{{short description|1987 It's a Knockout charity special featuring members of the British royal family}} {{Use British English|date=January 2015}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2022}} {{More citations needed|date=May 2007}} {{Infobox television | image = | caption = | alt_name = It's a Royal Knockout | genre = Game show, charity | creator = [[Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh|Prince Edward]] | presenter = {{hlist|[[Stuart Hall (presenter)|Stuart Hall]]|[[Les Dawson]]|[[Su Pollard]]}} | narrator = [[Hal Linden]] (US telecast) | judges = {{hlist|[[James Hamilton, 5th Duke of Abercorn|Duke of Abercorn]]|[[Gerald Grosvenor, 6th Duke of Westminster|Duke of Westminster]]|[[Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester|Duke of Gloucester]]|[[Guy Innes-Ker, 10th Duke of Roxburghe|Duke of Roxburghe]]}} | theme_music_composer = | country = United Kingdom | language = English | num_episodes = 1 | runtime = | location = [[Alton Towers]], Staffordshire, UK | company = | channel = [[BBC1]] | released = {{Start date|1987|06|19|df=y}} | related = ''[[It's a Knockout]]'' }} '''''The Grand Knockout Tournament''''' (also known as '''''It's a Royal Knockout''''') was a one-off charity event which took place on 15 June 1987, and was shown on British television on 19 June 1987 ([[BBC1]], repeated on 27 December 1987), in addition to airing on American TV via the [[USA Network]] on 12 August 1987, and European satellite channel [[NBC Europe|Superchannel]] on 6 March 1988 (repeated on Christmas Day 1988).
The event was staged on the lakeside lawn of the [[Alton Towers]] stately home and theme park in [[Staffordshire]]. It followed the format of ''[[It's a Knockout]]'' (the British version of ''[[Jeux sans frontières]]''), a [[slapstick]] [[game show|TV game show]] which was broadcast in the UK until 1982. The show featured members of the [[British royal family]] alongside various sporting and showbiz celebrities. The celebrity participants were drawn from the realms of music, sport, television, comedy and film.
Although regarded as a failure, a similar show without royal involvement was made the following year at [[Walt Disney World]] in [[Florida]], featuring teams of celebrities representing the United Kingdom, USA and Australia.
== Synopsis == The show was conceived and organised by [[Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh|Prince Edward]], who had been keen to develop a career in TV and theatre after he left the [[Royal Marines]].<ref name="Independent-figures">{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/was-this-the-day-when-royalty-lost-the-plot-1305932.html|title=Was this the day when royalty lost the plot?|work=The Independent|first=Daniel|last=Roseman|date=21 April 1996|accessdate=17 July 2022}}</ref> The show featured Prince Edward, the [[Anne, Princess Royal|Princess Royal]] and the [[Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor|Duke]] and [[Sarah Ferguson|Duchess of York]] as non-participating team captains, each of whom supported a different [[Charitable organization|charity]].<ref name="Independent-figures"/>
The show was hosted by [[Stuart Hall (television presenter)|Stuart Hall]], [[Les Dawson]] and [[Su Pollard]], with [[Hal Linden]] providing commentary for the U.S. telecast. [[Paul Daniels]] and [[Geoff Capes]] were timekeepers. [[Aled Jones]], [[Rowan Atkinson]] and [[Barbara Windsor]] were heralds of the tournament. The [[James Hamilton, 5th Duke of Abercorn|Duke of Abercorn]], the [[Gerald Grosvenor, 6th Duke of Westminster|Duke of Westminster]], the [[Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester|Duke of Gloucester]] and the [[Guy Innes-Ker, 10th Duke of Roxburghe|Duke of Roxburghe]] acted as impartial judges for each of the four teams.
