50 Golden Years of Sport on BBC Two

Sport on BBC Two is 50, not out.

Half a century packed with thrills, spills and unforgettable action.

So many things that have been on BBC Two are a must-see.

Botham's Ashes is a moment of genuine glory.

Lyle coming out the bunker at the last. For a Scotsman, it was just riveting viewing.

A new world record for Usain Bolt!

Yes!

Jocky Wilson - champion of the world.

I didn't like the effect Des Lynam had on my mum.

He was the guy, you know, every man wanted to be

and every woman wanted to be with.

Ski Sunday being on as a kid,

and the theme tune. It was just a nice thing to look at.

This is really unbelievable.

How can you get 18.5 million people to watch a game of snooker?

No-one actually wanted it to finish, you wanted to see how long it could go on for.

BBC Two made Formula One in this country.

This is Gareth Edwards, a dramatic start!

You had to watch it to believe that what you'd experienced had actually happened.

And Tanni Grey comes home for Great Britain.

My mum went ballistic with me.

"I can't believe you spat in front of a BBC camera."

Come on, Martin!

Someone had that vision, way back when,

that football might work on telly. Thankfully!

Jenny Jones!

"Avarton"? There's no E on my typewriter. It should be "Everton".

BBC Two has given viewers five decades of great sporting action

in some of the nation's favourite programmes.

HE HUMS "The Chain" by Fleetwood Mac

Something like that...

HE HUMS "The Chain" by Fleetwood Mac

You don't associate that song with Fleetwood Mac, you associate it with Formula One.

How does it go again?

Ohh, Steve Davis and John Parrott will love this.

How does it go again?

SHE HUMS "Drag Racer" by The Doug Wood Band

HE HUMS "Drag Racer" by The Doug Wood Band

Now you've got it in my head, it's not "Do-do do-do", it's not that one.

HE HUMS "The Sporting Occasion" by Arnold Steck

Probably not in my tone, but when it's on TV it's good.

And of course one of my favourites would be the golf.

I mean, I love the golf.

That was like a Doctor Who programme.

HE HUMS THE TUNE

No, that's nothing like the golf one. HE LAUGHS

The only thing that was missing from it was a Dalek.

I remember watching the cricket on BBC Two and the cricket theme is phenomenal.

HE HUMS "Soul Limbo" by Booker T And The MG's

Match Of The Day is a brilliant theme tune,

but it's not as good as the cricket.

In 1965, BBC Two pioneered one-day cricket coverage on a Sunday,

with the help of the Rothman's Cavaliers.

Created to popularise the format, they were

the Harlem Globetrotters of their day, made up of international

superstars such as Gary Sobers, Colin Cowdrey and Jim Laker.

I think things are going very nicely.

It looks like it's going to go pretty well for the distance, isn't it?

Sporting legends, we've had our fair share of those

over the years on BBC Two but none bigger than cricket's Ian Botham

and that 1981 series which has gone down in history as Botham's Ashes.

BBC One and Two shared coverage of this unforgettable sporting event.

I watched every ball that was bowled in '81 of that test match.

I think I skived off school, actually.

England were already one test behind in the series...

'And he's out, caught behind.'

..and looking down the barrel of another defeat.

'And he's out.'

We all probably thought that the game was up.

Well, Ladbrokes clearly did, with their odds of 500 to 1.

But Ian Botham was on a mission to prove the critics wrong.

'Safely over the top of Hughes' head.'

He started to bat more and more freely

and it became an extraordinary sight.

'Oh, now it's four needed.'

Once I got to 50, I thought,

"We can make them bat. Just don't lose by an innings."

There were a few thick edges, there were a few thin edges

but they went in the right areas and I got away with it.

'And there is the hundred partnership.'

Here's one guy, when England was supposed to be down and out, going,

"I refuse to accept this."

And it was obviously not long after he'd been sacked as captain as well,

so it was a really brilliant moment.

'Safely away for four. That's a splendid hundred.'

Australia needed a sum which was not gigantic but at least there was

a total posted because of this remarkable innings from Botham.

Then Bob Willis did the damage with the ball,

which is sort of overlooked a little bit,

but he got a lot of wickets, Bob. It was amazing.

Extraordinary demeanour, eyes like pissholes in the snow.

He'd stand there, looking furious, this mop of curly hair.

You can just see that in him.

'Oh, what a good catch.'

He just bowled as if he was in a trance.

'Oh, good catch, super catch that.'

And to this day you watch him bowl

and you can see his eyes are somewhere else.

There were no high fives, slapping each other on the back, he was gone.

That day, he was possessed.

'He's got a touch on it, he's gone.

'Oh, what a good catch.

'And Lillee has miscued it to mid-on.'

We'd won.

'Bowled him, it's all over.

'And it is one of the most fantastic victories ever known in test cricket history.'

Inspired by Botham, England would go on to beat

the Australians in the series.

It came at the perfect time, not just for us as a team

and myself as a player and Bob as a player,

but it came at the right time for the country.

They needed something.

They say timing is everything. It certainly was in April 1964.

Alec Douglas-Home was Prime Minister, The Beatles topped the charts with Can't Buy Me Love,

and Britain had just two television channels, BBC and ITV.

