A Question of Sport LIVE

I love it when something I've planned exceeds my expectations. Here we were in the audience of the very first night of the first ever tour of A Question of Sport Live - wow! I had bought the tickets as a gift for Nick's birthday so I had high hopes of the evening. We had dinner first, all pre-booked as part of the package, and then took our seats in the arena. Seeing Sue Barker in the flesh, so to speak, is like you've known her all your life. She's like the girl next door who's swallowed a sporting encyclopaedia! Admittedly, she does have all the answers in front of her but she can't have hosted this show since 1997 and not know most of the answers! Celebrating over 40 years of the tv programme of 897 episodes, it is officially Britain's longest continuously-running game show. That's what you call a British institution!

We were treated to a night of fun and laughter with sporting heros and team captains, Matt Dawson and Phil Tufnell joined by Dennis Taylor, Kelly Sotherton, Alex McLeish and Ashley Giles. With all the usual rounds including the picture & buzzer round, it was an excellent night of entertainment and as there's a waiting list of over 5 years for tickets to the live tv show, I felt quite privileged to be able to take part in the new, unique format.

 I find it an interesting fact that many sporting heros, unlike any other type of celebrity, are actually quite funny. The camaraderie off the pitch so to speak shined through tonight as the team captains took to the stage as if it were the first night of panto! They made us laugh & revealed some of their great achievements along with some of their embarrassing ones.

To appear on a show like this you have to be or have at one time been top of your game. And though being a great sportsman or sportswoman doesn't guarantee that you'll have a great personality, it certainly helps! The difference between sports people as opposed to regular tv celebs, is that they are actually massively talented and can't bluff their way to the top. What you see is generally what you get. There are far too many plastic celebs, particularly on tv, who have achieved fame and fortune with surprisingly very little talent and even more surprising, just half a brain cell - and that's between them! It was great to listen to genuine 'stars' who have earned their way to the top through sheer hard work and persistence.