Can you believe that it’s ten years since the last ever episode of They Think It’s All Over?

The sport-themed British comedy panel game was first shown in September 1995 and ran for nineteen seasons on BBC One before coming to an end in 2006 after over a decade on air.

Here are 10 things you probably didn’t know about the show…

 

A whopping 154 episodes of They Think It’s All Over were aired during the show’s eleven year run.

Before it arrived on BBC One on television, the show was originally made for BBC Radio 5, where it was hosted by Des Lynam.

Des Lynam actually recorded a pilot episode in early 1994, but then decided he didn’t want to be involved after all when the TV series was commissioned, so it was put on hold for a year while the producers found a replacement.

One-off special programmes titled Have I Got Buzzcocks All Over were produced in 1999 and 2001 as part of the BBC’s Comic Relief charity fundraising events, combining elements of They Think It’s All Over with hit BBC quiz shows Have I Got News for You and Never Mind the Buzzcocks. Angus Deayton hosted the two specials.

Former England cricket team captain David Gower and former England football team captain Gary Lineker quit the show in 2003, having both been team captains from the first season in 1995.

Goalkeeper David Seaman and cricketer Phil Tufnell replaced the pair, with Boris Becker and footballer Ian Wright later taking over in 2004 and 2005.

An official They Think It’s All Over annual was published in 1997, parodying the style of traditional children’s comic annuals.

The show’s name comes from Kenneth Wolstenholme’s famous 1966 World Cup commentary quote: “They think it’s all over… it is now!” The phrase was used to sign off every episode.

At first Wolstenholme was not happy about the show’s use of his memorable phrase for the title.

However, he was eventually talked around and accepted a fee to re-record his famous commentary for the show’s opening titles when it was commissioned for TV, as the original recording was unusable.

 

Will the show make a comeback anytime soon? We wouldn’t bet on it. But you can find all the latest sports bets at Ladbrokes.

Do you miss They Think It’s All Over? Let us know below…