But they were about to be joined by a new kid on the block.

Michael Peacock was just 34 years old

when he was made the first controller of BBC Two.

Well, I'll tell you what our goal was - to get some viewers.

We had to persuade everyone in the land to buy a new set

and put a new aerial on the roof.

It's easier said than done, I have to say.

When BBC Two started up,

I wondered whether it would take off, do we really need BBC Two?

They needed something big, something popular, to sell televisions.

So they tried football.

Welcome to Match Of The Day,

the first of a weekly series coming to you every Saturday on BBC Two.

I suggested to Michael Peacock we should do Saturday night football,

much earlier than football had ever been allowed before,

at 7 o'clock at night, and call it Match Of The Day.

The FA thought it would detract from the crowds and have a bad effect.

BBC Two managed to persuade the FA to let it do it on the grounds

that nobody watched BBC Two, which was more or less true.

As you can hear,

we are in Beatleville for this Liverpool versus Arsenal match.

'Dying seconds of the game now, it's Wallace.

'It's there! Wallace has scored!'

The BBC decided that it ought to go on BBC One, and quite right too,

so over it went and immediately became a huge success.

Four decades later, and that success would continue,

leading BBC Two to create a new version of the show.

Good evening, a very warm welcome to you

to a very new show, Match Of The Day 2.

It was daunting. Obviously there was a risk.

You didn't want to undermine the Match Of The Day brand.

There was a thing about BBC Two at the time, it could be a testing ground.

There was a slight feeling you could do things a little bit differently.

That exhortation to run your knackers off, which UEFA coaching course did you pick that up on?

Ah, it worked because we got back to 2-2.

A number of people have said to me it was just like rounding the weekend off.

That's it for tonight.

If you're happy with your team this weekend, it probably won't last.

We're all going to end up miserable in the end, aren't we?

But thanks very much for watching and have a great season, a super week.

Join us next Sunday. Bye for now.

It's the 50th anniversary of Match Of The Day.

It's evolved naturally, but someone had that vision, way back when,

that football might work on telly, thankfully.

BBC Two helped introduce football to the masses,

and it's not the only time this channel would boost

the popularity of sport through innovation.

In 1965, the channel was instrumental in the creation of a new rugby league competition -

it was called the BBC Two Floodlit Trophy.

It felt like we had landed on the moon in rugby league terms,

to be able to watch a night match

from the comfort of your own armchair.

It all began with just eight rugby league clubs,

but over the next two years,

a further 17 would upgrade their stadiums

in order to take part in the competition.

It was a new dawn, it was live sport midweek.

BBC Two was trying to do something pioneering with sport.

Rugby league was such a northern sport. The fantastic thing was

that the BBC took it out to that wider audience, to a southern audience.

The series was commissioned by Sir David Attenborough.

The differences that Darwin had noticed amongst these

Galapagos animals were, of course, all tiny.

Before becoming best known for his natural history programmes,

Attenborough followed Michael Peacock to become the second controller of BBC Two.

He would go on to oversee one of the channel's biggest breakthroughs.

BBC Two has often led the way in innovation.

In the beginning, it gave viewers sporting action

using higher resolution TV images than its rival channels,

and in 1967, it became the first to regularly broadcast in colour.

The very first broadcast would come from the courts of Wimbledon.

'Quiet, please.

'It's out and that's the championship.'

And it was wonderful, everybody wanted colour,

so that was a real turn-on as far as BBC Two was concerned.

Ever since, BBC Sport have brought viewers the very best coverage

of the most famous tennis tournament in the world.

It's terribly compulsive, Wimbledon.

It gets the nation by the throat, doesn't it?

Today At Wimbledon is BBC Two's highlights and analysis programme.

Back in the 1980s, the show had a different name

and gave birth to a much-loved on-screen partnership.

The BBC came up with this idea of pairing Gerald Williams and I

to present Match Of The Day at Wimbledon.

An unimaginative title bearing in mind it was copying the football.

Welcome to Match Of The Day.

But we liked to call it the Des And Gerry Show.

Come on, Williams, you're not keeping up, son, it's a low volley this time.

It's the high forehand volleys that get me.

We used to do little gags, like when Pat Cash climbed up

the balcony with his head band, we had head bands on in the studio

and silly things like that.

We used to make each other scream with laughter in the show.

I wish Pat hadn't insisted on this, you know.

What's Boris going to say? I really don't know.

Gerry and I worked quite well and we had a bit of comedy in the show.

Gerry was so untelevision-like

in the sense that he didn't know what was going on around him very much, but he knew his tennis.

We went on air one night, I said "good evening"

and we started chatting away, blah, blah, blah,

and he said, "Was that all right?"

I said, "Yeah." He thought we were still rehearsing it.

You're having a day off tomorrow, aren't you? I need one. You certainly do.

The head of sport at the time wasn't totally amused by it,

but the chairman of Wimbledon was and told him and told the BBC that he loved the show.

So, hello, we're home and dry.

I've got a problem. What problem?

I can't go home on the 93 bus dressed like this.

Get the 57 with me then. OK. Good night. Good night.

Today At Wimbledon, that's where I started my BBC career

back in 1993, and the programme is still going strong today.

