Whatever happened to BBC’s Kick Start series?

With its crazy obstacles and catchy theme, it turned a generation on to trials

Fact file

First show: BBC 1, August  1979
Last show: June 1988

Kick Start? A quaint trials game show in the 70s wasn’t it?

Although merely a lightweight TV half hour which pitted leading trials riders (and later juniors) against each other and the clock, it became a firm favourite that lived on for years.

So just how big was it?

Huge, running for nine years and 13 series between 1979 and 1988, spawning a spin-off, computer game and, at its peak, attracting 13 million viewers. Today’s Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway, for example, pulls about six million.

So how did it come about?

It was the brainchild of 1978 Lombard RAC Rally organiser, Nick Brittan, when he noticed some trials riders out the window of his local pub. A few phone calls to the BBC resulted in a formal pitch and led to the go-ahead with Pebble Mill producer Derek Smith (who later helped create Top Gear).

What was the idea?

Basically, top riders would compete against the clock over a course of logs, oil drums, limbo bars, see-saws even a VW Beetle. Time penalties were added for dabs or failures with the winner being the one with the lowest aggregate time. It was more novelty than demanding but the time element and cameras added tension.

Sounds really cool – was it?

Nah, not really. This was the era of It’s a Knockout and the Radio 1 Roadshow, it was presented by the TV equivalent of Smashy and Nicey, produced on a BBC budget and hindered by an awful (but catchy) theme tune called, incidentally, ‘Be My Boogie-Woogie Baby’ by Mr Walkie Talkie.

Commentator Purvis in his Blue Peter days

Smashy and Nicey? Explain

The first series from 1979-81 were hosted by Radio 1 DJ Dave Lee Travis, AKA ‘The Hairy Cornflake’ who was later replaced by ex-Blue Peter presenter Peter Purves.

And this all took place where?

Firstly on a course at Donington Park devised by Sammy Miller. Later at none other than Lord Hesketh’s Easton Neston estate near Towcester.

And the riders?

The trials stars of the day. Year one had Martin Lampkin (who sadly passed away last week, aged 65), Malcolm Rathmell and Mick Andrews (although American Bernie Schreiber won the £500 prize). Later winners included John ‘JR’ Reynolds, Jean Pierre Goy (more recently stunt rider on The Dark Knight and Skyfall), Eddy Lejeune, John Lampkin and Steve Saunders.

Wasn’t there a spin-off version?

Yup, Junior Kick Start, for under-14s, which had an even easier course, saw the TV debut of future world champ Dougie Lampkin and produced one of YouTube’s greatest hits. 

 

Obsticles didn’t stretch riders too much

What? YouTube?

Ten-year-old Mark Scofield fell from the ‘Pole-over-the-hole’ prompting two St John’s Ambulance men to fall in after him, reducing commentator Purves to hysterics, as he explained years later: “I’ll never forget the young lad who fell. He hurt his pride and almost destroyed his manhood, but the ensuing rush of ambulance men into the pit, where they all fell over, was a piece of television hysteria.” Watch here

So why did it all end?

Scheduling problems, plus the loss of sponsors on what was an expensive show prompted Brittan to call quits. Purves himself says: “Kick Start and Junior Kick Start were great shows, but I think they had run their course.”

Is there any chance of it returning?

A ‘Bring back Kick Start’ campaign was set up on Facebook by bike insurer Express Insurance in 2014, which received 1700 online signatures. Nothing has been heard since…

Words: Max Oxley Photos: Bauer Archive/Rex