''The Games'' is a British

reality Reality is the sum or aggregate of all that is real or existent within a system, as opposed to that which is only imaginary. The term is also used to refer to the ontological status of things, indicating their existence. In physical terms, r ...

sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, th ...

game show A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or Let's Play, demonstrative and are typically directed b ...

that ran on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

for four series, in which 10 celebrities competed against each other, by doing

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

-style events, such as weight lifting,

gymnastics Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, shou ...

and

diving Diving most often refers to: * Diving (sport), the sport of jumping into deep water * Underwater diving, human activity underwater for recreational or occupational purposes Diving or Dive may also refer to: Sports * Dive (American football), a ...

. At the end of the series, the contestants with the most points from each round were awarded either a

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

silver Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receive ...

. The series was revived by

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

in May 2022, hosted by

Holly Willoughby Holly Marie Willoughby ( ; born 10 February 1981) is an English television presenter, author and model. She is currently the co-presenter of ITV's '' This Morning'' (2009–present) and '' Dancing on Ice'' (2006–2011, 2018–present) alongsid ...

and

Freddie Flintoff Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff (born 6 December 1977) is an English television and radio presenter and former international cricketer. Flintoff played all forms of the game and was one of the sport's leading all-rounders, a fast bowler, middle-orde ...

History

The show was mainly filmed in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

, at the

Sheffield Arena Sheffield Arena, known for sponsorship purposes as Utilita Arena Sheffield, is a multi-purpose arena located in Sheffield, England. It is situated near Meadowhall and lies between Sheffield city centre and Rotherham town centre. Opened in 1991 ...

, Don Valley Stadium and

Ponds Forge Ponds Forge International Sports Centre is a leisure complex in Sheffield, England, that contains an Olympic-sized swimming pool with seating for 2,600 spectators, family and children's pools (50 m Competition pool and 25 m diving p ...

. In later series, the English Institute of Sport – Sheffield,

iceSheffield iceSheffield is an ice arena in the Lower Don Valley, Sheffield, England. iceSheffield was completed in May 2003 at a cost of £15 million and is a Centre of Excellence for figure skating, ice dance and hockey, and it is one of only two faciliti ...

and in series 4 the National Watersports Centre in

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

were used for the first time. Most recently the show has been broadcast from the

Crystal Palace National Sports Centre The National Sports Centre at Crystal Palace in south London, England is a large sports centre and outdoor athletics stadium. It was opened in 1964 in Crystal Palace Park, close to the site of the former Crystal Palace Exhibition building which ...

in south London.

Presenters

''The Games'' was presented by

Jamie Theakston James Paul Theakston (born 21 December 1970) is an English television presenter, producer, and actor. He co-presented the former Saturday morning BBC One children's show ''Live & Kicking'', alongside Zoe Ball between 1996 and 1999. He co-hosted ...

for the entirety of its run, with track-side reports from

Jayne Middlemiss Jayne Middlemiss (born 3 February 1971) is an English television and radio presenter. She began presenting music television shows such as ''The O-Zone'' and ''Top of the Pops'' in the mid-1990s, before presenting a variety of other television and ...

in series 1–3 and

Kirsty Gallacher Kirsty Jane Gallacher (born 20 January 1976) is a Scottish television presenter and model. She began her career at Sky Sports News in 1998 and hosted '' Kirsty's Home Videos'', '' RI:SE'' and '' Simply the Best'' before returning to Sky Sports ...

in series 4. David Goldstrom was the commentator for the events. For the 2022 revival series, it is presented by

and

, with

Simon Brotherton Simon Charles Brotherton is a sports commentator for the BBC, appearing on Match of the Day and BBC Radio Five Live, as well as BT Sport television. Brotherton was still at school when he began his career with BBC Local Radio and developed furth ...

taking over as commentator with Chris Kamara by his side.

Companion shows

''The Games'' also had an after-show called ''The Games: Live at Trackside'', aired on Channel 4's sister channel E4. The first series was presented by

Dougie Anderson Douglas James Anderson (born 27 May 1976 in Edinburgh) is a Scottish radio and television presenter writer and voice-over artist who trained at Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh. Radio Anderson is notable for his regular guest appearances ...

, whilst the second was hosted by ''

Gamezville ''Gamezville'' is an entertainment video games show that was broadcast on Sky One and ran for two series from 2003 to 2004. It was presented by models Jamie Atiko and Darren Malcolm. The non-studio segments of the show were also shown in the Uni ...

'' presenters Darren Malcolm and Jamie Atiko.

Justin Lee Collins Justin Lee Collins (born 28 July 1974) is an actor and former radio and television presenter from Bristol, England. Collins began his career as a stand up comedian in the 1990s when he was in his late teens. He then presented a number of TV sh ...

and

Caroline Flack Caroline Louise Flack (9 November 1979 – 15 February 2020) was an English television and radio presenter and actress. She won the twelfth series of BBC’s ''Strictly Come Dancing'' in 2014 and presented ''The X Factor'' and later '' Love Isl ...

took over as presenters for the third and fourth series. For the final series an extra one-hour show was added on E4 in the afternoon called ''The Games: Live at the Heats'', and the evening after-show changed title to become ''The Games: Inside Track''.