Well, over the years, there have been so many highlights.

For me, none more so than Andy's historic win last year.

But then who could forget the longest match?

That went on for three exhausting days.

For all the dramatic sport that BBC Two has shown

over half a century, I'd be surprised if there's anything

quite as extraordinary anyway than the Isner-Mahut game.

'Serve. Ready. Play.'

I think it was weird for all of the people that were in the tournament.

I mean, I can't imagine what it was like for them.

I got sent down to court side to interview whoever the winner was going to be

at six-all in that final set and I said, "OK, I'll see you in half an hour then."

You'd go out to practise and come back,

and it would still be on, and then you'd go for lunch, you come back

and it would still be on and you'd be like, "What's the score now?"

It went seven-all, eight-all, nine-all, ten-all, 20-all, 30-all, 50-all.

You'd go see the physio and it's still on.

Then I would drive home and it was still on.

Game.

CROWD: We want more! We want more!

Ladies and gentlemen, due to darkness, play is suspended.

'That match, still going on, the longest match in history.

'Ten hours of play, a set lasting seven hours. You read all about them in the papers today.'

It got to the stage where no-one actually wanted it to finish,

you wanted to see how long it could go on for.

65, 66, 67, 68, 69.

'Game, set, match, Isner.

'6-4, 3-6, 7-6, 6-7, 70-68.'

70-68! It was almost like you had landed from a parallel universe. Don't be silly.

One of the most amazing things I've ever seen in a sporting environment.

This record-breaking match follows a long tradition of history makers appearing on BBC Two.

Back in 1967, a youthful Tony Jacklin made history

by achieving the first televised hole in one.

'I think he might play for the middle of the green.'

It was amazing, the quality of the pictures.

When you see them now, it was all grainy,

and yet we thought it was magical and Jacklin, I see him hit the shot.

'Tony Jacklin, 4 under par.

'Oh. It's in the hole!

'That is the first time

'it's ever happened on live television, my word.'

And he's talking to his caddie and he's going, "Is it in? Is it in?"

And there was great joy. It was wonderful.

Canadian Cliff Thorburn also made history

at the Snooker World Championships of 1983.

Not only did I see Cliff Thorburn's 147 live,

I was live in the audience at the Crucible.

I'll never forget it as long as I live

because he's been my best friend in snooker.

We turned professional together.

Every bone in your body is willing him to do it.

'And they have actually stopped playing on the other table.'

Who was the player behind the other screen? Didn't they start watching from the other side?

Bill Werbeniuk came from the match next door to watch. It was like time stood still.

'I don't think there's going to be another moment in Cliff's life

'when he's going to be so tense as this.'

Everyone was willing him on, to get this captured

and see it actually happen.

The commentary is fantastic, "Good luck, mate."

The whole thing is so evocative of the time.

'Oh, good luck, mate.

'Oh, wonderful.'

I can see him now when he dropped down to the side of the table and went...

That meant so much to him, to make the first ever maximum break.

'That is really, truly wonderful.'

And every time you go to the Crucible,

you always think of the very first 147.

Ronnie O'Sullivan does them with his eyes shut, with left hand and right,

but at that particular time, it was astonishing.

'Absolutely perfect.'

14 years later, the Rocket Ronnie would live up to his nickname,

clearing the table in a record breaking 5 minutes and 20 seconds.

'What a break, what a fantastic maximum break that is.'

But when it comes to raw speed,

our next history maker is the best in the business.

Usain Bolt is the world's most recognisable athlete,

but how do you approach commentating on the fastest man on the planet?

Former 1,500 metres world record holder Steve Cram

was in the hot seat for BBC Sport

during 9.58 seconds which shook the world.

'Bolt versus Gaye.

'One's a world champion, one's an Olympic champion.

'Bolt is loaded, the world 100 metre final.'

When you're commentating on a 100m race, normally you are watching

for the break at the start, you're looking for false starts.

The trouble is with Usain Bolt, since 2007,

when he really announced himself on the stage as a 100m runner

in particular, you get drawn in to him a little bit.

'There he stands, 6 foot 5, but his stature is such that he is

'a colossus over the world of athletics.'

I've never ever written a line of commentary.

I just don't think you can.

You know the situation and you know the characters

and there are words buzzing around in your head.

A lot to look out for, a lot to watch for, particularly in the 100m

because it all happens so quickly.

'They get away first time. Tyson Gaye right alongside Usain Bolt.'

It's a fast-paced race so you speak quickly.

You'd be surprised how many words you can fit into 10 seconds.

'But here he goes, streaking away already, it's Bolt all the way.'

You're not trying to be clever, the main thing is who's won the race.

'Looking round at Gaye, watch the clock, it's gold for Bolt.'

You obviously reach a crescendo with it.

And your next thought is the clock.

'He's done it again, a new world record for Usain Bolt!'

You recognise the achievement first,

but if the commentary lends something to it, brilliant,

then you I've done a decent job.

'It's his own history with every stride that he takes. Absolutely stunning!'

BBC Two is also used to writing history,

in the 1960s becoming the first channel to broadcast in colour.

They were looking to exploit this new technology.

What better sport to use than snooker? Cue Pot Black.

