In the 1980s with just four TV channels to choose from, the Saturday night ratings battle between BBC and ITV was still raging. ITV had scored a hit in 1981 with their practical joke-orientated show 'Game For A Laugh', and the BBC responded with a light entertainment show of their own, 'The Late, Late Breakfast Show' presented by DJ-turned TV host Noel Edmonds. The programme went out live, and after a slow start hit its stride once the producers started to book major names as guests.
The format of 'The Late, Late Breakfast Show' included comedy, music and initially, a monologue spot featuring fellow DJ John Peel. Peel was included presumably to give the show a more credible 'edge'; his image was more Keith Richards to Edmonds' Cliff Richard-type 'safe' image. Comic spots included a practical joke segment (featuring 'The Hit Squad', the BBC's answer to 'Game For A Laugh'), and the 'Golden Egg Awards', including humorous TV out-takes. Music features included interviews and appearances, most notably ABBA made their final TV appearance on this show.
Also included was the 'Give It A Whirl' slot - this would feature a viewer who had called into the show and volunteered to take part in a stunt. The stunt was selected using the 'Whirly Wheel', although it was meant to appear random, the stunt had in fact been pre-arranged with the viewer being trained up to perform the stunt live on TV the next week. It was with these stunts that the show attracted controversy; a clip from a 1983 edition of the programme (which can be seen below) illustrates just how far they went.
Watching that clip 30 years on, and with the knowledge that such an ill-prepared stunt would never be allowed to air on television today, it is absolutely shocking viewing. Remember, this show aired live on Saturday evenings. Not only were the crowd too close, but after the first jump went wrong (the driver was shaken, but not seriously hurt) they did ANOTHER one! The second jump (with a different stunt driver) was even worse, and the stunt driver involved sustained a fractured pelvis. The track-side commentator was John Peel, who later expressed regret at ever having agreed to be involved with the show when he saw just how dangerous the stunts had become.
Unbelievably, the BBC were allowed to continue to run stunts involving viewers, and, having not heeded the warnings, tragedy struck three years later when another contestant was killed while practising for a bungee jump stunt due to be aired on that week's programme. Only then was the programme pulled, with the producers heavily criticised. Edmonds immediately resigned from the show.
Ultimately, what started out as an entertaining show of comedy, music and chat ended because of a producer's desire to 'push the boundaries'. It would be several years before Edmonds returned to Saturday night live television, with 'Noel's House Party'. This time the focus was more on humour and practical jokes, with no dangerous stunts involved.
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