded/broadcast on 4 October 2008 at the Cedar Court Hotel, Harrogate (as part of the Carnegie Sporting Words festival). Colin Murray (the host) was joined by pundits Bob Mills, Jim White, Martin Kelner and Will Buckley.
• The third was broadcast on 13 December 2008 from Goodison Park (as part of the BBC's Sports Personality of the Year events). Murray was again the host, and was joined by Bob Mills, John Aldridge, Pat Nevin and olympic gold medal winner Tim Brabants.
• The fourth was broadcast on 24 October 2009 from the Ferens Art Gallery in Kingston upon Hull. Colin Murray hosted, with the panel made up of Martin Kelner, John Rawling, former Hull City striker Dean Windass, and Greg Brady, who for once appeared in person rather than down the line from Canada.
• The fifth edition came live from Headingley Stadium in Leeds on 14 November 2009, the panel consisted of Ian Stone, Des Kelly, Martin Kelner and former England cricket captain Michael Vaughan. The third and final stage of their Kelnerpalooza — The Unblemished Tour Of Yorkshire (and their sixth live broadcast) was held in Sheffield (also the site of that year's BBC SPOTY events) on 12 December 2009 and starred John Rawling, Martin Kelner, John Bishop and debutant Jake Humphrey with Bishop claiming victory at Ponds Forge.
• The seventh edition was broadcast on 21 August 2010 from the Royal National College for the Blind in Hereford, the site of the IBSA World Blind Football Championship. Des Kelly defeated Kelner, Rawling, and Martin Allen on his début.
• As part of the 5 Live Septemberfest series of live shows recorded on Tyneside in 2010, FT was recorded at the Sage Gateshead complex, and boasted the show's biggest audience to that time, breaking the 4-digit attendance barrier. The show was contested by Simon Day, John Rawling, Martin Kelner and former Hull City manager and South Shields native Phil Brown. As a lifelong Sunderland fan on South Tyneside, Brown was given a rough ride by the audience, but he performed well for a début appearance. Following a lacklustre DTI final, Day won after beating Kelner in an arm-wrestle.
• The ninth edition was broadcast live from the National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham on 18 December 2010, one day before that year's BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards programme. On the panel were Bob Mills, John Rawling, Dougie Anderson and Steve Bunce, with Anderson claiming the win.
• The tenth edition came live from the Empire Theatre, Liverpool, during Grand National weekend on 9 April 2011. The largest ever audience in the programme's history (surpassing the large attendance at Gateshead from seven months earlier) saw a panel consisting of Liverpudlian radio presenter Mike Parry and former Liverpool defender Gary Gillespie, as well as Steve Bunce and comedian Ian Stone (standing in for Bob Mills, who pulled out the night before owing to illness). A month and a half later, Fighting Talk's 2011 Champions League final was aired from the BBC Radio Theatre; Tom Watt took the season championship from Bob Mills and also defeated Steve Bunce and Martin Kelner.
• The twelfth live episode was an FT film special, which was broadcast live from the Everyman Cinemas in Belsize Park, London on 17 September 2011; Martin Kelner took the win over Watt, Anderson, and film producer/director Stephen Woolley on his début.
• The programme's first live broadcast since 5live's move north (and 13th overall) came live from Salford Quays exactly three months later, with Rawling, Bunce, Vaughan and Day on the panel.