I can remember when we got a colour telly and that was a big deal,

but of course for snooker,

this is telly heaven,

you're right in there, it's close up,

you can tell which ball is which.

It was a game that was made for television.

And yet no-one had actually seen it

until BBC Two started putting it on air.

There was added excitement for me because the commentator,

Clive Everton, lived half a mile from me, so it was always,

"He lives just there!"

So I was always intoxicated by Pot Black.

I'm in trouble again. 'Reardon says he's in trouble once again.'

The first episode was broadcast in 1969, but by the end of the year,

there were just 200,000 colour sets in the whole country.

Little did I know

that Pot Black wasn't ever shown in black and white.

It was a colour production and one of the things that BBC Two used

to highlight this new colour television.

But of course, not many people could afford colour television.

You know, we sat at home watching the grey balls go around the table,

trying to remember where the green was and where the brown was,

and did the brown go into middle of the reds and is it still there?

Let's meet the players, and first, a newcomer.

At 21, the youngest player ever to play on Pot Black, Steve Davis.

The first time I watched myself playing on Pot Black,

I looked like I had just seen a ghost.

I was as white as a sheet.

I will never forget that very first frame on television on Pot Black

in 1975 and I managed to beat the great John Pullman,

who was ten times a world champion.

So that's where it all started for me.

I can honestly say to you, I wouldn't be sitting here today

without that little leg up from good old BBC Two at the right time.

'Super, wasn't it?'

In 1978, BBC Two took a leap of faith

by giving winter sport its very own programme.

Ski Sunday was born and quickly became a firm family favourite,

providing television with one of its most iconic theme tunes.

Unbelievably, his ring tone is the Ski Sunday theme tune.

SKI SUNDAY TUNE

THEY HUM "Ski Sunday Theme"

I felt I was skiing.

HE HUMS THE THEME

Play that tune to anybody, anyone in Britain, and they'll say Ski Sunday.

It's more famous than we are.

Way more famous.

Ski Sunday being on as a kid and the theme tune.

It's just a nice thing to look at.

It was kind of quite exotic. I grew up in Cardiff, we didn't get a lot of snow.

I watched it every Sunday growing up. I've continued to watch it

and it's your weekly dose of winter sport and I really, really love it.

None of us held any aspirations to ever be a skier.

It was a different world.

And yet I used to love how my dad used to sit there and criticise them

for how they took one of the bends. He would go,

"He's come in too tight." And you're going, "Yeah, yeah, thanks, Dad."

Without David Vine, Ski Sunday wouldn't have had the mass appeal

that it did through the late '80s.

Downhill skiing Saturday and Sunday of next week,

and, well, I hope you're not too cold at home, it's lovely here.

He was a great character. Never really skied, which was kind of odd.

'Graham Bell of Great Britain. Graham's been training well, clipped that gate a little.'

But he would be up there in the finish area

and sounding like he knew absolutely everything about skiing.

'The course looked quite a bit different to us today. How did it run compared to yesterday?

Well, the top was a little bit windy.

I have some great memories of sitting down and watching that

and thinking, "I wish I could do that."

So when I started work on Ski Sunday many years later,

it was a genuine thrill.

For me this has to be one of the most impressive sights in sport.

50,000 people have come by car, by train,

the rich by helicopter, to witness the greatest ski race in the world.

Today, downhiller Graham Bell and snowboarder Ed Leigh

co-host one of the most spectacular shows on TV.

'Have it!'

I still think Graham Bell's downhill runs with the camera in his hand

are extraordinary pieces of television.

'Let's go have a look at the start.'

It's incredible.

'Important to get hard on the left ski

'as you set up.

'It's a big jump, flying through the air.'

On course inspection, I'll go down and think,

"OK, I'm going to say this here

"because it's particularly bumpy on this section and I want to get that information across."

Cos otherwise you'd just get me shrieking the whole way down.

'And across the finish line.'

Over the years, BBC Two has become the spiritual home of winter sport,

bringing viewers 200 hours of network television coverage

from the Sochi Olympics.

'Come on, Jones, let's see it.

'Check out the grab on that, solid!'

Now in the summer Olympics,

they have walking and they call that an event

and some of the stuff that goes on in the winter Olympics,

if they get it wrong, you can die. It's properly dangerous.

'Jenny Jones!'

The ski jumping fascinates me. It must be terrifying.

'And Britain have won the bronze medal.'

You've got these moments of pure drama that happen in an instant

and people's lives changing in front of you.

'So David Murdoch again with the chance for glory.

'They need to come past that red at the top of the house here.

'It needs to turn, it needs to turn.

'The guys are on it. It's got to keep coming.

'This is a great shot from Dave Murdoch.

'It's got a chance. Dave Murdoch may well have done it... He has!

'The fists are in the air and the British crowd jumping up and down in the stands.'

But it's not all about serious competition,

with comedian Alan Davies bringing laughs to the Winter Olympics for BBC Two.

So everybody is talking about curling,

but the question is can you speak curling?

SCREAMING

No.

We try and have a light-hearted look at it

and get people on with a sense of humour and have some fun.

Earlier in the Sochi week, in the women's bobsleigh, Brazil had a spectacular crash.