{| class="wikitable" |+ Team members and charities ! Team !! Members !! Charity |- ! Team One<br>(Prince Edward's team) | * [[Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh|Prince Edward]] * [[Toyah Willcox]] * [[Barry McGuigan]] * [[Christopher Reeve]] * [[Steve Cram]] * [[Tessa Sanderson]] * [[Sarah Hardcastle]] * [[John Cleese]] * [[Michael Ball (singer)|Michael Ball]] * [[Nicholas Lyndhurst]] * [[Kiri Te Kanawa|Dame Kiri Te Kanawa]] * [[Duncan Goodhew]] * [[Sharon McPeake]] | [[Duke of Edinburgh's Award]] |- ! Team Two<br>(The Princess Royal's team) | * [[Anne, Princess Royal]] * [[Debbie Flintoff]] * [[Cliff Richard]] * [[Emlyn Hughes]] * [[Jenny Agutter]] * [[Kevin Kline]] * [[Jackie Stewart]] * [[Eddy Grant]] * [[Bill Wyman]] * [[Peter Blake (actor)|Peter Blake]] * [[Walter Payton]] * [[Virginia Leng]] * [[Sunil Gavaskar]] * [[Anthony Andrews]] * [[Tom Jones (singer)|Tom Jones]] * [[Sheena Easton]] | [[Save the Children]] |- ! Team Three<br>(The Duke of York's team) | * [[Prince Andrew, Duke of York]] * [[Judy Simpson]] * [[Anneka Rice]] * [[Fiona Fullerton]] * [[Gary Lineker]] * [[George Lazenby]] * [[Michael Palin]] * [[Nigel Mansell]] * [[ John Travolta]] * [[Griff Rhys Jones]] * [[Margot Kidder]] * [[Steve Podborski]] | [[World Wide Fund for Nature|World Wildlife Fund]] |- ! Team Four<br>(The Duchess of York's team) | * [[Sarah, Duchess of York]] * [[Meat Loaf]] * [[Pamela Stephenson]] * Brian Cooper ([[dog sledding|dog-sledder]]) * [[Mel Smith]] * [[Jane Seymour (actress)|Jane Seymour]] * [[Chris de Burgh]] * [[Viv Richards]] * [[Michael Brandon]] * [[John Mills|Sir John Mills]] | [[United Nations Centre for Human Settlements|International Year of Shelter for the Homeless, 1987]] |}
== Aftermath == Immediately after the event, Prince Edward asked the assembled journalists, "Well, what did you think?" The journalists, unbeknownst to Prince Edward, hadn't seen the event properly as they had been kept confined in the press tent, separate from the celebrities and members of the royal family who had taken part, and were underwhelmed and unhappy at such an arrangement. They responded with nervous laughter and Prince Edward stormed out of the press conference, sarcastically thanking the journalists for their enthusiasm.<ref name="Independent-figures"/>
Reportedly [[Elizabeth II|the Queen]] disapproved of the event and all of her courtiers had advised against it.<ref>Ben Pimlott [https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/royals/readings/polish.html "Polishing Their Image"], extract from ''The Queen'', HarperCollins (1996) reprinted on the PBS Frontline webpage</ref> Neither she, [[Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh|the Duke of Edinburgh]] nor [[Charles, Prince of Wales|the Prince]] and [[Diana, Princess of Wales|Princess of Wales]] agreed to take part, but Edward persevered and the project went to completion. Nonetheless, the event drew an audience of 18 million domestically, making it the fourth most-watched programme of the year.<ref name="Independent-figures"/> It was later watched by 400 million viewers worldwide and raised over £1.5 million for the respective charities.<ref name="Independent-figures"/>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *{{IMDb title|id=0211388|title=It's a Royal Knockout}} *[https://www.amazon.com/dp/0002179938 Knockout – The Grand Charity Tournament] (the book of the event) {{ISBN|0-00-217993-8}}
{{Jeux sans frontières}} {{Alton Towers}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grand Knockout Tournament, The}} [[Category:Alton Towers]] [[Category:1987 television specials]] [[Category:BBC television game shows]] [[Category:British royal family]] [[Category:1987 in British television]] [[Category:Charity events in the United Kingdom]]