Before I start, I'd just like to point out that I didn't see this programme on its first run as I was only two years old when it was cancelled. I wasn't even aware that the programme existed until it was featured on the hilarious Skinner and Baddiel's Fantasy World Cup back in 1998. Basically the programme was a showcase for all those games that were traditionally played in the pubs and clubs of Northern England, such as Darts, Skittles and of course Shove Ha'penny. As a sports programme, it was fairly unspectacular but it did feature cricketing legend Fred Trueman, perhaps the most uninterested TV host of all time. He stood, leaning against a table, pint of bitter in hand, mumbling incoherently half of the time. And he always ended with THE best catchphrase of all time, "Ah'll Si' Thee", which to those who aren't initiated in Yorkshire dialect roughly translates as "See you later".
Watching the programme, it is obvious that the overall content is terribly banal and uninteresting, but it is interesting to note that it was the benchmark for TV coverage of darts. Until that point, darts had never been televised anywhere in the world. But for me, the highlight has to be Mr. Trueman.