Luckily, no-one was hurt but it was a close shave for the Brazilians.

I mean, it's paid off. We've had a lot of good feedback

and the sport coverage is great so why not have a laugh with it as well?

JEREMY CLARKSON: It's the Winter Olympics speeded up a bit.

Top Gear did this Winter Olympics challenge.

Somebody went down the Cresta Run in a car.

The reputation of internal combustion resting on your shoulders.

'That's a turn, 16 corners.'

The memories come crowding when you talk about Top Gear.

'Three, two, one.'

The mini-ski jump thing.

'Initiate.'

Well, we've got a great day of sport lined up for you this afternoon.

They wanted to do a sketch about Grandstand.

So they needed a Grandstand presenter

and Des was far too expensive, I'm sure.

We're never going to be seen from here. Let's move out.

So I met these two ladies I had never heard of, Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders,

who were very, very serious about the whole project

and we had a couple of hours of rehearsing

and I thought, "You know, there's not a laugh in this. Their careers

"aren't going to go too far because this is rubbish."

There was suddenly these gales of laughter.

Always a popular event.

LAUGHTER

..so the domestic international...

So I'm no great judge of comedy talent.

SHE SPEAKS GIBBERISH

I'm going to as well, shall I?

SHE SPEAKS GIBBERISH

I met Jennifer Saunders a couple of years ago, we were at Wimbledon,

and she came up and said, "We still remember that. It was one of the first things we ever did."

Is that "Avarton"? There's no E on my typewriter. It should be "Everton".

She said, "We would still put it up there as one of the things

"that helped put us on the map."

Just go back to your seat, we're on the air live. Yes, we are on the air, Steve.

Grandstand was a Saturday afternoon institution,

but the growing popularity of sport over the whole weekend saw

BBC Two create a Sunday version of the show.

I was the first presenter of the show.

I said, "Grandstand on Saturday is very formal, you know, with the ties

"and the desks and all that sort of stuff. Why don't we make it the informal show on a Sunday?"

No desk, open neck shirt, bright and breezy.

I didn't like the effect that Des Lynam had on my mum.

He was the guy every man wanted to be

and every woman wanted to be with.

Sunday Grandstand was a little bit more sort of "make it up as you go along".

Let's all pitch up at 10 o'clock and read the Sunday papers and decide

what we are going to do, which was a nice way of approaching the sport.

It would be built around several live events.

'Welcome once again to the World Rowing Championships

'and we're all set for a lively and varied day of sport on Sunday Grandstand.'

And so many sports grew up from that small exposure.

It could soak up sports that lasted a long time,

like cricket, golf, etc, etc.

It was the perfect channel for those kind of long events.

You know, Grand Prix motor racing and things, it was great.

Commentating legend Murray Walker has guided BBC Two viewers

through a golden era of Grand Prix racing, packed with highs and lows.

BBC Two made Formula One in this country.

'Nigel Mansell finishes and he's world champion.'

People started to realise what a fast moving, high stepping,

colourful, spectacular, exciting, noisy, dangerous sport it is,

and it got the British public by the throat.

'Ayrton Senna is up to fourth position.'

I was in the commentary box at Silverstone one year

and it's a bit of a holy of holies.

Only the BBC people were allowed in there.

And Jackie Stewart stuck his head around the door and said,

"You wouldn't mind doing a bit of baby-sitting, would you?"

And I said, "No, not at all."

He opened the curtain and shoved in William and Harry,

who were about eight, nine years old.

And about halfway through the race, I became aware of a movement by my left knee...

..and I looked down and there was a little boy standing there.

The end of the race, when everything had settled down,

I said, "What the hell was that child doing in here?"

"Prince William," he said, "Murray." I said, "Oh, how nice, how nice!"

The low of my commentating career was undoubtedly...

..the death in vision, live, on television, of Ayrton Senna.

We knew fairly early on that this was a fatal accident.

Senna was killed at a corner called the Tamburello.

'Whether it was a sudden loss of downforce for some reason

'but Senna is still in the car.'

It was certainly the most difficult job I ever had to do.

'And all is quiet at the Imola Circuit.

'The crowd has been stunned into silence.

'Senna an enormously popular man here.'

The loss of Ayrton Senna is really tough to comprehend.

For probably the wrong reasons,

it was another of those Sunday afternoons with Grandstand

that you'll never forget.

The high was in 1996.

Damon Hill, who I had been commentating on for years,

and who was the son of a double Formula One world champion, Graham Hill.

Graham had been killed in an aeroplane crash

and the Hill family had been suffering very hard times indeed financially.

And Damon had worked his way up from nothing into the Williams team.

'Never before in the history of Grand Prix racing has

'the son of a world champion become world champion himself.'

When he crossed the line at Suzuka, in 1996, to win the race

and the world championship, all my emotions welled up and I said...

'I've got to stop because I've got a lump in my throat.

'I really am, for once, almost at a loss for words.'

Television is a fantastically powerful medium

and I have absolutely no doubt that BBC Two started a move

which resulted in Formula One becoming as popular as it is,

not just in Britain but worldwide.

Clare Balding would experience an equally emotional sporting

highlight at the 2003 Epsom Oaks.

My father had never won the Oaks in 45 years of training.

