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| Diverse Sports and Diverse Roles |
| Peter's current interest in golf is in stark contrast to most of the sports he has been involved with in his career. |
| In the late 70's and early 80's Peter was the lead presenter in five series of the children's sports programme, Stopwatch where amongst his co-presenters were Daley Thompson, Suzanne Dando, and Nigel Starmer-Smith. |
| In the 80's he became BBC's original 'Voice of Darts' when the sport first established itself on television, presenting five series of Bullseye (no, not that one!) and an incredible 195 programmes covering the major darts championships, including World Darts. |
| Kickstart was the first and most popular of the Motorcycle Trials shows on TV. Audiences were astonished to see riders riding their bikes over VW
beetles and so on. Very soon that was regarded as passe and with the continental riders showing off their indoor arena skills (something that the UK
didn't have at that time) the sport developed using some awesome obstacles. Peter remembers riders having to go over the arms of a fully
extended JCM. Fearsome, but no one fell and no-one was hurt. |
| Junior Kickstart was spawned by the adult version with youngsters up to the age of fourteen competing over similarly difficult courses. One favourite obstacle
was 'Zebedee' a sprung plank, named after the character in the Magic Roundabout. If the riders hit it wrong, they were sprung off the side of it!
Junior Kickstart saw the emergence of the current World Outdoor Trials Champion, Dougie Lampkin, though he never won. That honour went to Steve
Colley and Graham Jarvis, both also in the world top half dozen. |
| Driver of the Year was a great show - a regional competition to find the best driver in the country. The competitors had to drive a variety of vehicles
from Double-decker buses, Fork-lift trucks, Karts, Articulated lorries, Saloon cars towing Caravans, Rally cars and Racing Minis. Peter did three
series between 1979 and 1981,two series with Dave Lee Travis and one with Noel Edmunds, but it was an inordinately expensive event to run and the money just wasn't there. |
| The Teen Trials series is currently showing on Granada's Men and Motors channel, successfully recreating the
excitement of Junior Kickstart. Peter presents the show with former Gladiator and serious biker, Jane Omorogbe. |
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| Peter's Favourite Moments |
"In Junior Kickstart I'll never forget the young lad who fell on the 'pole-over-the-hole'. He hurt his pride and almost destroyed his manhood, but the
ensuing rush of St John's Ambulance men into the pit, where they all fell over, was a piece of television hysteria! (and history!). And in Driver of the Year, one driver desperate for points in the Caravan event, was towing through the slalom at great speed when the caravan started
to break up. He never slowed down, and at the end towed the equivalent of a matchstick, all that remained of the caravan, over the finishing line.
Had great fun with my co-commentators on the Kickstart series' - Jack Stites from Florida, Mick Andrews (former British and World trials Champion)
from Matlock and Big John Lampkin, another British World Champion. (John is Dougie Lampkin's uncle and one of the sponsors of a number of young riders
now taking part in Teen Trials)."
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