Main series results

Series 1 (2003)

The first series aired in 2003 and the celebrities that took part were: Porter pulled out part-way through the run. A serious knee injury sustained in the judo competition against Akın also forced Chisholm to withdraw.Ex-Spice Girl Mel C faces surgery
– BBC News, 12 September 2003

Series 2 (2004)

The second series aired in 2004 and the celebrities that took part were:

Champion of Champions 2004

After the second series a special champion of champions edition, took place in which the top two male and female competitors from series one and two went head to head to compete for the title, The Games Champion of Champions. Eventually the team from 2003 won. They comprised MC Harvey, James Hewitt, Terri Dwyer and Josie d'Arby (Azra Akın was unavailable to take part).

Series 3 (2005)

The third series commenced on 25 March 2005 and the celebrities that took part were: Morris pulled out half-way through the run, and was replaced by Foster. Injuries also forced Kevin Simm out of the Sumo competition, and Craig Charles out of the speed skating and vaulting competitions.

Champion of Champions 2005

After the third series, another special champion of champions edition took place in which the top two male and female competitors from Team 2003, Team 2004 and Team 2005 competed against each other in weightlifting, hammer throwing and finally the relay race. From Team 2003, James Hewitt, Harvey, Terri Dwyer and Josie D'Arby competed. From Team 2004, Romeo, Jarrod Batchelor, Katy Hill and Lady Isabella Hervey competed. From Team 2005, Kevin Simm, Philip Olivier, Lisa Maffia and Kirsty Gallacher, competed. Team 2005 narrowly beat the team from the first series overall.

Series 4 (2006)

The fourth series commenced on 17 March 2006, and was presented as usual by

, and track-side coverage was taken over by Series Three contestant

. There was a total of 18 different sporting events to test their skills and abilities. The men competed in water ski jump, weights,

Kendo is a modern Japanese martial art, descended from kenjutsu (one of the old Japanese martial arts, swordsmanship), that uses bamboo swords (shinai) as well as protective armor (bōgu). Today, it is widely practiced within Japan and has spread ...

, vault,

speed skating Speed skating is a competitive form of ice skating in which the competitors racing, race each other in travelling a certain distance on Ice skate, skates. Types of speed skating are long track speed skating, short track speed skating, and marath ...

cycling Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from two ...

javelin A javelin is a light spear designed primarily to be thrown, historically as a ranged weapon, but today predominantly for sport. The javelin is almost always thrown by hand, unlike the sling, bow, and crossbow, which launch projectiles with th ...

and 100m sprint. The women competed in whitewater kayak, hurdles, cycling, gym floor, swimming,

curling Curling is a sport in which players slide stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area which is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take turns sliding ...

archery Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In m ...

hammer A hammer is a tool, most often a hand tool, consisting of a weighted "head" fixed to a long handle that is swung to deliver an impact to a small area of an object. This can be, for example, to drive nails into wood, to shape metal (as w ...

and 100m sprint. Contestants that took part in the show were:

Darren Day Darren Day is an English actor, singer and television presenter, well known for his West End theatre starring roles. Early life Day's paternal grandfather was a support act to George Formby in the days of music hall. Day undertook drama classe ...

was among the original line-up, but after consistently failing to take part in training, he was replaced by eventual winner Jones. DJ

Goldie Clifford Joseph Price MBE (born 19 September 1965), better known as Goldie, is a British music producer and DJ. Initially gaining exposure for his work as a graffiti artist, Goldie became well known for his pioneering role as a musician in th ...

was originally a competitor, but was forced to pull out due to an injury sustained in the training sessions for the water-ski event. He was replaced by Rickitt.

Scores

Champion of Champions 2006

After the fourth series another special champion of champions edition took place in which the top two male and female competitors from series two, three and four competed against each other in a 50 m freestyle swim, diving and a 4 x 50 m freestyle relay at Ponds Forge in Sheffield. Javine Hylton, Julia Goldsworthy MP, Jade Jones and MC Plat'num represented Team 2006, Kirsty Gallacher, Chesney Hawkes, Kevin Simm and HRH Princess Tamara represented Team 2005, and Lady Isabella Hervey, Linda Lusardi, Shane Lynch and Romeo represented Team 2004. Team 2006 won the champion of champions 2006, scoring 29 points. The team of 2005 came second with 23. Finally team 2004 with 20. This Champion of Champions saw Shane Lynch achieve a dive which had never been performed on ''The Games'' before – a somersault. The trophy for the winners was presented to Team 2004, by the Lord Mayor of Sheffield, Councillor Roger Davison.

Series 5 (2022)

The series was originally commissioned for 2020 as ''The Real Games'', and then for 2021, but both times were delayed due to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

restrictions and concerns. In October 2021, it was confirmed that the series would air in 2022.

Contestants

Scores

Events

;Women's 100m hurdles ;Men's hammer throw ;Mixed synchronised diving ;Men's 400m race ;Men's 50m freestyle ;Men's canoe slalom ;Women's 50m breast stroke ;Men's 100m hurdles ;Women's javelin ;Women's 400m race ;Women's keirin ;Men's speed climbing ;Heats ;Semi-final ;Final ;Men's elimination race ;Women's speed climbing *Olivia Attwood did not compete in this event and automatically received 1 point. ;Heats ;Semi-final ;Final ;Women's weightlifting ;Women's 100m race ;Men's 100m race

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Games, The 2003 British television series debuts 2022 British television series endings 2000s British game shows 2020s British game shows 2000s British reality television series 2020s British reality television series 2000s British sports television series 2020s British sports television series British television series revived after cancellation Channel 4 game shows Channel 4 reality television shows ITV game shows ITV reality television shows English-language television shows Television series by Banijay