'Stand by. Racing. Good start, too.'

2003, my brother, in his first year of training,

trained a filly called Casual Look and I watched it next to Willie Carson

and I'm wearing the most awful trench coat mac,

cos it was raining and I get so animated and excited.

Go on, Martin!

There are some times you really feel things inside.

Go on, Martin!

Screaming, "Martin, come on, Martin,"

because Martin Dwyer was the jockey who rode her, and I start

whacking Willie on the back as if I'm actually riding the horse.

Come on, Martin! Come on, Martin!

'Casual Look has won by a nose, to Yesterday and third Summitville.

'Casual Look has won the Oaks for Andrew Balding.'

More often than not I throw myself into an event so I do feel it

and obviously when it's my own brother, I'm going to get choked.

Bloody hell, he's only gone and won the bloody Oaks.

Do you think you'll get an interview with the trainer of the winner?

I don't know whether I'll be able to actually speak.

But then I had to do the interview with my brother.

Andrew. Come here. This is only his second runner in a classic.

And I got quite choked.

Well done.

'And I look at him...'

Sorry, am I meant to say something? I can't speak. I'm a bit speechless.

'..and I've got tears in my eyes,'

and he walked away because he didn't want to cry, because he's a man, you know.

And then my father came over and I said to him, "Can you speak?"

Dad? Can you speak?

Well, wonderful.

Could he?

No. Neither can I. No, wonderful.

'And we just lost it completely.'

It's all a bit hopeless at the moment.

I remember it really clearly and it mattered so much, you know.

It's such a rare thing to train a classic winner.

Have you recovered now? Only just. I don't think I can stand but I can talk again, that's all right.

When it comes to delivering skill, drama and a great night in,

it's hard to beat the game of darts.

It first appeared on BBC Two in 1978,

and over the years has given viewers gripping action

and some of the most colourful characters in sport.

BBC Two is home to BDO Darts.

He's the champion of the world, Stephen Bunting!

The current generation of stars owe a debt of gratitude to the pioneers of the sport.

Legends who took darts out of the pubs

and into the nation's living rooms.

'Double 10 to take the title.

'Double 10, yes!

'Jocky Wilson, champion of the world.'

Darts was huge in our house.

There's Eric Bristow, with all the mouth, all the rabbit, rabbit, rabbit.

Jocky Wilson - what bigger character could there be?

The Alex Higgins of darts, if you like.

How John Lowe got 180s with the size of his darts.

If he made them a bit longer, he could have been a javelin champ.

'Game shot!

'The 1987 Embassy World Professional Champion, John Lowe.'

At that time, we pulled in millions of people,

watching the telly, millions.

Bobby George helped pioneer the entertainment factor in darts,

and in the process took stagecraft to a whole new level.

I looked at all the darts players and they were all the same.

I'd seen the ice skaters, so I wanted to brighten it up

and I thought, if I had a sequinned shirt made, people would remember me.

'Well, I'd advise you to sit on the edge of your seat

'cos I'm sitting on the edge of mine as the gladiators come out.'

So you've gone from a T-shirt beforehand, all boring, to fancy shirts and fun.

And then I wore the cloak, all glitter, to make it more razzmatazz.

You've got all these candles and I'm playing darts like Liberace.

I walked out and everybody stood up and cheered

and it completely changed the game for some reason.

Bobby George was the big showman. He really turned it into an art form.

He would have been on stage had he not ended up playing darts.

I would like to say, "May the darts be with you."

On the BBC, of course!

The voice of golf, Peter Alliss, has also entertained us over the years

with his charismatic and unique style. Unusually for that era,

Peter was drafted in whilst still a player

to add a new dimension to the art of golf commentary.

'Growing up, we didn't win at golf.'

The only reason to watch the golf was cos Peter Alliss was really funny.

'Now, Wogan, he'll be doing very well

'if he gets down in 3 or 4 from here.

'Gives it a mighty old clunk and it's hopping and running

and going and looking rather good

'and slowing down and it wouldn't? It can't! Ha-ha!

'The greatest putt I have ever seen in my life.'

In a television career spanning more than half a century,

Peter Alliss has commentated at all of the major championships,

with BBC Two bringing viewers compelling action

from the first big tournament of the year.

Sunday night, second week in April, the Masters, BBC Two.

It was just compulsive viewing for any golf fan.

It's just a brilliant golf tournament and it's unique because

it's played at the same venue each year and it's such a gorgeous venue.

That's a must-stay-in and watch every ball that's hit.

I think I'd maybe swap my FA Cup medal to win the Masters.

In 1988, the Masters remained the Holy Grail of British golf,

with no winner from these shores in its 54-year history.

In the first couple of minutes we would say,

"Before we see the battle for the green jacket and who is going to win the Masters,

"let's just explain what's happened to the British challengers."

Because by that time, they were all heading to the airport.

And then out of the pack came Sandy Lyle.

'Meanwhile, back on the tee, Lyle with a one iron.'

When he got to the 18th and he drove into the bunker...

'Oh, he's put it in the sand.'

..we just couldn't believe he had driven it into the bunker

and we thought, "He's blown it. This isn't going to happen now."

'He might just as well have taken his driver

'and smashed it as hard as he could, but he's in the sand.'

Even the British commentators, hard shot, it's a 7, 8 iron

out of the bunker and it's like you could see the emotion on his face.

'He looked to whip it out clean.'

And he picks off this magnificent 7 iron, up it soars,

and what you never realise is the topography at Augusta. It's a very

steep hill, actually, and you can't really see what you are playing to.

Lyle coming out of the bunker at the last, for a Scotsman, it was just riveting viewing.

And Peter spotted immediately that he had hit it to the one

place on the 18th green where the ball was going to feed back towards the hole side.

'This could go...

'What about that?'

So he was left with, I don't know, a 12, 14 foot putt.

'He's done it.'

And suddenly he went like that.

'What a way to finish.'

My dad and I jigging around the room, just like Sandy,

and I remember climbing up on the sofa and jumping around

and we were just hugging one another

because it was such a wondrous moment to be part of

and I still get a bit teary now when I think about it

because it just meant so much to us.

'Absolutely superb.'

He'd won the Masters, he was ours and it was magical.

We had that wonderful era, of course, of all the British players

winning it. You know Woosnam, Faldo won it a number of times.

It was a complete domination.

And the Americans must have wondered what on Earth was going on.

There was an era when Paralympic sport was

under-represented on British television.

But times have changed and BBC Two has played a central role

in bringing these athletes to a mass audience.

I was a really competitive child.

Sport was just part of my life from as young as I can remember.

My very first memory is watching Wales play New Zealand in '73,

so there wasn't a time when sport wasn't there.

Before Paralympic sport was covered on the BBC,

there was very, very limited coverage

and a lot of it was a little bit patronising.

It was about how we were brave and marvellous and wonderful

and there wasn't that much talk of sort of sporting endeavour.

I think BBC Two probably made a very bold move in terms of putting

Paralympic sport on TV

and I think the fact it was on BBC meant people took it seriously.

1992 was a real watershed for the Paralympics.

There was a lot more coverage given to it in Barcelona.

Tanni appears on the scene, four gold medals,

she's suddenly in our consciousness as an incredible athlete.

You could tell she had an iron will, this woman.

'Tanni Grey then, world champion over 400 metres,

'bronze medallist in Seoul four years ago, in lane 4,

'has gone off very, very quickly indeed.'

Obviously, with our interest from a local lass from Cardiff,

even though they might be the other side of the world competing,

you'd get up to watch it or you'd stay up late to watch it.

She contributed so much to that sport.

'And Tanni Grey comes home for Great Britain, gold for Great Britain.'

My 400 metres was shown and the BBC also showed me

spitting out a mouthful of water on the track

and my mum went ballistic with me.

And I kind of rang her and she went,

"I can't believe you spat in front of a BBC camera!"

I remember saying, "But I won,"

and she said, "Don't spit in front of a BBC camera ever again." "OK, yeah, sorry, Mum."

I think for the first time we were recognised as athletes, and

that was shown in the crowd support. The stadium was packed every night.

Coming back from Barcelona, people would stop me in the street and say, "Are you Tanni Grey?"

'Tanni Grey has gone storming off.'

I think BBC Two was crucial in terms of highlighting sports that could have been seen as minority sports,

because where else would you have found them?

'Tanni Grey-Thompson is a gold medallist once again. Absolutely brilliant.'

We stay in Wales for our next golden moment on Two.

The sport of rugby has always been an integral part of BBC sport.

From league to union, BBC Two has been a match leader.

And for Rugby Special, one moment of analysis,

one moment of genius and one of the greatest tries ever

from the Barbarians against the mighty All Blacks.

Gareth Edwards' career was packed full of acts of wizardry,

and in 1973 he would find himself at the heart of a never to be forgotten moment of sporting magic.

Rugby Special, it was a wonderful programme. You had to watch it

to believe that what you had experienced had actually happened.

The sheer delight we had then to hear the great Cliff Morgan's wonderful commentary on it.

'Almost on the halfway line, Kirkpatrick. To Williams, Phil Bennett covering.'

I thought, thank God Phil was going to kick it into touch.

Cos that's what it needed at the time. Phil did the complete opposite and I remember thinking,

"What on Earth is he doing now?"

'Brilliant! Oh, that's brilliant. John Williams,

Bryan Williams, Pullin.'

I'm trying to get out of the way so I wouldn't interfere with the move.

'Great dummy. David, Tom David.'

I could see the opening.

'Brilliant by Quinnell, this is Gareth Edwards!

'A dramatic start, what a score!'

And of course, as they say, it's all history now

and I scored in the corner.

'Edwards. What can touch a man like that?'

This amazing moment makes me really proud of being Welsh, actually.

I can't believe people still talk about it

when you realise it was played over 40 years ago.

To relive such iconic sporting moments,

Rugby Special was essential viewing for fans of the union code,

with the show's presenters typically appearing in their Sunday best.

'Special programme, special dress code

'because this week Rugby Special is 30 years old.'

But John Inverdale's typical look for the show bucked the trend and divided opinion.

How can you ever forget John? He used to wear the rugby shirt

just to sort of prove a point that he knew something about rugby.

Hello. The agony and ecstasy of the most crucial weekend of the season so far.

All I would say is we were ten years ahead of our time.

Look at what people are wearing these days to present programmes.

I would defend to my dying breath that what we did was the right thing to do.

Looking at the shirts he wears these days,

maybe he would have been better off still wearing those rugby shirts.

Sorry, John.

With five decades of superb sport to pick from,

we've saved the best till last.

A memorable night back in 1985.

It kept a record-breaking 18.5 million of you glued

to your screens past midnight.

An epic encounter known as The Black Ball Final.

Everybody was in shock.

Nobody could believe it finished the way it did.

We had no idea of the pandemonium that had happened around the country

with people getting hooked on it.

It really was a big deal! It sounds crazy but it was a big thing.

The tension was unbelievable in that final. It was just gripping.

People realised that they were at a moment of sport

that they would look back and say, "Where were you when...?"

1985 World Championship final, Steve Davis and Dennis Taylor.

Dennis Taylor did cause a lot of anguish

for any kids at school who wore glasses.

Because everybody wanted to wear them upside down and do the Dennis Taylor impression.

No-one beat Davis. No-one beat him, he was not beatable.

I was meant to be invincible

and I turned up for that final against Dennis Taylor

in magnificent form and completely whitewashed him in the first session.

I think I won the next frame of the next session and things were going

swimmingly and I was going to be world champion again.

I had the best seat in the house in the Crucible

because I didn't get out of it very much.

'Well, Steve Davis is really riding on the crest of a wave at the moment.'

8-0 up...flying.

You know, thinking about finishing it a session early.

'I wonder what Dennis is thinking.'

When my mum passed away, that was a big blow

and I still hadn't really got over it,

but what I used to do when Steve was clearing up each frame,

I used to chat away to my mum.

I had a little bit of help from what I'd like to think is up above as well.

GARY LINEKER: Davis led by a long way in that final - a long way.

And that's what made it even more amazing.

All of a sudden my wheel fell off, the elastic band broke,

I collapsed, Dennis got stronger, by the end of the night, 9-7.

'Six frames in a row, a marvellous performance by Dennis Taylor.'

That was like the end of my world. I was 9-7 in front and I felt like I'd lost.

'Dennis Taylor has played beautifully this evening to narrow the gap to only two frames.'

That spirit that he showed in the second session is what got us,

in the end, to the black ball final.

BBC were now cancelling all their programmes

and stayed with every single shot.

'And into the final 35th frame. Storybook stuff, isn't it, Ted?

'The players shake hands.

'One of these lucky chaps will pick up the title, the trophy and ?60,000.'

The final day of the final over two days was a blur.

900 people in the Crucible, the tension got higher and higher,

until both players could hardly hold a cue.

The final frame took an hour and ten minutes.

We couldn't pot a ball, but it was tension.

'Very tense moments here now at the Crucible Theatre.'

We're stuck in our own little bubble, me and Dennis. We had no

idea how many people were watching. We were just involved on the table.

How can you get 18.5 million people to watch a game of snooker?

Getting a small ball in a slightly bigger hole with a pointed stick.

'Both players under great strain.'

It was proper cliffhanger stuff.

To go down to the very last black ball in the competition like that,

it was agonising.

'The final frame. The final black.'

And I tried to double the black and the crowd all started cheering

and I thought it's in.

CROWD: YES!

CROWD: Ooooh!

'I have never known an atmosphere like this.'

Steve made a bit of a mess of his next shot.

And I had the first proper chance to pot the black.

'That was the biggest shot of his life.'

I'm more or less devastated, I think, when I push the glasses

up above my head. I think I slumped back in my chair a little bit

and thought, "There's no way Steve's going to miss the black."

I was standing behind the curtain, peeking through like that,

like a kid watching a horror movie.

I couldn't watch it and I closed the curtain

and I never saw the ball but I heard the crowd go, "Ahh!"

'No!

'This is really unbelievable.'

I came to the table thinking, "How have I got this chance?

"Why did Steve not knock the black in?"

But he didn't and it's amazing what pressure can do.

'He's done it!'

You can still see Dennis Taylor celebrating now.

With the cue over his head! It was incredible.

'Dennis Taylor, for the first time,

'becomes Embassy World Snooker Champion, 1985.'

A good friend of mine who was there for the whole tournament with me

and I wagged my finger at him saying, "I told you I'd win in the end."

'A fabulous picture of a very happy and popular man.'

Whilst it was the worst moment of my snooker career -

certainly at the time my world had fallen apart -

but it turned out, on reflection, to be the best moment of my career as well.

To actually be involved in something

where so many people got entertainment from is an honour.

To beat Steve Davis, who has been the best player in the world,

well, there's not a lot more you can say, really.

Well, I'm the best this year.

It was just great to have been involved in a final that

people still talk about almost 30 years later.

Sports coverage on British television

has been through some dramatic changes

since the arrival of BBC Two.

We've gone from black and white pictures

to images that leap out of the screen in 3D.

But over the past five decades, this channel has continuously

brought audiences the very best in sporting action.

So, happy birthday, BBC Two, and thanks for the memories.

Here's to another 50 glorious years.

Ted, I... I'm not interested in coming to see Lady Gaga, sir.

They're back.